Umati

Umati - which stands for “universal machine technology interface” - is an OPC-UA accompanying specification that contains a standardized data model to allow industrial machines and software applications to communicate with each other. Using standardized labels, Umati want to define parameters and settings of machines unambiguously so that they become universally recognizable.

The first steps in the development of Umati were taken in 2017 when VDW announced at EMO that a number of machine tool manufacturers would work together to develop an IoT standard for the metalworking sector.

A year later, a first demonstration was given at the AMB fair in Stuttgart and the standard was given a name: umati. The acronym then stood for “universal machine tool interface”.

In 2020 it came to a collaboration between VDW and VDMA to open up umati to a broader industrial standard. The name was therefore changed to “universal machine technology interface”.

The standard for machine tools, previously referred to as umati, has been renamed “OPC UA Companion Specification for Machine Tools”.

OPC UA companion specification

Umati can be seen as an overarching OPC UA companion specification, in the sense that it aims to be a data model for parameters and properties that recur in many machines of all kinds. That way, asset management tools can, for example, manage a whole range of different machines through umati.

For other parameters, you can consult the more sector-specific Companion Specifications.

The term companion specification comes from the OPC UA world and is used for a whole series of standards for exchanging data that all use OPC UA for communication. The Companion Specifications themselves then contain the data model in which names and units are defined for frequently occurring parameters, specifications and measured values.

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