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Welcome

The Control Systems Group is part of the Intelligent Systems Division of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The focus of the group is interoperability between industrial automation systems. These include robots, machine tools and vehicles typically found in automotive and aerospace manufacturing facilities, and also distributed automation that controls the nation’s electrical, water and other key infrastructure.

Staff expertise includes real-time software development for Unix and Microsoft Windows; software tools including UML, XML and EXPRESS; and data acquisition and control.

Programs/Projects
DML (Dimensional Markup Language) — The DML specification defines content and format for measurement nominals and actuals from a coordinate measuring machine. The scope of this industry-led effort is on the exchange of dimensional …
 
Enterprise Integration — The objective is to bring live information from manufacturing processes, so-called "production actuals," up into the decision-making processes that drive day-to-day operations at large …
 
eQuipp (Exchange of Quality Measurement Process Plans) — The Exchange of Quality Measurement Process Plans Specification (eQuiPP) is a new specification in progress, which defines all the information required to generate measurement process plans on any …
 
Federal Industrial Control System Security — The project will provide federal organizations that operate industrial control systems (e.g., Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Reclamation, Federal Aviation Administration, Tennessee …
 
I++ DME (Dimensional Measurement Equipment) — The I++ (Inspection plus-plus) group is a loose consortium of European automobile manufacturers: Daimler, Audi, BMW, Opel, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Volvo.  I++ DME is one of two current …
 
Industrial Ethernet Network Performance (IENetP) — Develop metrics, tests, and tools to determine and report the network performance of industrial Ethernet devices in a standardized way.
 
Industrial Network Security Testbeds and Performance Test Methods — The project will develop industrial network security and performance test methods to increase standards adoption by providing users with a way to determine standards compliance and ensuring that …
 
Intelligent Industrial Control System Security and Industrial Network Standards — The introduction of information technologies, such as wireless and Ethernet, into critical industrial infrastructure systems has provided simpler and more agile control over electric power, water, …
 
Intelligent Manufacturing — Machine tools and other shop-floor equipment need to be able to understand richer information about the part being manufactured and the processes being performed. Machining parameters such as feed …
 
Intelligent Manufacturing Robotics and Automation Interoperability Standards — Although manufacturers can draw on a multitude of software options to run the various parts of an automated factory line, their choices are limited because different types of software -- sometimes …
 
Private Sector Industrial Control System Security — The project will provide the private sector organizations that operate industrial control systems, the technical guidance and baseline security safeguards to secure these systems, significantly …
 
QMD (Quality Measurement Data) — The information incompatibility problem in manufacturing metrology is costly to everyone.  The standards solution eliminates these costs, as long as there is end user support and the …
 
Specific Technical Security Requirements for Industrial Control Systems — Many of the industrial control systems currently installed were not designed with security as a concern. They were designed to maximize performance, reliability and safety, therefore any security …
 
high lights

NIST Delivers "EtherNet/IP Performance Test Tool" to ODVA

NIST delivered the "EtherNet/IP Performance Test Tool" to the Open Device NetIndustrial EtherNet/IP Performance Vendors Asssociation (ODVA) on December 31st, 2007.  This was the culmination of the 18-month CRADA between NIST and ODVA to develop the tool, and was associated with the USCAR A-TEAM effort.  The test tool is a software package capable of conducting automated testing to determine the network performance of EtherNet/IP devices.  The test tool collects information about the test from the user, generates a set of scripts based on that information, runs those scripts and collects the data, analyzes the data, and reports the results to the user in an XML-based format.  ODVA plans to use this test tool as the main part of their new performance testing lab at their headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI.  The test tool consisted of over 36,000 lines of code, developed largely over the last 18-months by Jim Gilsinn with help from Freemon Johnson. NIST plans on continuing its development work with ODVA on future versions of the test tool to improve the software and test methodologies.

 
Contact

Fred Proctor, Group Leader
Cathy Shupe, Secretary

General Information:
301 975 3425 Telephone
301 990 9688 Facsimile

100 Bureau Drive, M/S 8230
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8230