MDCplus FAQ: Machine Monitoring, OEE and CNC Connection

MDCplus is machine monitoring and OEE software for manufacturers. It collects data in real time from CNC machines, PLCs, robots and legacy equipment, and shows OEE, downtime, scrap, energy use and maintenance status on dashboards, a timeline and a shop floor layout.

MDCplus is licensed per machine as a perpetual license and is installed on premise, on your own server. See the product overview or why companies choose MDCplus.

MDCplus is a one-time purchase. It is sold as a perpetual license per machine, not as a monthly or annual subscription, so the software stays yours after the purchase.

This is the main commercial difference from subscription-based machine monitoring tools, where the cost repeats every year for as long as the system is used. Technical support is the only recurring item and it is optional.

MDCplus is licensed per machine, as a perpetual license. You buy a license for each machine you connect, and the license does not expire.

The server license is included, so there is no separate charge for the server part of the system. Read more about per-machine and site licensing for CNC software.

The per-machine license includes implementation and the server license. Connecting the equipment and setting up the system is part of the project, not an extra line in the quote.

MDCplus supports FANUC (FOCAS 2), Siemens Sinumerik (OPC UA or the native CNC interface), HEIDENHAIN (LSV2 / DNC), Mazatrol, Okuma OSP, Haas, PLCs and legacy machines. In total it works with more than 100 open protocols, including OPC UA, MTConnect, Modbus TCP and S7.

Protocol support is not charged separately either, and most machines need no hardware beyond an Ethernet cable. Check your machine in the connectivity checker.

See the route for each controller in the connectivity checker. Technical guides: FANUC FOCAS, Siemens Sinumerik connectivity, HEIDENHAIN DNC interface and OPC UA for CNC.

The only recurring item is technical support, priced at 10% of the project value annual. The licenses themselves are perpetual, so there is no renewal fee to keep the system running.

The cost depends on how many machines you connect, because MDCplus is licensed per machine with a perpetual license that includes implementation and the server license.

There is no subscription, and technical support is priced at 10% of the project value. For a figure for your shop, send the number of machines and their controllers through the contacts page, or check the machines first in the connectivity checker.

It depends on the controller, its version and the installed options. The machine connectivity checker marks FANUC, Siemens Sinumerik, HEIDENHAIN and Haas as supported, Mazatrol and Okuma as likely supported once the version and options are verified, and legacy equipment as connectable through a PLC, signals or additional sensors.

Select the manufacturer, model, controller, year and required data to see the recommended protocol, connection method and expected complexity. Step-by-step guides: FANUC, Haas, Siemens Sinumerik.

MDCplus supports FANUC (FOCAS 2), Siemens Sinumerik (OPC UA or the native CNC interface), HEIDENHAIN (LSV2 / DNC), Mazatrol, Okuma OSP, Haas, PLCs and legacy machines, using more than 100 open protocols including OPC UA, MTConnect, Modbus TCP and S7.

See the route for each controller in the connectivity checker. Technical guides: FANUC FOCAS, Sinumerik connectivity, HEIDENHAIN DNC, OPC UA for CNC.

Yes. Machines without a modern CNC interface are connected through a terminal, PLC signals, an industrial gateway or additional sensors, using OPC UA, Modbus TCP, S7, discrete I/O or external sensors.

Because the method depends on which signals the machine exposes, this route is rated as extended complexity. Read about Modbus TCP monitoring and Mitsubishi MELSEC data access, or check your machine.

Yes, the connection is read-only. MDCplus reads data from the controller and does not write to it, so monitoring does not interfere with the CNC program or machine operation.

The first compatibility check needs no installation and transmits no equipment data. Run the check.

For machines with an Ethernet interface, MDCplus needs only an Ethernet cable and no additional hardware.

Legacy machines without a suitable interface are connected through a terminal, PLC signals or additional sensors. Vibration monitoring and diagnostics is the one module that uses dedicated sensors installed on the machine. See the product overview.

Machine data collection (MDC) is the automatic collection of data from machines, such as status, program, alarms, cycle times and part counts, so it can be analyzed instead of logged by hand. It is also called machine data acquisition (MDA), and it is the basis for OEE, downtime analysis and maintenance planning.

MDC is a general industry term, not a product. MDCplus is a specific machine monitoring and OEE software product that performs machine data collection together with analytics, maintenance and production control. Other products also carry MDC in their names, so check the full product name.

Yes. MDCplus is installed on premise, on your own server, and works fully inside a closed network with no internet access. This makes it suitable for defense and other critical production where machine data must not leave the plant.

The connection to the machines is read-only. Read about edge and cloud data in production.

MDCplus includes real-time machine monitoring, power consumption monitoring, computerized maintenance, vibration monitoring and diagnostics, DNC and NC program management, and production control MES system.

An API connects MDCplus with your ERP, MES, CAD/CAM, PDM and BI systems. See the product overview and integrations.

Yes. MDCplus has an API for ERP, MES, CAD/CAM, PDM and BI systems, and supports out-of-the-box integration with several popular MES and ERP systems. API documentation is available on request for your own development.

See integrations.

OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is calculated as Availability × Performance × Quality, and it shows what percentage of planned production time is truly productive.

• Availability is the share of planned time the machine actually runs. It captures stops and breakdowns.
• Performance compares actual speed with the ideal cycle time. It captures slow cycles and micro-stops.
• Quality is the share of parts that are good first time. It captures scrap and rework.

Example: availability 90%, performance 95% and quality 98% give an OEE of about 84% (0.90 × 0.95 × 0.98 = 0.838). MDCplus calculates OEE automatically from machine data instead of from manual logs. Read the complete guide to OEE, measuring OEE in practice, or the difference between OEE, TEEP and OOE.

An OEE of 85% is commonly cited as world-class, around 60% as typical for discrete manufacturing, and 40% or below as low. The realistic target depends on the type of production, the product mix and how strictly OEE is measured.

Compare your own OEE over time rather than only against an industry benchmark, because measurement rules differ between plants. Best in class is usually quoted at 85%, but a realistic target depends on the type of production, the product mix and how strictly OEE is measured. See OEE grades and case studies and dynamic OEE targets.

Machine monitoring software collects data from machines automatically and shows what each machine is doing now and over time: running, idle, in setup, in alarm or offline. It reports OEE, downtime, cycle time and output without manual logging by operators.

MDCplus is machine monitoring and OEE software for CNC machines, PLCs, robots and legacy equipment. Read the complete guide to CNC machine monitoring or machine vs production monitoring.

Machine monitoring collects and analyzes machine states, OEE and downtime. SCADA supervises and controls equipment and processes through operator screens and alarms. MES manages production orders, operations, materials, quality and traceability.

They are complementary: machine monitoring supplies the machine data that MES and reporting rely on, while SCADA is about controlling the process. Read SCADA vs MES.

The main differences are the commercial model and deployment. MDCplus is a perpetual per-machine license that includes implementation and the server license and is installed on premise; MachineMetrics is a cloud subscription.

See the full comparison: MDCplus vs MachineMetrics. Other comparisons: Predator MDC, FORCAM FORCE, Tulip, FANUC FIELD.

For CNC data collection the usual alternatives to Kepware are a dedicated CNC connectivity platform such as MDCplus, a native controller interface such as FANUC FOCAS, an open standard such as MTConnect or OPC UA, or an in-house connector.

The choice usually comes down to licensing cost per machine and how much engineering you want to carry yourself. Read Kepware alternatives, why integrators switch, Kepware pricing for CNC integrations and how to migrate.

In most plants machine monitoring comes first, because MES planning and reporting are only as good as the machine data underneath them. Monitoring gives measured run time, downtime and output in weeks, while an MES rollout is a longer project that changes how people work.

A common sequence is to connect the machines, agree on the numbers everyone trusts, then extend into orders, materials and quality. MDCplus connects to MES and ERP through its API when you get there. See SCADA vs MES and integrations.

The usual trigger is that the numbers stop being trusted: operators log stops by hand, short stops are never recorded, reports arrive days late, and two departments quote different OEE for the same week.

Automatic machine data collection removes the manual step and makes micro-stops visible. Read when to switch from Excel to OEE software, invisible micro-stops and tracking downtime in Excel.

Building your own connector makes sense when you need one controller family and already have the engineering capacity. Buying makes sense for a mixed fleet, because each controller brings its own protocol, options, license terms and edge cases, and that work repeats for every new machine.

Count the ongoing cost of maintaining the connector, not just the first version. Read build vs buy for a FANUC connector, open source vs commercial connectivity and the OEM protocol licensing guide.

MDCplus monitors machine states in real time and reports OEE, cycle time per part, parts per shift or operator, scrap, setup time, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, and energy consumption.

It includes more than 100 report and graph templates, in both tabular and graphical form. Read how reports in MDCplus work.

Start by recording every stop and its reason automatically from the machine, then rank the reasons by lost hours and fix the largest ones first. After that, move maintenance from repair-after-failure to planned and condition-based work.

Technical availability is calculated as (planned operating time − technical downtime) ÷ planned operating time × 100%. MDCplus measures it from machine states instead of estimates, and supports the next step with a computerized maintenance module and vibration diagnostics. See how to improve OEE in a job shop and OEE improvement strategies.

Cycle time is the time needed to produce one part or complete one operation, from the start of one cycle to the start of the next. It is calculated as production time divided by the number of parts produced.

It feeds the performance part of OEE and capacity planning, and it is most reliable when taken from the machine rather than from a stopwatch. MDCplus reports cycle time per part automatically. See measuring OEE in practice.

MDCplus is used by more than 470 enterprises in more than 27 countries across Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia, and has an office in Helsinki, Finland, along with US branch in Delaware.

Read customer stories from Hyundai and Komax Belgium, or see partners.

In a machine shop Industry 4.0 means that machines, systems and people are connected and decisions rest on real-time data rather than on paper logs. In practice it starts with automatic data collection from the equipment: the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the network of machines, sensors and software that makes this possible.

The first step is usually machine monitoring, which turns controller signals into OEE, downtime and maintenance data. See how MDCplus does it and MTConnect explained.

You can start for free in a limited way. Many controllers expose data through a native interface or an open standard such as MTConnect or OPC UA, and with a free tool you can read a few signals from one machine and see whether the connection works at all.

Free setups usually stop at the same points: one or two machines instead of the whole shop, no history to compare weeks and shifts, no OEE that both the shop floor and management trust, and your own engineering time for every new controller. That is where a licensed system is cheaper than the hours spent maintaining connectors.

Start with the free check: the connectivity checker needs no installation. Then see the guides for FANUC, Haas and Siemens Sinumerik, or read open source vs commercial connectivity.

FOCAS (Factory Automation Open Control API Specification) is FANUC’s official programming interface for reading data from FANUC CNC controllers. It gives access to machine status, the active program, alarms, part counters, spindle and feed values and tool data over Ethernet or HSSB.

FOCAS 1 and FOCAS 2 differ in supported controller generations and functions, and the library is licensed by FANUC, which is why a FOCAS-based connection depends on the options installed on the machine. MDCplus uses FOCAS 2 as the recommended route for FANUC controllers.

Read the FOCAS technical guide, the FOCAS 1 and FOCAS 2 comparison, the FOCAS protocol overview and the OEM protocol licensing guide.

ISO 22400 is the international standard that defines key performance indicators for manufacturing operations management. It gives common definitions and formulas for KPIs such as availability, effectiveness, OEE, allocation ratio, throughput and quality ratio, so that numbers mean the same thing across plants and systems.

Its practical value is comparability: without an agreed definition, two departments can report different OEE for the same week. MDCplus reports production KPIs that follow these definitions.

Read ISO 22400 manufacturing KPIs and the complete guide to production KPIs.

Discrete manufacturing produces countable individual items, such as machined parts, assemblies or devices, in units and batches. Continuous or process manufacturing produces flows of material measured by weight or volume, such as chemicals, food, cement or paper.

The difference changes how performance is measured: discrete production counts parts, cycle times and changeovers, while process production tracks rates, yield and quality of the flow. MDCplus is used in both, and the digital maturity assessment adjusts its recommendations to the production type.

Read discrete vs continuous manufacturing, or take the digital maturity assessment.

A machine hour rate is the cost of running one machine for one hour. It is calculated as the total annual cost of the machine divided by the number of productive machine hours per year.

The cost side normally includes depreciation, space, energy, maintenance and repairs, tooling, operator time and an overhead share. The hours side is where most calculations go wrong: using nominal hours instead of actual productive hours understates the rate, because downtime, setup and idle time are paid for but produce nothing.

This is why measured machine hours matter more than planned ones. Download the universal machine hourly rate calculator in Excel, or use the ROI calculator to see what recovered hours are worth.

Machine downtime is any time a machine is available for production but not producing. It is measured as a share of planned production time and split into planned downtime, such as setup and preventive maintenance, and unplanned downtime, such as breakdowns, missing material or missing operators.

Two things decide whether the number is useful: every stop carries a reason code, and short stops are counted. Micro-stops of a minute or two are usually invisible in manual logs yet add up to the largest single loss in many shops.

MDCplus records machine states automatically, so downtime is measured rather than estimated. Read invisible micro-stops and tracking machine downtime in Excel.