Industrial IDE Smart Object Allocation Across Multiple Controllers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial control program development platforms require initial binding to a specific industrial controller, limiting flexibility and scalability, as they support a one-to-one relationship between a control project and its associated controller, making it difficult to deploy control programs across multiple controllers without prior hardware implementation determination.
Innovation Solution
An integrated development environment (IDE) system that allows for decoupled development of industrial control programs by defining and storing them as smart objects, which can be allocated to multiple industrial controllers, enabling a one-to-many relationship and facilitating reuse across different automation systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a control project is bound to a single industrial controller at the beginning of development, then the project structure is simple and easy to manage, but the flexibility and scalability are limited when deploying to multiple controllers
Solution Approach 1:
The control program is segmented into reusable smart objects that can be independently allocated to multiple controllers. This allows the project to maintain a simple structure while enabling flexible deployment by breaking down the control logic into modular, allocatable units.
Solution Approach 2:
Smart objects are designed to be universal and controller-agnostic, capable of being allocated to any controller in the project. This multi-functionality allows a single control program to serve multiple controllers without requiring separate project bindings for each controller.
2Reliability
If control programs are developed for specific hardware implementations, then the control logic is optimized for particular controllers, but the ability to reuse across different automation systems is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Control programs are created as reusable templates or smart objects that can be copied and allocated to multiple controllers. This allows the optimized control logic to be reused across different automation systems while maintaining the benefits of hardware-specific optimization through selective allocation.
Solution Approach 2:
Control programs are developed and optimized in advance as smart objects before being allocated to specific controllers. This preliminary development allows for thorough optimization and testing, while the subsequent allocation process enables easy reuse across multiple systems without redevelopment.
3Ease of operation
If multiple separate projects are created for different controllers, then each controller can be managed independently, but the workflow efficiency and centralized management capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple controller definitions are merged into a single project environment, allowing independent management of each controller while maintaining centralized project-level control. This consolidation improves workflow efficiency by enabling unified project management, shared smart object libraries, and coordinated deployment across all controllers from a single interface.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports decoupled development of industrial control programs without requiring the programs to be initially bound to a specific industrial controller. The IDE system allows industrial control programs to be defined as smart objects within an industrial control project. These smart objects can be created without an initial binding to an industrial controller, and can subsequently be assigned to selected industrial controllers after development of the control programs is complete, or while program development is in progress. A smart object can be reused and deployed to multiple industrial controllers, providing a simple means to implement common control functionality on multiple different automation systems. To allow for deployment of smart objects to selected controllers, the IDE system supports creation of a control project having a one-to-many relationship with industrial controllers, such that multiple controllers can be defined within a single project.