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This month we interviewed Julio Delgado from Stock America about his experience with Inductive Automation software. Julio Delgado is the Senior Automation Solutions Engineer for Stock America, a full service provider of state-of-the-art sterilization systems used in the food manufacturing industry. In searching for an alternative solution for moving data between OPC servers and SQL databases, a representative from Kepware Technologies introduced him to Inductive Automation and FactorySQL. Soon afterwards, he began evaluating FactorySQL. He was quickly impressed with the features and capabilities of the program and joined the Inductive Automation free integrator program. Since joining the program earlier this year, he has successfully deployed FactorySQL in several projects for his customers. This month's interview with Julio focuses on FactorySQL, and the differences and advantages he found it has over similar products on the market.
IA: What are the key features you like the most about FactorySQL in comparison to other so-called data bridges on the market?
Julio: There's quite a few, but if I had to name the top few I would put its user interface and Project Organization at the top of the list. Another great feature is that you can start and stop groups while the system is running without affecting any other group. This cannot be done with many of the other popular products on the market.
IA: Are there any other particular features that come to mind?
Julio: Yes. FactorySQL has excellent Import/Export tools that allow me to send data to an Excel spreadsheet, for example. It is also very strong in performing Actions through the use of expressions and SQL expressions. I also like that you can Copy/Paste Groups and that OPC doesn't get wrapped under another product to provide the online editing. Finally, I really like how you can set and manage Alarms.
IA: What about the performance and throughput of FactorySQL? Does it meet your requirements?
Julio: FactorySQL performance and throughput meet and exceed our application requirements. Our application runs in a FDA/USDA regulated environment so we need to guarantee the collection of the information and FactorySQL allows us to meet that requirement. We are executing around 120,000 transactions in a 24 hours per day 7 days per week environment without any issues. We take advantage of one of the features or options from FactorySQL which is the handshake on execution and an output from a stored procedure that is written back to the PLC every time a group is executed to validate the insertion of the data.
IA: Was there anything during your evaluation of FactorySQL that particularly surprised you. For example, something you wanted to do and weren't sure about, but found out that you could?
Julio: The one thing that surprised me the most was the support from Inductive Automation. They are very quick to respond to your questions, allow you to share ideas and are very open to suggestions and then implementing them.
IA: What about the licensing model - how does that work out for you and your customers?
Julio: The licensing model of FactorySQL is excellent in that you don't have to worry about counting tag counts; you don't have to worry about how many you have in your application.
IA: Do you any final words for readers considering whether they should use FactorySQL or other products claiming to perform the tasks?
Julio: I would recommend the product to anyone with a data collection application; whether you need basic data collection or a very flexible and powerful transaction based data collection system. FactorySQL covers a broad range of data collection very well. Previously I was responsible for development and support using a competitive product in the market for 8 years. After finding FactorySQL I prefer not to go back and have to support or implement that product again. FactorySQL provides developers with a lot of flexibility at any stage of the project from design and development to deployment and execution. As I have mentioned before, the following features are a big advantage when using FactorySQL:
Integrator Highlight: Stock America Inc
Interview focusing on why they converted to FactorySQL
09/25/2008 - IA: What are the key features you like the most about FactorySQL in comparison to other so-called data bridges on the market?
Julio: There's quite a few, but if I had to name the top few I would put its user interface and Project Organization at the top of the list. Another great feature is that you can start and stop groups while the system is running without affecting any other group. This cannot be done with many of the other popular products on the market.
IA: Are there any other particular features that come to mind?
Julio: Yes. FactorySQL has excellent Import/Export tools that allow me to send data to an Excel spreadsheet, for example. It is also very strong in performing Actions through the use of expressions and SQL expressions. I also like that you can Copy/Paste Groups and that OPC doesn't get wrapped under another product to provide the online editing. Finally, I really like how you can set and manage Alarms.
IA: What about the performance and throughput of FactorySQL? Does it meet your requirements?
Julio: FactorySQL performance and throughput meet and exceed our application requirements. Our application runs in a FDA/USDA regulated environment so we need to guarantee the collection of the information and FactorySQL allows us to meet that requirement. We are executing around 120,000 transactions in a 24 hours per day 7 days per week environment without any issues. We take advantage of one of the features or options from FactorySQL which is the handshake on execution and an output from a stored procedure that is written back to the PLC every time a group is executed to validate the insertion of the data.
IA: Was there anything during your evaluation of FactorySQL that particularly surprised you. For example, something you wanted to do and weren't sure about, but found out that you could?
Julio: The one thing that surprised me the most was the support from Inductive Automation. They are very quick to respond to your questions, allow you to share ideas and are very open to suggestions and then implementing them.
IA: What about the licensing model - how does that work out for you and your customers?
Julio: The licensing model of FactorySQL is excellent in that you don't have to worry about counting tag counts; you don't have to worry about how many you have in your application.
IA: Do you any final words for readers considering whether they should use FactorySQL or other products claiming to perform the tasks?
Julio: I would recommend the product to anyone with a data collection application; whether you need basic data collection or a very flexible and powerful transaction based data collection system. FactorySQL covers a broad range of data collection very well. Previously I was responsible for development and support using a competitive product in the market for 8 years. After finding FactorySQL I prefer not to go back and have to support or implement that product again. FactorySQL provides developers with a lot of flexibility at any stage of the project from design and development to deployment and execution. As I have mentioned before, the following features are a big advantage when using FactorySQL:
- Project Organization
- Start or Stop groups while the system is running
- Import / Export of groups
- Support of Stored Procedure
- Actions via Expression and SQL Expression
- Alarms Configuration
- Remotely control the services