On the path towards Industry 4.0, the PLC is increasingly growing beyond its original role as a local or delimited controller and is taking on edge computing tasks such as communication with a cloud or an ERP system. This expands the scope of IEC 61131-3 programming and runtime software for classic PLCs: it must map the further development of the PLC into an edge device and in turn become the basis for corresponding functions.

"The Codesys Automation Server as a supplement to our IEC 61131-3 automation software Codesys takes this into account: it is a cloud-based Industry 4.0 server platform for the central coordination of globally distributed controllers," explains Roland Wagner, Head of Product Marketing at the Codesys Group. "Users can quickly gain an overview of their control landscape, easily keep their controllers up to date and quickly integrate additional controllers. It also helps with recording and analyzing process data and events in the cloud."

New to PLC Connect in Codesys Automation Server is an optimized list view that shows a lot of information about integrated devices at a glance. The new Data Analyzer opens up integrated options for data analysis and recording: PLC data can be graphically processed in the web interface in various views and using numerous elements. Responsive design optimizes the display for different devices.

Many new features

Roland Wagner, Head of Product Marketing at 3S Smart Software Solutions

© 3S Smart Software Solutions

The data collected in this way can be post-processed by the automation engineer within the analyzer using almost any algorithm or exported for use in other systems. The configuration of the Edge Gateway as an interface between the secure control network and the cloud-based server has been fundamentally simplified.
An independent service tool is now also available that enables configuration even without the Codesys Development System. Because the business model for the Codesys Automation Server has been changed in the meantime, users with a basic setup can use or test all functions permanently free of charge. A scalable subscription model is available for commercially used applications.

Codesys-based devices can be expanded with an OPC UA server and a suitable OPC UA client. Users can now access a project example as a template for their own applications so that they can use the client without any problems. A new feature is a library for communication in accordance with the OPC UA PubSub standard. If it is installed and licensed in a compatible device, it can be used to exchange messages (NetworkMessages) via the UDP protocol. The user uses the library's function blocks in the PLC application to send (Publisher) and receive (Subscriber) the data and to configure the communication - a sample project makes it easy to get started. The blocks are executed cyclically by a PLC or background task. Almost all functions provide additional diagnostic information that can be queried at runtime in the application or by the user via visualization.

When implementing Codesys OPC UA PubSub, the Codesys Group ensured that additional protocols and TSN/FLC can be integrated and supported. In the future, in addition to data exchange between controllers, real-time communication between PLCs and compatible I/O devices will also be possible. To use the library, Codesys-compatible devices must have an implemented system library for socket access to Ethernet and offer the option of storing licenses in a corresponding container. All Soft PLC systems in the Codesys Store fulfill these requirements and can therefore be used immediately for data exchange via PubSub.