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Advantech Picks Copa-Data for ’SCADA logic’

ControlGlobal.com
07/10/2008

By Andrew Bonds, Industrial Automation Insider

The latest coup from innovative Austrian SCADA developer Copa-Data is to have its zenon SCADA package and its associated straton soft logic application integrated with the ADAM-5550 Programmable Application Controller (PAC) from Taiwanese hardware vendor Advantech. The ADAM-5550CE CPU module provides USB ports, RS-232/485 communication ports, dual 10/100Mbs Ethernet ports and an x86 compatible 500Mhz CPU with a local VGA interface for an HMI. As a PAC, as distinct from a PLC, it can serve multiple domains and handle complex control requirements, high speed analogue measurement, multiple programs with different cycle times, open communication functions and enterprise-level network integration.

‘SCADA logic’

The integration of straton into zenon on the Advantech hardware creates a SCADA system with integrated PLC logic which has been dubbed ‘SCADA logic’. Straton was developed by Copa-Data’s French subsidiary COPALP, whose team includes many of the original developers of the ISaGRAF automation software programming package now marketed by ICS Triplex ISaGRAF. Not surprisingly, therefore, it is compliant with IEC 61131-3, and the program interface supports all five IEC-defined languages as well as all current fieldbus systems. Running on the ADAM-5550CE real-time implementation of Windows CE, it is described as being “innately guaranteed that the straton runtime process is executed deterministically.”

Integration of the straton-CE 256 Tags Image for ADAM-5550CE into the ADAM-5550 WIN CE 5.0 image allows straton to call the ADAM-5550 configuration tool and hence enable easy setting of the configuration table for the different I/O modules. A stand-alone version of the straton workbench is also available for developers who only need to build soft logic applications. Users can choose straton workbench stand-alone versions limited to 64,128 or 256 I/O as required.

Intriguing conundrum

This latest move from Copa-Data poses an intriguing conundrum to solutionsPT, the U.K. and Ireland Wonderware distributor formerly known as Pantek, which goes to market as Wonderware UK and Wonderware Ireland. Its hardware division, hardwarePT, is an Advantech eAutomation Premier Partner and can therefore offer Wonderware/Advantech combinations. Whether it will be offering the ADAM-5550CE with embedded zenon and straton is not clear. The situation is given added piquancy by the fact that Copa-Data UK is headed up by former Pantek technical director Duncan Fletcher.