System and method for operating a stencil printer

1. A material applicator, comprising:

a printing device configured to deposit viscous material upon a circuit board; and

a controller operatively coupled to the printing device and configured to control a plurality of system components including:

an operating system component configured to operate the printing device; and

a remote interface component configured to exchange printer operation data between the operating system component and at least one plug-in application configured to extend capabilities of the operating system component, wherein the material applicator includes one of a stencil printer configured to deposit viscous material upon a circuit board and a dispensing machine configured to deposit the viscous material upon the circuit board,

wherein the controller is configured to manage operation of at least one function of the material applicator using a portion of the printer operation data to be received from the at least one plug-in application, and

wherein the controller is further configured to arbitrate the exchange of the printer operation data between the operating system component and the at least one plug-in application.

2. The material applicator of claim 1 , wherein the remote interface component is further configured to exchange the printer operation data with the at least one plug-in application using remote procedure calls (RPC).

3. The material applicator of claim 2 , wherein the remote interface component includes a plurality of predefined printer functions.

4. The material applicator of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of predefined printer functions includes at least one of a printer start function, a printer stop function, a printer pause function, a printer configuration function and a printer status function.

5. The material applicator of claim 1 , further comprising a network interface operatively connected to the controller and configured to be connected to a communication network.

6. The material applicator of claim 5 , wherein the at least one plug-in application resides on at least one remote computer connected to the communication network.

7. The material applicator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of system components further includes a license component configured to process a license key associated with the at least one plug-in application.

8. The material applicator of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to execute the operating system component independently of the remote interface component.

9. A method of operating a material applicator, the method comprising:

establishing at least one virtual connection between the material applicator and at least one computer over a communication network operatively connected to the material applicator;

exchanging, through the at least one virtual connection and in real time, printer operation data between the material applicator and at least one plug-in application configured to execute on the at least one computer,

wherein the material applicator includes one of a stencil printer configured to deposit viscous material upon a circuit board and a dispensing machine configured to deposit the viscous material upon the circuit board;

managing operation of at least one function of the material applicator using a portion of the printer operation data to be received from the at least one plug-in application; and

arbitrating the exchange of the printer operation data between the operating system component and the at least one plug-in application.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one function includes at least one of a printer start function, a printer stop function, a printer pause function, a printer configuration function and a printer status function.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one plug-in application includes at least two plug-in applications, and wherein the method further comprises arbitrating the exchange of the printer operation data between the material applicator and each of the at least two plug-in applications.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein arbitrating includes restricting the management of the operation of the at least one function of the material applicator to one of the at least two plug-in applications.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising limiting an amount of the printer operation data exchanged between the material applicator and the at least one plug-in application based on a frequency of requests for printer operation data by the at least one plug-in application.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein exchanging the printer operation data includes executing at least one remote procedure call (RPC).

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising processing a license key associated with the at least one plug-in application.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising limiting the exchange of the printer operation data with a respective one of the at least one plug-in application based on the license key.

17. The method of claim 9 , further comprising adjusting at least one operational parameter of the material applicator based on a portion of the printer operation data to be received from the at least one plug-in application.

18. The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing a set of predefined printer functions configured to extend capabilities of the material applicator to the at least one plug-in application.