Automatic translation of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) control programs in packaging machinery

Abstract

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) are key components in modern packaging automation systems. But their success has led to the presence of a broad range of brands and models, each one with its own and unique features, but also with its own environment for software development. This situation has some major drawbacks: it is very difficult to upgrade an installation by changing the PLC, maintenance costs rise with the multiplicity of PLC brands in a given factory, and production parameters must be changed when the production is changed to a machine with a different PLC. In this paper, a first step is presented to address such a situation: instead of developing the same program from scratch for each different PLC brand, a unique program is stored using the PLCopen XML standard. When the program must be ported to a given PLC, an automatic tool, the postprocessor, generates the final code that has to be downloaded to the target PLC. In this paper the PLC tool adapter is presented and an example is shown for three of the major PLC brands present in the packaging industry such as Siemens, Schneider Electric and ABB.