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Software turns controllers to safety PLC tasks

A Pilz Automation Technology product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 1, 2005

With the release of the Pilz PNOZmulti Configurator software version 4, users can create more complex safety-related control programs for execution on PNOZmulti modular controllers.

With the release of the Pilz PNOZmulti Configurator software version 4, users can create more complex safety-related control programs for execution on PNOZmulti modular controllers.

The user interface has also been improved to simplify the preparation and modification of larger programs, and the diagnostics have been enhanced to aid commissioning and troubleshooting.

Whereas the previous limit on the program size was 8Kbyte, this has been increased four-fold to 32Kbyte with the PNOZmulti Configurator v4.

This means the PNOZmulti modular safety controller is suitable for a far wider range of applications than before, potentially replacing some costly safety PLC applications for relatively complex safety control tasks.

Using version 4 of the drag-and-drop configuration software, up to 253 connections can be made.

To put this into context, one emergency stop function block in the program is counted as one connection, regardless of how many times the block is linked to other function blocks.

253 connections therefore enables relatively sophisticated control systems to be programmed with ease.

To enable larger programs to be managed more easily, the number of pages permitted in a program is increased from 20 to 75, and the pages can now be accessed in a similar way to sheets on an Excel spreadsheet - rather than being all on one screen that has to be scrolled up and down.

In addition, new sheets can be inserted at the appropriate place, which makes writing new programs and modifying existing programs considerably easier.

Another improvement to the user interface is the way the page layout is now configurable so that the number of rows and columns can be increased from three rows and six columns to a maximum of five rows and eight columns.

Not only does this make the program easier to visualise and its development more intuitive, but it also reduces the number of flags and markers required.

Further enhancements to the programming side of the Configurator include function blocks for mechanical power press and press safety valve (PSV) applications (for use with the PNOZ m2p press control unit and PNOZ mo3p dual-pole output module, respectively).

Also the communications modules - for Profibus, DeviceNet, Interbus, CANopen and CC-Link - are now capable of two-way communications.

As a result reset signals, for example, can be delivered via the fieldbus, rather than by being wired directly to one of the PNOZmulti inputs.

To further improve the versatility of the programming, logical NOT functions can now be added to any input, which means that a NOT function can be added to the individual inputs or, if required, to the whole function block.

Moreover, the logical AND function can now have one input from a standard control input - such as a reset switch.

Nonetheless, the benefits of the new Configurator release do not end with the programmer and system builder.

Diagnostics are considerably improved thanks to the way data word information can now be accessed, which gives far more detailed information for troubleshooting than was available with version 3 of the Configurator.

This helps to reduce the time required for commissioning and, of course, the time to identify problems and rectify them so as to minimise plant downtime.

The Pilz PNOZmulti Configurator version 4 is available now, priced GBP 160.92.

A demonstration copy of the software is available for free from the downloads section of the Pilz website.