The History of PowerPLC Bridge® - The Soft-PLC Created by CJB

Introduction

PowerPLC-Bridge® is a Soft-PLC design system consisting of two parts: the Development Environment and the Run-Time. The Development Environment operates on Windows-based systems (x86~x64) and is the tool that enables the design, debugging, and full simulation of applications. The Run-Time is the actual engine of the application, installed on the “target” hardware, which is the system that will handle automation. The Run-Time is available for all CJB hardware. Programming is done using IEC-1131-3 standard languages, and it is possible to integrate the Run-Time with proprietary applications on the target. Upon request, CJB provides libraries to connect custom software to the PowerPLC-Bridge® Run-Time.

The PC hosting the Development Environment is connected to the target system via Ethernet TCP/IP. In the case of distributed applications, the same Ethernet network connects various controllers to multiple instances of the programming software, enabling real-time overall system debugging. This allows the Development Environment to “see” the application as a single program, even if it is distributed across different targets. This feature is crucial for certain applications, such as Building Automation or the management of complex assembly and processing lines.

How PowerPLC-Bridge® Was Created

In the early 2000s, CJB’s software department was engaged in numerous projects for control and industrial automation systems, where writing software required in-depth knowledge of the operating system (Linux Embedded/Real-Time, QNX, Windows) but, above all, proficiency in programming languages (C, C++, etc.).

We quickly realized that the main time-consuming factor in application development was not so much writing the software but debugging it.

Thus, driven by both customer requests and an internal analysis by our software department, we designed a development environment focused on debugging, simulation, and fast development.

While much larger companies were developing their SoftPLC applications for commercial use, CJB focused the design of PowerPLC-Bridge® on accelerating software development and simplifying debugging.

Additionally, PowerPLC-Bridge® architecture allows for easy remote connection to machines where it is installed, ensuring remote program verification and real-time analysis of implemented functionalities.

Architecture

The PowerPLC-Bridge® Run-Time resides in the hardware that manages the system’s automation (the “logic”), known as the “target.”

The application is written in the development environment on a PC and then downloaded to the target, where the Run-Time executes it.

During execution, functional checks and debugging can be performed both locally and remotely by connecting the development environment to the target.

At all times, the application writes to and reads from state variables through shared memory.

This operation is crucial because another concurrent application, such as the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) management, can display states and data on the screen simply by reading the shared memory and can also update variables in response to operator commands (e.g., touch inputs).

This four-layer architecture (Run-Time, logic application, shared memory, HMI) is another advantage in simplifying projects, their simulation, debugging, and ultimately achieving a faster setup.

PowerPLC-Bridge® Today

Around the world, there are tens of thousands of CJB software applications designed with PowerPLC-Bridge®. They can be found in professional ovens, refrigerators, vending machines, electric vehicle charging stations, complex assembly lines, industrial systems, and more.

Some of our clients have chosen to learn how to use PowerPLC-Bridge independently after recognizing its capabilities.

PowerPLC-Bridge® is continuously evolving and currently runs on ARM processors (NXP family), microcontrollers, and x86/x64 PC systems.