Design and Implementation of an MTP Gateway for the Integration of Brownfield Assets into Modular Production Environments

The transition towards Industry 4.0 and Modular Production is often hindered by the prevalence of "Brownfield" assets—legacy industrial machinery that lacks the native connectivity and standardized interfaces required by modern orchestration systems. Replacing this functional equipment is often economically unsustainable. This thesis proposes and validates a software-based solution to this challenge: the creation of a "Module Type Package (MTP) Gateway." Using the Zenon Software Platform and its OpenDCS framework, a "Digital Wrapper" was engineered for a legacy material handling unit ("Selector Machine") controlled by a proprietary Beckhoff TwinCAT PLC. The gateway architecture was designed to decouple the machine's physical hardware from the supervisory control system. It utilizes the TwinCAT ADS protocol for low latency "Southbound" communication with the legacy hardware and an OPC UA Server for "Northbound" communication, strictly adhering to the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 standard. The implementation involved the definition of MTP Data Assemblies, the modeling of Service State Machines using IEC 61131-3 logic, and the automated generation of the MTP Manifest. The solution was validated in a professional engineering testbed. Results confirm that the gateway successfully translates standardized commands from a Process Orchestration Layer (POL) into machine-specific binary signals with a total system latency of less than 50ms. This study demonstrates that a Logic Gateway approach effectively bridges the gap between legacy automation and smart manufacturing, enabling "Plug & Produce" capabilities without invasive hardware modifications.