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Walk onto any modern factory floor, and you'll see the same problem everywhere:
machines that can't communicate with each other. Not because they're broken, but
because they speak different languages.
Your CNC machine from 2024 speaks MTConnect. Your robot from 2015 uses
Ethernet/IP. Those vibration sensors scattered around? MQTT, if you are lucky,
proprietary with an API from their cloud-based software most likely. And that one
critical piece of equipment that absolutely cannot be replaced? Still running OPC-
DA on a Windows 7 box that IT prays doesn't crash.
Welcome to protocol chaos, the invisible barrier keeping your factory data trapped
in silos.
The Gateway Trap
Traditional integration vendors have a solution for this: gateways. Lots of them.
Need to connect Modbus to OPC-UA? That's one gateway. Ethernet/IP to your
database? Another gateway. MQTT to your MES system? You guessed it, another
gateway.
Before you know it, you're managing a dozen different gateway devices, each with
its own configuration, maintenance requirements, and failure points. Your "simple"
integration project becomes a complex web of intermediary systems. And when
something breaks at 2 AM, good luck figuring out which gateway is causing the
problem.
The alternative? Accept that some equipment will remain invisible. That critical
machine data you need for predictive maintenance? Sorry, it speaks a protocol
your system doesn't support. Those quality metrics from your newest equipment?
They'll stay isolated on a local display.
Neither option is acceptable in 2026.
Universal Connectivity Without Compromise
DIME takes a different approach: native support for 50+ industrial protocols out of
the box.
Connect your Modicon controller from 1983 alongside your Allen-Bradley
Ethernet/IP PLC’s from 2024. Pull data from Fanuc robots, Haas CNC machines, and
Beckhoff PLCs using the same platform. Stream MQTT sensor data while querying
SQL databases and calling REST APIs, all through one unified configuration
approach.
The DIME platform handles industrial workhorses like OPC-UA, OPC-DA, Modbus TCP/RTU, and Ethernet/IP. It speaks modern IoT languages like MQTT, SparkplugB, and WebSocket. It includes manufacturing-specific connectors for MTConnect.
Learn more: www.sms-inc.net/dime
