Control program development in CPDev using SFC language, HMI and runtime environment

Abstract

The paper presents the recent approach to SFC development in CPDev engineering environment. A simple sequential tank filling control is described for reference. Using the example, a new SFC editor is presented, together with special function blocks for action management. The development process covers creating a graphical operator HMI which interacts with the SFC control part. It is also shown how the project may be simulated to detect errors. A new scalable runtime supporting large projects with multiple steps and execution paths is presented. The runtime is able to process multiple tasks at a time, so the control and HMI part are executed in parallel at the same machine sharing common variables.