What’s PowerPLC-Bridge®

“Soft-PLC” and “Soft-Motion” mean an ensemble of software modules which turn a very common PC into a PLC and Axes-Controller. So you cast the simplicity of programming of a commercial PLC with the high-standard, high-connectivity, high-performance features given by a PC.

PowerPLC-Bridge® is both a Soft-PLC and a Soft-Motion. It's the programming tool which lets you design very complex and powerful control systems, and can do the most performing real-time applications. PowerPLC-Bridge® also allows programming and managing axes movements, with interpolation, thanks to its sophisticated axes-control functions.

SOFTWARE

PowerPLC-Bridge® is a Soft-PLC & Soft-Motion application design tool, made of two parts: the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the Run-Time kernel. The IDE runs on Windows-based systems (x86~x64) and it’s the main tool which has to be used for designing and debugging the application software. The Run-Time is the true “engine” of the control system, once you install it on the “target” platform, that is the hardware which will manage the control application. The Run-Time is currently available for the following operating systems: Windows (XP, 7, CE), QNX and Linux with RTAI (real-time) extension. Programming in the IDE is made using the standard languages of the IEC-1131-3, and on the target system you can also integrate the Run-Time with proprietary application software. CJB® can deliver, upon request, libraries which allow an easy link of your s/w to the PowerPLC-Bridge® Run-Time. The PC used as IDE is connected to the Target system through Ethernet TCP/IP. In case of distributed multiple-target applications, the same Ethernet connection will connect all the different targets and the programmer can “see” one application only, like a unique application program, where each target will automatically know the statuses of the other nodes. This is a fundamental feature, for example, in high-demanding Building-Automation applications.

HARDWARE

PowerPLC-Bridge® transforms a PC-based system into a full-featured controller. CJB® can also deliver the h/w system ready to run as a powerful (fanless) control target system. This is made of:

• An Industrial PC with a wide range of processors’ choices and all the typical interfaces of a PC (LAN, FlashDisk, SSD, COM ports 232/422/485, PCI, PCIe, ISA expansion slots, etc.);
• Addon cards like interfaces for FieldBuses (CANbus, PROFIbus, etc.);
• Axes-Control interface cards (to drive analog motion drives, with onboard encoder inputs, DAC outputs, general purpose I/O)
• Custom designed interface boards

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

PowerPLC-Bridge® is a SoftPLC which commits all requirements of IEC-1131-3 programming standard. Supported Languages are:

• Structured Text (ST): high level language which resembles Pascal
• Instruction List (IL): low level text language like Assembler
• Ladder Diagrams (LD): is the evolution of electrical schematics, giving a contact-like programming method
• Function Block Diagram (FBD): graphic language where signals are processed through “blocks” which perform specific (usually complex) actions
• Sequential Function Chart (SFC): graphic language alike Petri’s networks, used to organize the program structure . Available in PowerPLC-Bridge® only for alphanumeric char programming

ADVANTAGES OF POWERPLC

• Dramatically reduces application’s development & maintenance time
• Gives top flexibility and makes you 100% sure to solve all your problems without compromising the architecture of the system, hence its toughness
• For axes control functions it allows the management of analog & digital motion drives (brushless, CANopen DS402, EtherCAT®)
• For I/O functions allows to manage different field-bus systems: CANopen, EtherCAT, DeviceNET, ModBus-TCP, ModBus-RTU, Profibus, etc.
• The Run-Time can run in hard-real-time environments like RTAI-Linux or QNX®, or soft-real-time like Windows® CE, but also in non-real-time environments like Windows® XP/Vista/7, so you can choose the best os according to your real-time needs
• With just one PC you can integrate all the features of: a PLC, an Axes-Motion-Controller, a Temperature Regulator, measurement System and HMI graphic interface
• The Motion Control features are quite flexible and sophisticated
• The Run-Time  HMI interface becomes simplified: you can use a commercial SCADA (and PowerPLC-Bridge® will give you the OPC-Server support); or you can develop your own HMI application (and we’ll give you the suitable interface libraries).

AN OPEN SYSTEM

PowerPLC-Bridge® is an open system but with top standardization grade. The h/w platform (target system) is a de-facto standard (Industrial PC) and the o.s. is also a standard (Windows, Linux, QNX).

The I/O is commercially available: CANbus, EtherCAT, Modubus, ProfiBus modules are all available from the market.

Communication towards super-visor systems and HMI follow the most diffused standards: ModBus, 3964R, OPC-Server.

APPLICATION EXAMPLES

PLC
PowerPLC-Bridge® allows the management of industrial & machine processes, even complex, with top flexibility and high grade of reliability.

AXES CONTROL
Axes-Control, which is integrated in PowerPLC-Bridge®, is highly sophisticated and also very quick:

• Allows management of Analog & Digital motion drives
• Has a very high speed for the regulation loop (analog drives)
• Has notch filter, which can be activated for any branch of the regulation system
• Can interpolate in the 3D space, for linear, circular or helical motions
• Cycloid and linear acceleration ramps
• Compensating algorithms for hydraulic systems
• Axes visual follow-up and axes motion debug.

TEMPERATURE REGULATION
PowerPLC-Bridge® is used in critical epitaxial silicon wafer manufacturing which are then used for power MOS-FET devices. PowerPLC-Bridge® can regulate the heating-up and temperature maintenance of the quartz chamber (inside which wafers are doped), with a tight temperature regulation around 1000ºC within a few tenths of degree range.

MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
PowerPLC-Bridge® is used as supervising system for solar panel plants, to control the energy production process and check plant parameters. Again, PowerPLC-Bridge® is used to measure the current in arc welders for coil terminals, in process manufacturing of such devices. Possible applications are almost infinite.

HMI TERMINAL – MAN-MACHINE INTERFACES
PowerPLC-Bridge® allows you to interface with many HMI software solutions. You can design the HMI application using a commercial SCADA tool, or you can design your own HMI application using VB or C++. In all such cases CJB will give you the libraries (dll’s) which make easy any access to the RunTime variables of PowerPLC-Bridge®. Or we give you standard support as OPC-Server.

WHY USE PowerPLC-Bridge®?

For some very good reasons:

1. Speeds up development, debug & maintenance timings of the software
2. Gives top flexibility with no compromises of the application reliability
3. Gives top functional integration
4. Gives top flexibility thanks to its multi-platform Run-Time (x86, Xscale)
5. Wide range of supported protocols: CANopen, EtherCAT, DeviceNet, Modbus/TCP, Modbus/RTU, etc.
6. Real-Time debug which can be done “on the true machine”, step-by-step or source-level-control
7. OPC server for creating your HMI applications using commercial SCADA packages
8. Advanced tools for h/w simulation, even in graphic mode
9. Custom code, written in C++, can be easily integrated (“Custom Server”) and extend the features of the basic PowerPLC-Bridge® Run-Time

PowerPLC-Bridge® is the SoftPLC & SoftMotion IEC-1131-3 by CJB® which gives you all the advantages of a powerful and flexible Real-Time environment and allows easy I/O management with FieldBuses like CANopen, EtherCAT and more.

Because PowerPLC-Bridge® is truly a “bridge” between the world of commercial PLC’s and the PC world, so casting into one unique application the best features of both solutions.