October 2020

Welcome to the PLCopen® electronic newsletter.

For comments or additional information check either www.PLCopen.org or send an email to Wendelien@PLCopen.org.
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PLCopen Newsletter - Issue October 2020

  1. PLCopen opens YouTube channel
  2. PLCopen & OPC Foundation web meeting November 2
  3. PLCopen Safety - new activities planned on User Guidelines and SafeMotion
  4. New PLCopen Motion Control certifications
  5. PLCopen supports Digital JAI 2020 in Spain
  6. PLCopen joins Partner Program of PACK EXPO Connect

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1. PLCopen opens YouTube channel

To make the abundant PLCopen information also available in video format, aimed at a different audience also, PLCopen has started a YouTube channel. Besides an initial set of movies, the idea is to publish one on a regular basis like every month. We will keep you informed on the publication of new movies. The first PLCopen movies available are:

  • Introduction on PLCopen
  • The Need for Software Structuring
  • Structuring Software Development: 7 steps to success
  • PLCopen Motion Control
  • PLCopen Compliant Libraries
  • (soon) PLCopen Motion Control examples

You will find the videos on: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2V6LB7hSiEnvbTNhijUGg

We hope you will enjoy watching these videos and that they will show you on how to become more efficient in your automation.

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2. PLCopen & OPC Foundation web meeting November 2

After the release of both the Server and Client functionalities, we are now planning the next steps.

As a kick-off, the joint working group of PLCopen and OPC Foundation will (virtually) meet again on Monday November 2 from 3pm - 5pm CET.

The topics of this web meeting are:

  • Intro & Overview
    History, Status, Certification, Adoption by vendors and other organizations
  • OPC UA client for IEC61131-3
    Roadmap (B&R proposal for Errata and for PubSub)
  • OPC 30000 - UA Companion Specification for PLCopen IEC61131-3 Model
    Status v1.02 & Roadmap

If you have input for this meeting and/or are interested to join this working group please contact me.

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3. PLCopen Safety - new activities planned on User Guidelines and SafeMotion

With the update of Part 1 of the PLCopen Safety specification, both the language Structured Text, ST, was introduced, as well as a harmonization of the Reset behaviour of the function blocks.

Now it is time to reflect this in Part 2 – User Guidelines. For this I want to hold a regular webmeeting to update the existing version, that is of course available at the PLCopen website.
I would like to investigate if there are readers that have feedback, examples, or remarks to contribute to this activity. If so, let me know via email.

Also, we have specified in the past the SafeMotion document with a focus on the safety functions calculated in the drives activated by the safety application using SF_SafetyRequest.

We had also foreseen the next step: safety functions calculated in the safety application based on the data via safe networks. An overview over the drive safety functions can be found in IFA report 7/2013.

I want to investigate the potential participants to define the relevant safe motion PLCopen FBs. If you are interested, let me know.

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4. New PLCopen Motion Control certifications

We are glad to announce that one of our members has been awarded the PLCopen Motion Control certificate:

  • Kingstar for version 4.0 of their product KINGSTAR (PLCopen Motion Control Part 1 and 4).

This brings the total number of certified companies to 30 and of certified products to 67.

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5. PLCopen supports Digital JAI 2020 in Spain

The 8th Congress on Technologies and Solutions for Industrial Automation (called JAI in Spain) will be virtual from October 26-30.

The conference program focuses on different aspects related to industry 4.0 and includes topics such as robotics, automation, internet of things, industrial communication, communication protocols, security, and energy efficiency.

More info on: http://digitaljai.uvigo.es/

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6. PLCopen joins Partner Program of PACK EXPO Connects

PLCopen is an official partner of PACK EXPO Connects. We will be exhibiting and supporting our members and hope you join us and thousands of packaging and processing professionals from November 9-13.

4 trend-based reasons to attend:

  • Discover New Technology
  • Find Sustainable Solutions
  • Access to Industry Experts
  • Get New Ideas from Other Industries

Bill Lydon, the Director of PLCopen North America will be available for live chats during the event.

Please be sure to visit our virtual showroom and register today for free.

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