Many users of inexpensive soft logic control and HMI software feel they must sacrifice performance because they cannot afford high-end factory automation software suites. Opto 22 is addressing this market with substantial improvements to their ioControl automation and data acquisition software and ioDisplay HMI software.
ioControl is a flowchart-based control programming package that allows users to develop control and data acquisition applications. Version 2.0 is designed for use with Opto 22's Snap Ultimate I/O system, and the software is included with the Snap Ultimate processor. It can also be downloaded at no charge from the Opto 22 web site.
"Control engineers can program with an extensive, self-documenting, plain-English command set or use a powerful, built-in scripting language for math, conditional branching, string handling, and other complex functions," says David Hill, Opto 22 technical marketing specialist.
A major enhancement to this new version is the addition of PID control. ioControl 2.0 supports four major algorithms for PID control--velocity, parallel, ISA, and interactive--and also allows multiple algorithms to run simultaneously. "Most competitive products support two or at most three PID algorithms," adds Hill.
Another major addition is the ability to create subroutines. The package also lets users create breakpoints in subroutines for easier debugging and allows subroutines to call other subroutines during execution.
Other new features include compatibility with Windows XP and new FTP capabilities. The latter lets users upload and download large amounts of data to and from an FTP server in easy-to-use file formats. For example, users can upload data (like string, integer, and float tables) as text files to an FTP server or download these files for execution by the Snap Ultimate I/O brain.
"Combined, all the new features and functionality of ioControl 2.0 allow users greater programming versatility and significant reductions in their control program development time," according to Hill.
In addition to ioControl 2.0, the company is introducing ioDisplay 2.0, a $99 HMI package for developing operator interfaces that run on Windows-based clients communicating with the Snap Ultimate I/O system. Users can create their own graphical user interfaces using original or pre-existing commands, symbols, and bitmaps. The revision includes enhanced security features that enable assignment of individual or group-level access to operator-driven dynamic attributes.
For more information call 800/321-OPTO or see
