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MES / MOM Connections

MES / MOM Connections

FactoryThread connects directly to manufacturing systems — execution (MES), operations management (MOM), ERP, planning and scheduling, and the shop floor itself. These connectors share a category in the New Connection dialog even though they reach their systems over different protocols (REST, OData, SQL Server, and OPC UA).

ConnectorSystemReaches it viaWrite-back
Opcenter Execution CoreSiemens Opcenter Execution CoreREST APIYes
Opcenter XSiemens Opcenter X (cloud MOM)REST APIYes
Opcenter RD&LSiemens Opcenter Research, Development & LaboratoryOData v4Yes
Opcenter APSSiemens Opcenter Advanced Planning & SchedulingSQL Server / Azure SQLYes
Plex SchedulerPlex manufacturing schedulingREST APIYes
i3Xi3X / CESMII industrial interoperabilityREST / JSONRead only
Acumatica ERPAcumatica Cloud ERPContract-Based REST APIYes
OPC UAOPC UA servers (PLCs, SCADA, MES)OPC UA (opc.tcp)Read only

Siemens Opcenter Execution Core​

Connects to Opcenter Execution Core over its REST API.

  • API URL — the base endpoint.
  • Authentication — Bearer Token, Client Credentials (Access Token URL, Client ID, Client Secret, Scope), Basic (Username, Password), Token With Credentials, or No Auth.
  • Request headers, a connection timeout, and an Allow self-signed certificates toggle.

Entities (the resources you read and write) are defined by you per entity — REST connections don't auto-discover a schema.

Opcenter X​

Siemens' cloud MOM. In FactoryThread it is configured as a REST API connection — the same form and authentication options as Opcenter Execution Core (API URL + authentication + headers). Reads and writes go through the REST endpoints; entities are user-defined.

Opcenter RD&L​

Connects to Opcenter Research, Development & Laboratory over OData v4.

  • API URL — the OData service root.
  • Authentication — the standard options plus Session Auth (Login URL, Username, Password, and optional Company and Branch).
  • Automatic schema discovery. Because RD&L is OData, FactoryThread reads the service's $metadata and discovers its entities and their schemas for you. Test Connection verifies the metadata is reachable, and the Entities list is populated automatically. Supports read and write-back.

Opcenter APS​

Opcenter Advanced Planning & Scheduling stores its data in SQL Server / Azure SQL, so this connector uses a database connection.

  • Choose SQL Connection (Server, Database, Port 1433, Username, Password) or paste a Connection String, plus a timeout.
  • Test Connection, entity browse, and schema discovery work as for any SQL Server connection; planning tables live under the UserData schema. Supports full read and write-back.

See Database Connections for more on SQL Server settings.

Plex Scheduler​

Connects to Plex manufacturing scheduling over its REST API using token-with-credentials auth.

  • Access Token URL, Username, and Password (FactoryThread obtains and refreshes the token for you), plus the usual headers and timeout.
  • Supports read and write-back. Entities are user-defined.

i3X​

Connects to an i3X platform — the CESMII Industrial Information Interoperability eXchange — over REST/JSON.

  • API URL and authentication (No Auth, Bearer, Client Credentials, Basic, or Session Auth), headers, and timeout.
  • Browse the model. FactoryThread walks i3X's namespaces, object types, and objects to list entities, and infers each entity's schema from a sample of live values.
  • Reads both current values and history. Read only — write-back to i3X is not yet supported.

Acumatica ERP​

Connects to Acumatica Cloud ERP via its Contract-Based REST API.

  • Session Auth by default: Login URL, Username, Password, and optional Company and Branch. OAuth client-credentials is also supported.
  • Browse from the contract. FactoryThread reads Acumatica's swagger.json to discover entities and their schemas; Test Connection reports the number of entities found.
  • Supports read (including Generic Inquiries and $filter / $top / $expand options) and write-back, including bound actions such as releasing a document.

OPC UA​

Connects to OPC UA servers — PLCs, SCADA, and MES systems — over the OPC UA binary protocol (opc.tcp://).

  • Endpoint URL — for example opc.tcp://localhost:4840.
  • Security Mode — None, Sign, or Sign & Encrypt.
  • Security Policy — None, Basic128Rsa15, Basic256, Basic256Sha256, Aes128_Sha256_RsaOaep, or Aes256_Sha256_RsaPss. (Policy must be None only when Security Mode is None.)
  • Identity — Anonymous, Username & Password, or an X.509 certificate (Certificate PEM + Private Key PEM).
  • A connection timeout.

Browse the address space. FactoryThread walks the server's nodes to list entities and reads each variable's data type. It reads both value snapshots and history, and can subscribe to live changes to drive a Flow (see Triggers). OPC UA is read only — FactoryThread does not write values back to the server.

Next steps​