Today, Steve Biegacki, FDT Managing Director, sat down with Pingsheng Xu, Development Group Manager – M&M Software China, to discuss device integration strategies with FDT/DTM technology and their offerings supporting the industrial automation community as a leading FDT Service Provider.
Steve: Pingsheng, thanks for joining me to discuss device integration strategies using FDT/DTM.
Can you please introduce M&M Software to the automation community?
Pingsheng: M&M Software is a leading FDT Service Provider with a comprehensive portfolio of products and services. We combine our 20 years of expertise in FDT with continuous innovation to meet the new challenges in the industry. We also provide professional software development services for the entire life cycle of your projects.
Steve: I believe M&M Software was our first FDT Service Provider! We appreciate your long-term commitment to service the industry with FDT solutions for device management.
How does FDT technology help solve the critical need for device integration?
Pingsheng: FDT technology is a universal bridge that connects any device management scenario to any device under any fieldbus/protocol from any vendor. FDT protects the factory investment by harmonizing different elements in a unified environment. For example, you can use FDT to integrate APL devices with legacy HART devices or 20-year-old device drivers with new cross-platform systems.
Steve: Great example! It’s fantastic to see the progress, adoption, and evolution of FDT over the last 20+ years. We have 850 certified DTMs supporting over 12,000 devices now.
What are the main FDT development tools and services that you offer?
Pingsheng: M&M Software is a full-stack vendor for the FDT ecosystem. We can help you build DTMs, FDT Desktop (Frames), and FDT UE Servers. We have a rich set of tool choices for your needs, from ready-to-use OEM products to complex SDKs with maximum flexibility. Of course, we are also happy to do the complete development for customers.
Steve: M&M truly offers the whole gamut of FDT solutions and services, allowing vendor options when developing FDT solutions!
The industrial market is in the fast lane to operate more efficiently with reliable solutions supporting modern IIoT technologies. How is M&M Software helping the vendor community meet innovative manufacturing initiatives and preserve the legacy install base?
Pingsheng: M&M Software is always proactive in solving market challenges with our 20 years of experience in FDT. For example, we have developed an innovative product called M&M fdtSERVER, which bridges the gap between the legacy install base and the modern distributed cross-platform solutions.
This new solution can help system vendors bridge the IDM gap using legacy DTMs while supporting users on their journey to modern IDM solutions with cross-platform access as new web-based FDT3 DTMs emerge.
Steve: What are the current challenges in the FDT ecosystem, and how does M&M Software address them?
Pingsheng: We see two significant challenges in the FDT ecosystem: the high cost of DTM development and the scarcity of FDT3 DTMs in the early stage of FDT3. The good news is that we have a solution that can address both challenges: we offer Universal (Generic) DTMs that support all devices of a fieldbus and Interpreter DTMs that can manage any device with a DD file or FDI package, even proprietary device descriptions. Please stay tuned for our new products and solutions.
Steve: Thanks for your time today, Pingsheng. We all look forward to your new solution announcements addressing these challenges, allowing easier adoption of FDT/DTM supporting industrial device management optimization for the automation community.
For more information, please reach out to: [email protected]