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The Suite Smell of Success
Date: 09 November 2011
The advent of "automation suite" platforms that integrate software tools with hardware components for motion control, machine I/O, communications and HMIs, is helping automation system designers to create high-performance, motion-centric machines with considerable benefits.
These systems are already providing faster times to
market and reduced development costs for OEMs and for end-users in
both the industrial and research sectors.
As they continue to develop into the future, we can expect further
increases in machine performance for faster production throughput
and improved quality, as well as much more autonomy, ease of
operation and a reduced knowledge transfer burden for the final
customer.
In the world of automation, an increasing number of large-scale
processing machinery and laboratory applications are
motion-centric, comprising large numbers of motion axes with
motors, drives and motion controls that link with PCs or PLCs for
machine I/O and sensor processing, and with HMIs for parameter
setting. All of these items are tied together via
communications busses and so forth.
Automation suite machine controls bring all of these elements
together under a single integrated development environment with the
resulting user application deployed on a runtime engine that itself
runs on a PC-based hardware controller programming
environment.
The motion programming is typically rendered with high-level or
graphical software and the machine functions integrated using
industry-standard IEC 61131-3 programming constructs. Graphical
programming has the advantage of using drag-and-drop function
blocks for common motion tasks such as line shaft or electronic
gearbox synchronisation, where the functions and axis relationships
are easily defined. Not only does this visual method make
programming easier to perform, but development can accelerate, and
the transferability of the program is easier further down the line
when the machine is handed to the customer. Programming languages
like PLCopen also help to make motion programming more universally
understood by a wider user audience.
Beyond the motion aspects of the machine, other functions such as
I/O and HMI programming are made easier with the IEC61131-3
environment. Features such as reusable components and templates,
which can be customised and used across different machines or
automation systems, enable scalability. Language interchangeability
allows easy conversion between programming language such as ladder
or structured text. Programmers can develop different parts of a
machine using their preferred language and the overall machine
program can be converted to a single language.
These features are further enhanced by modules that include
debugging support and set-up programs that fine-tune performance
and speed commissioning. Simulation modules can also aid
development by offline verification of single or combined
processes. The same feature is also useful to determine which
hardware components might be needed for an application - even
providing a fast and sure method for proposals and quotations. User
documentation also flows easily from the programming modules and,
of course, online help and troubleshooting is an integral part of
automation suites.
Finally, these control elements can be complemented by linear
and/or rotary servomotors and servodrives, along with gearboxes and
standard or custom-built positioning slides to provide complete,
ready-to-run motion sub-systems from one source.
This concept is already bringing multiple advantages to complex
motion and automation projects. My prediction for the future is
that even more capable and tightly integrated automation suite
functions will enhance the development of ever-more autonomous and
sophisticated production machinery.