# Get the data out of your machines

> Connect talks to the controllers you already have and makes their data available to every system that needs it, through one secure OPC UA server. No new hardware on the machines, no separate interface per controller, and an AI assistant can do the setup with you.

## One connection layer for the whole plant

Machines from different vendors and generations speak different protocols. Connect reads them natively, checks and scales the values, and gives each one a clear name, unit and description.

- Siemens, Modbus, Mitsubishi, Omron, Allen-Bradley, FANUC, Haas, CODESYS, MTConnect, OPC UA and OPC DA
- Browse the controller or OPC server and add values in bulk
- Quality information on every value

![Device list with protocols and connection state](https://plcgateway.com/assets/img/shots/devices-1600.webp)

## Share it over OPC UA

Every device and value appears in Connect's OPC UA server. MES, ERP, historians, analytics tools and other SCADA systems read one standard, secure endpoint instead of each machine.

- Security modes None, Sign and SignAndEncrypt
- Certificates created automatically; clients approved or trusted
- Anonymous access or user name and password

![OPC UA server settings: endpoint, security policies and users](https://plcgateway.com/assets/img/shots/opcua-1600.webp)

## Set it up with AI

Connect includes an MCP server. Tell an AI assistant which machines you have, and it lists the supported protocols, creates the devices, tests the connection, adds the tags with descriptions and units, and reads the first values back to check them. Engineers stay in control: configuration needs administrator rights or a dedicated token.

- Devices and tags created and tested by the assistant
- Descriptions and units that people and AI understand
- Live values read and written within the user's rights

![Tag list with addresses, data types, live values and quality](https://plcgateway.com/assets/img/shots/tags-1600.webp)

## Where Connect is used

- **MES and ERP integration:** Production counts, states and process values delivered to MES and ERP through one interface.
- **Historians and analytics:** Data platforms and analytics tools subscribe to the values they need over OPC UA.
- **Mixed machine parks:** Old and new machines of different brands appear in one consistent structure.
- **Secure access to OT data:** Encrypted connections, certificates and user accounts instead of open access to the controllers.

## Also a client for other OPC servers

- **Read other OPC UA servers:** Values from PLCs, CNC machines, robots or another PLCGateway, by polling or subscription.
- **Encrypted connections:** Current security policies, with legacy policies for older servers, and certificate trust from the web interface.
- **OPC DA on Windows:** Classic OPC DA servers on the same PC or over the network, with server discovery and browsing.
- **Operator entries:** Values the machine does not have, such as work orders or planned stops, entered by people and kept across restarts.

## Need one endpoint for your systems?

We will map your controllers into one OPC UA address space in the demo, with an AI assistant doing the setup. → https://plcgateway.com/contact

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Source: https://plcgateway.com/connect