"How many shots did this machine make per hour, with which mold, with which parameters?" If the answer to this question sits in a notebook or in the operator's memory, production data evaporates at every shift change. In automotive and medical supply chains, customer audits now require traceability per part; energy and efficiency tracking cannot be done without shot-level data either. This article explains the standard ways of connecting an injection molding machine to higher-level systems — from EUROMAP 63 to OPC UA-based EUROMAP 77 — in the detail you will need on the shop floor.
A short glossary: what is MES, who is EUROMAP?
MES (manufacturing execution system) is the software layer that collects data from the machines on the shop floor and manages work orders; it is the bridge between ERP and the machine. EUROMAP, on the other hand, is the umbrella association of European plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers — it standardizes the interfaces between machines so that equipment from different manufacturers speaks the same language.
Four generations of interface
| Generation | Standard | Carrier | What it communicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard-wired signals | EUROMAP 12 / 67 | Parallel cable (24 V signals) | Machine ↔ robot safety and synchronization signals |
| Serial line | EUROMAP 17 / 70 and IL1 | RS-422 / RS-485 | Machine ↔ temperature control unit (set temperature, alarm) |
| File-based | EUROMAP 63 | Ethernet + shared folder | Machine ↔ higher-level system: jobs, data sets, status |
| Service-based | EUROMAP 77 / 79 / 82 | Ethernet + OPC UA | Machine ↔ MES, robot and auxiliaries — live data model |
The first two generations still do their job in every factory — the robot safety circuit is still connected with EUROMAP 67 today. On the data collection side, however, the race is between 63 and 77.
EUROMAP 63: communicating by file box
Defined at the end of the 1990s, the logic of EUROMAP 63 is surprisingly simple seen from today: the higher-level system writes a request file into a folder the machine can see; the machine leaves its answer, again as a file, in the same session folder. Sending jobs, transferring data sets, reading status and counters — all of it runs on this exchange of files.
Its prevalence is its greatest strength: it is found on most machines of the last twenty years, and almost every MES knows how to read it. Its limits also come from its architecture: data does not flow in real time (a file is only written when asked for), there is no event notification, authentication and encryption are not defined, and because manufacturers interpret the standard differently, the 63 interfaces of two brands rarely behave exactly the same. In commissioning, most of the time goes on sorting out these differences in interpretation.
EUROMAP 77: the machine becomes a server
Published in 2018 and run jointly with the OPC Foundation, EUROMAP 77 (also OPC 40077) changes the approach radically: the injection molding machine becomes an OPC UA server, and the MES is the client that connects to it. The difference between them is like the difference between exchanging letters and a telephone line.
The standard has three functional blocks:
Machine identity and status. Manufacturer, model, serial number, the molds fitted, the injection units — including screw diameter and temperature zones — are presented in a standard tree structure. Whatever the brand, the MES finds the same information at the same address on every machine; the "interpretation difference" problem in commissioning is largely closed.
Job management. The higher-level system sends jobs to the machine and releases production; the machine publishes the parameters of each cycle as events. Shot-by-shot cycle data — times, temperatures, pressures — flows to the MES without waiting to be asked. This is exactly what traceability per part means.
Data set management. The setting recipes on the machine can be taken into a central archive and loaded back. The answer to the question "With which settings did we last run this mold without problems?" does not come from the operator's USB stick; it comes from a versioned central record.
This time security is built into the standard: the connection must authenticate with X.509 certificates, and messages are signed; read-only and write-authorized roles are separate. Two deliberate limits are also clear: safety signals such as the emergency stop are not carried over this interface, and the MES cannot command machine movements directly — the data layer and the safety layer are kept apart.
The family is growing: robots and auxiliaries speak the same language too
EUROMAP 77 does not stand alone; a family has been built on the same OPC UA foundation:
| Standard | Scope |
|---|---|
| EUROMAP 77 | Injection molding machine ↔ MES |
| EUROMAP 79 | Injection molding machine ↔ robot / handling |
| EUROMAP 82.1 | Temperature control units |
| EUROMAP 82.2 | Hot runner controllers |
| EUROMAP 82.3 | LSR dosing units |
In purchasing this means: if the temperature control unit and hot runner controller also speak OPC UA along with the machine, the line can be monitored with a single data model. This infrastructure is ready in the brands we represent — our mold temperature control units offer a wide range of communication including OPC-UA, Profinet and Modbus; Ethernet/OPC-UA connectivity is available on our hot runner controllers. On the quick mold clamping side, too, safety and status signals between the magnetic platen and the machine are carried over standard interfaces — details are on the mold clamping systems page.
The decision on the shop floor: 63 or 77?
The realistic roadmap for your machine park is usually a mix:
- Existing machines: if the control system has EUROMAP 63, activate it — this is the fastest way to start collecting data today. Even without real-time flow, counters, status and job management are connected to the MES.
- New investment: have "EUROMAP 77 (OPC 40077) supported" written into the contract and clarify which optional blocks (job management, data set management, cycle events) are included — the standard leaves some of these blocks to the manufacturer's choice.
- Auxiliary equipment: ask about the communication interface when buying temperature control units and hot runner controllers; a unit bought today without a digital interface becomes an unmonitored blind spot in the line tomorrow.
Checklist before commissioning
1. Separate the machine network from the office network (a separate VLAN); machine controls must not be exposed directly to the internet. 2. Plan certificate management for EUROMAP 77 from the outset — who will issue them, and who will renew them when they expire? 3. Start with a read-only account; give write authority only to the system that sends jobs. 4. If you use EUROMAP 63, clarify the backup of the session folder and the access permissions. 5. Agree from the outset between production and quality on the ownership of the data collected and how long it is kept — collecting data is easy, defining who will use it for what is hard.
Opening your machine park to data collection starts with working out which interface is available on which machine — our technical team supports this inventory work. What shot-level monitoring gains on the energy side can be found in our energy consumption guide, and the effect of cycle data on quality in our cavity pressure article.