The umati (universal machine tool interface) interface is based on the OPC Unified Architecture data exchange standard and is designed to enable machine tools and peripherals to exchange standardized data with a central server. The standard has been under development since 2017, under the leadership of the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) , with today 90 project partners from all over the world. The final specification is scheduled to be available from mid 2020 as an open, license-free standard. umati will be used to continuously update a multitude of status data from the relevant connected machines with a frequency of one second: uniform identification, machine tool operating status, production order information, program progress, forecasts on user interactions, error messages and warnings, as well as supply information on energy and material.

At EMO Hannover 2019 , 70 international companies connected their machines via 28 different controllers to a common server via umati. Since the final standard is not yet available, there are currently no products with umati interfaces on the market.