Software puts PLC controls though their paces

Purpose-built software for offline logic controls testing helps users to reduce on-site commissioning time, improve control system quality, accelerate ramp to full production and reduce project costs.

Available from Emulate3D, the Demo3D range of products is focused on the requirements of those involved in specifying, manufacturing, or selling a wide range of conveyor and other materials handling systems.

Now the company has extended the Demo3D range to include OPC connectivity, allowing users to reduce commissioning time and costs with Demo3D Offline PLC Controls Testing.

Demo3D PLC Controls Testing is the only purpose-built solution for offline logic controls testing.

Users can reduce on-site commissioning time, improve control system quality, accelerate ramp to full production and reduce project costs.

Offline PLC controls testing can take a significant portion of the logical system testing off the critical path, reducing pressure at the commissioning phase, and shortening it.

A control system reads inputs and modifies outputs in response.

By replacing the actual mechanical material handling system with an accurate model capable of providing the exact same inputs to the control system, several attractive possibilities arise.

Testing can be started before the actual system exists.

Parallel tests may be made with identical models running simultaneously.

Testing can continue during system build and after handover.

Testing may be more exhaustive than would otherwise be possible.

System ramp time can be significantly reduced.

Operators may be trained prior to system start up.

Commissioning times become more predictable.

And commissioning costs may be significantly reduced.

Offline controls testing requires a materials handling model built with system elements that match the behaviour of the real thing.

Demo3D is the only industrial modelling system designed to treat product movement realistically, which uniquely qualifies it for this task.

Demo3D products are the first to introduce real physics movements into their technology, creating hyper-realistic systems where boxes and other loads behave as you would expect them to, increasing the level of believability of the models.

Demo3D is used to build dynamic 3D models of conveyor, AS/RS and other materials handling systems from catalogues of elemental parts, create product flows, and describe the system flow logic.

The rigid body dynamics calculations produce captivatingly credible representations of product and equipment behaviour, helping the viewer to concentrate on the system operation.

Boxes rebound from each other, pallets tilt on transfers, and the use of friction coefficients on transfer surfaces ensures the modelled experience is as close to the real thing as possible.

As Demo3D models can be assembled rapidly from standard catalogue items, the products are ideal for creating presales demonstration models, and creating stills and movie files of these is easily done.

To help reduce presales costs further a 2D DXF layout plan can also be generated from a Demo3D model, along with a bill of materials file containing a price and a description of each of the standard items used in the model.

Demo3D imports Autodesk Inventor files, VRML, and DXF among others, and outputs to DXF, VRML and AutoMod.

Anyone who has ever tried using flow simulation products to carry out controls testing will know that because simulation products reduce reality in order to run quickly, they often require much extra work to make them "emulation-ready", significantly reducing the cost-effectiveness of the solution.

Although some simulation products allow the accurate modelling of material handling systems, they were designed for a different purpose and are not suitable for PLC controls testing.

Functionally exact and highly realistic Demo3D models can be rapidly assembled from catalogue elements, then connected simply to PLCs (programmable logic controllers) via OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control) in order to test the logical operation of the control program before the system is built on site.

Rather than wait until you get on site to fully test the logical operation of the PLC controls, you can connect the PLC control system to the various elements in the Demo3D model, such as photo eyes, motors, diverts and merges, barcode readers, and so on.

Because Demo3D elements can be as complex or as simple as you require them to be, catalogue elements can be "controls testing ready", with only their I/O to be connected.

Demo3D's PLC Controls Testing was specifically designed to be quick and easy to use, and it offers the full modelling power of Demo3D Enterprise.

As the only industrial modelling product to include real physics calculations for rigid body dynamics behaviour, Demo3D is disruptive technology at its most compelling.

The Demo3D product range is distributed and supported worldwide by a network of independent distributors and resellers, and UK-based Emulate3D manages and develops this network.

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