1. Introduction

The Bivrost IoT Gateway is a data-acquisition appliance installed on the factory floor. It collects data from, and transfers machining programs to, CNC machine tools, laser welders, robots, PLCs and similar equipment. One gateway can connect to and manage up to 255 devices of different brands and models, and everything is configured from a web management page in a browser, so it works out of the box.

1.1. Key Features

• Broad controller support Fanuc, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Heidenhain, Mazak, Okuma, Brother, HNC, GSK, Syntec, KND and more than 20 CNC controls in total, plus laser welders, industrial robots and mainstream PLCs; see 11.4. Supported Devices.
• Parallel acquisition from one unit One gateway polls many machines at the same time, at intervals down to the millisecond; machines can be organised into groups for aggregated part counts and OEE.
• Reliable Automatic reconnection after a dropped link and resumable program transfers; the gateway starts on power-up, with optional cluster failover.
• Multiple protocols Read and write machine data on demand over HTTP; MODBUS, MQTT and databases receive automatic data collection task results; an MCP server lets AI clients query machines directly.
• Program transfer Upload, send and back up machining programs from the web page, with a built-in toolpath viewer; see 3.9. DNC (Program Transfer).
• Analysis and monitoring Alarm, count, cycle, OEE and overall analysis, plus a live monitor of machine and group status; see 3.10. Analysis and 3.11. Monitor.

1.2. How This Manual Is Organised

The manual has two parts. Chapters 1–3 and 11–13 cover networking, the web management page and each feature, for the people who install and operate the gateway on site. Chapters 4–10 are the communication protocol reference for developers integrating MES and other applications with the gateway. For which interfaces each brand, system and model supports, see 11.4. Supported Devices and 11.5. Interface Support.

On-site use

NetworkingWhat each port is for, networking steps and network requirements.

Gateway management pageSigning in, and machine, group, task, communication and network settings.

Program transferUploading, sending and backing up machining programs.

Analysis and monitorAlarm, count, cycle and OEE analysis, and a live dashboard.

Integration

Before integrating, read 4. Protocol Conventions for the identifiers such as machineID, the data classes and the variable definitions.

HTTP CommunicationRead and write machine data, transfer files, analyse data and configure the gateway on demand.

MODBUS CommunicationThe gateway acts as a MODBUS server (port 502) and serves collection results by address.

MQTT CommunicationCollection results are published as JSON messages to an MQTT server; an RPC interface is also available.

Database CommunicationCollection results are written to InfluxDB, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and others.

MCP ServiceMachine data, analysis and gateway status exposed to AI clients as read-only tools.

Mock Machine TestingTest every protocol with a mock machine when no real machine tool is available.

Note

MODBUS, MQTT and database communication all output the results of automatic data collection tasks: first enable automatic collection for the target machine or group in 3.3.1.2. Task Settings or 3.4.1.2. Group Task Settings, enable the corresponding communication method in 3.6. Communication, then restart the service on the home page.

1.3. Quick Start

1. Wire the gateway as described in 2.1. Gateway Network: LAN1 to the machine or the acquisition network switch, LAN2 or Wi-Fi to the external network.

2. Open http://iotgw.local in a browser and sign in with the initial account admin (password admin); see 3.1. Signing In.

3. Add machines in 3.3. Machines, enable automatic collection and restart the service on the home page; with no real device at hand, start with a mock machine.

4. Confirm that machine data comes through in 3.8. API Test.

5. Enable the communication methods you need in 3.6. Communication and integrate your server application using the corresponding protocol chapter.

1.4. Reference and Help

GlossaryDefinitions and calculation of machine OEE, group OEE and group part count.

Command FormatPLC data tasks, preconditions, post-processing and other command formats.

Supported DevicesThe device types, systems and models the gateway can connect to.

FAQCommon problems when using the gateway or integrating over each protocol, and how to resolve them.

Known IssuesConfirmed issues, their impact and how to work around them.

ChangelogGateway and manual changes in each release.

When reading online, the button in the top-right corner downloads the whole manual as a PDF, and Ask AI in the bottom-right corner answers questions about its contents. For anything still unresolved, contact support.