The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC) was formed to help manufacturers work together to find new and innovative ways to be successful in their production operations. OMAC brought together leading manufacturers representing End-User Manufacturers, OEM Machine Builders, System Integrators, Technology Providers, and Non-Profit / Government Agency organizations to address issues that confront global manufacturing today. OMAC aims to collectively derive common solutions for both technical and non-technical issues in the development, implementation, and commercialization of open, modular architecture control technologies.

Manufacturing systems are made of collections of equipment, often from multiple suppliers, usually each with its own specific and custom interface. In order to make this collection of equipment operate together as a complete system, there is an integration effort required, and it is often time consuming and custom for each supplier.

PackML stands for Packaging Machine Language and is an interface standard originally used in batch manufacturing in the packaging industry but which is now used in multiple different types of production and assembly lines. The primary objective of PackML is to bring a common “look and feel” and operational consistency to all machines that make up a production line. PackML provides:

•Standard defined machine states and operational flow

•Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) data

•Root Cause Analysis (RCA) data

•Flexible recipe schemes and common SCADA or MES inputs

PackML has been implemented in multiple formats for different industrial networks, with a proven benefit of reducing the integration time for adding new equipment to existing lines, or installing new lines.