PLC-PROG, a unique program for programmable controllers regardless of the trademark of the Automat

• Do you find it difficult to schedule an automaton?
• It is tedious to have to know several programming software, depending on what brand of PLC choose for your automation system?
• Do you find it difficult to integrate automation with graphic display and industrial communications?
• Do you know that there is a European standard (IEC 61131-3) which seeks to unify and facilitate the tasks of programming of programmable controllers?

A new and revolutionary idea for the programming of PLCs, developed in the 'PLC-PROG' project, funded by the European Community under the 7th programme framework was born with the idea of providing this type of tasks.

With PLC-PROG allows with an only development program any mark of automaton that fulfil the European rule IEC-61131-3.

During the last 20 years the field of the automation has suffered an incredible expansion, and almost unthinkable does so only 10 years since nowadays it is possible realise a monitoring and even the control of a factory situated to thousands of kilometres, receive in the mobile the data of the production of said factory in real time, the efficiency, the consumptions, etc. In the times that run where do not exist borders, the business competitiveness has increased a lot of and the costs have to reduce to the maximum to be able to keep in the market.

Thanks to that the programmable robots have advanced in provision and complexity, although they were conceived to substitute to the logic wired up based in the relays, timers, counters, etc. saving substantially in wired up and especially in maintenance but endowing to the installation of a greater flexibility with the only cost of the programming. The evolution in the field of the programming split from programs artesanales only comprehensible by the own programmer, which result very expensive to keep and generate a big dependency of the programmer. A modification to realise by another different person to the initial programmer is used to to end in a new complete programming. It is known that results much easier to create a new program of control that comprise and interpret a program of another author.

To day of today, the previous problem minimises in the big companies, as for example the ones of the car sector, by means of the structuring of the program of control using staff. This allows to realise an independent maintenance of the programmer.

The engineers commissioned of the automation of processes and industrial installations have to have different experts in the programming of programmable robots, according to the mark, so that the programming result optimum and efficient.

Does not know any automatic system of conversion that allow that a program of control was converted to different marks of automatons. It has to be the programmer, of manual form, the one who realise said conversion.

All the marks of automatons that bear the norm IEC-61131-3 work with the different programming languages normalised, from charts to text. The most popular and known is the designated like ‘ladder' or diagrams of contact, by his similarity to the diagrams unifilares electrical, that is the most familiar for the final user. On the other hand, it is also widely used the language of text by expert programmers by his potentiality, although this language is quite more unknown to the final user.

PLC-PROG Project Offers an only tool of programming of compatible programmable robots with the norm IEC 61131-3 to finish with the problematic of diversification of marks that exists nowadays.

This tool of programming of programmable robots pretend to be:

• Valid for all the marks of programmable robots that fulfil the norm IEC 61131-3, between which to day of today find the most extended in the market of the automation like Siemens, Telemecanique, ABB, B&R, Phoenix Contact, Beckhoff, etc. By means of this tool is not necessary to be an expert in each proprietary software of each mark, since the same project can be exported for any one of the above-mentioned marks. For this, already have developed the previous post-processors and are expanding to more marks of a simple form, even will exist an option that of automatic “form” generate you the post-processor of a specific mark.
• Based in a methodology of the graphic programming with clear analogías with the electrical physical elements that find in the installations and in the electrical pictures of said installations, of such way that the own personnel of maintenance of the installations was able to interpret, modify and even program the different manoeuvres, since said programming bases in an assembled of objects as if it was an electrical picture.

• Is not necessary to have knowledges of programming since only it needs assemble the different existent objects in the own tool, that correspond with the physical elements that exist in an electrical picture. Only in the case that need a particularización or functionality that was not already developed, realises the programming, but are special cases for expert users.

• Based in the programming oriented to objects that so good result has given in the world of the computers. The key is to create objects that asemejen to the existent electrical objects, as for example a relay, a controller PID, filters, etc. Thanks to the properties of the programming oriented to objects like the polymorphism, the inheritance, the encapsulamiento, the use of staff, etc. endows to the objects of a reusabilidad, of such form that realise them the programmers and can use them all the users.
• The monitoring and visualisation from the own tool or even from commercial packages SCADA, by means of the insertion like an object ActiveX or Applet, endow it even more if it fits of a functionality and versatilidad insuperable.

At present the project finds in the final stages of ‘Demo' or ‘Pilot test', where go to realise proofs of field with real equipment. All the proofs go to realise in installations and machinery yielded by members of the consortium of the project. The definite results of the pilot proofs as well as of the project will obtain to finals of year.