Machine Control Model Development and Simulation

This is one of those posts that has had me stuck for days. I finally have to write it and move on. It is the confluence of several meetings I've had over the past couple of weeks plus a trend I've seen in digital development of control systems.

The MathWorks is a leading developer of mathematical computing tools. MatLab, called "the language of technical computing" by the company, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems. Engineers can develop control algorithms in the environment generating targeted code in languages such as C and C++. In a recent interview on new products, product marketing people from MathWorks told me that they now have the ability to generate Structured Text--one of the four "languages" for programming programmable logic controllers (PLCs) under IEC 61131-3.

The trend is growing use of such techniques and technologies as digital control model development, simulation and especially "hardware in the loop" testing where you can get a test bed of hardware to check things out before building anything expensive. National Instruments has been talking about this for a couple of years. It also links to MathWorks in some areas.

When the MathWorks spokespeople told me about pushing more tools for control development into the PLC/PAC arena, I immediately thought of the two geographically close European control rivals B&R Automation (Austria) and Beckhoff Automation (Germany). Beckhoff told me that its new programming software will work with MatLab and Simulink accepting C++ code generated after development.

Now comes news that B&R Automation has been accepted into the MathWorks system integrator program. The company's development environment, Automation Studio, connects to simulation and code generation tools to enable model-based development methods for machine manufacturing.

B&R Automation Studio Target for Simulink and Simulink PLC Coder enable users to bring their Simulink or Stateflow models to the B&R PLC or industrial computer quickly and efficiently. Algorithms modeled in Simulink are translated into PLC source code (ANSI-C or IEC 61131-3 ST); integrated into B&R's development environment, Automation Studio; and transferred to the PLC or industrial computer at the push of a single button. This approach helps users to significantly cut down on development time to set up prototypes (on-target rapid prototyping).

MathWorks also announced the availability of xPC Target Turnkey, a fully assembled, real-time testing solution for rapid control prototyping and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation using Simulink. xPC Target Turnkey combines xPC Target from MathWorks with real-time target machines and I/O modules provided by Speedgoat GmbH  to form a complete real-time testing solution.

Configuring a real-time test system involves the time-consuming and resource-intensive process of evaluating software platforms, hardware technologies and options, and project requirements. xPC Target Turnkey is optimized for Simulink and xPC Target, enabling engineers to use a customized Speedgoat target machine to interactively design, prototype, and test Simulink models in real time with hardware. Each real-time target machine is assembled based on the project specific performance, I/O connectivity, and environmental requirements.

Greener Product Design Knowledge and Practice

This is a little out of my usual reporting area, but still pretty cool. I've been a "conservationist" my entire life--and I think many of these principles go along with Lean methodology, efficiency and prudent cost reductions. So, check out this partnership.

Sustainable Minds, a greener product design software and information company, today announced a partnership with the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), the leading organization representing product, interaction, experience and service design, to advance the adoption and integration of ecodesign and sustainability practices in product design. The partnership will bring together software and information to educate, inspire, and ensure that product development organizations have the knowledge, tools, and value systems in place to support greener product design practices.

Greener product design means designing the whole product system from a life cycle perspective. Understanding what this means and how to design this way is the first step - and Sustainable Minds Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software helps bridge this information gap. The software enables rapid iteration and comparison of new product concepts, and provides quantified environmental performance information during the design process to help make design and manufacturing trade-off decisions.

"It's the optimal partnership to catalyze meaningful change," stated Terry Swack, CEO and co-founder of Sustainable Minds. "Our mission is to bring environmental sustainability to mainstream product development and manufacturing in an accessible, empowering, and credible way. Designers have the opportunity and responsibility to change organizations and culture through the products we value and use. Our partnership with IDSA allows us to deliver our ecodesign and life cycle assessment software directly to this community, enabling them to develop new knowledge, skills, and competencies to integrate environmental sustainability into their standard product design processes. We are excited about our partnership with IDSA, and will be offering training and discounted subscriptions to all types of IDSA members - professionals, educators and students - to help make this happen."

"At IDSA, our goal is to help prepare our members for the challenges that lie ahead, especially in the area of sustainability and ecodesign," stated Clive Roux, executive director of IDSA. "We are excited to now have a more effective tool in place to help designers plan for sustainability and environmental impact assessment. Together, with Sustainable Minds, we can work to advance the understanding and practice of whole systems and life cycle thinking in product design processes. We look forward to working with Sustainable Minds to help us deliver greener product design education to our membership."

Sustainable Minds' life cycle impact assessment methodology contains a next generation dataset based originally on the Okala 2007 impact factors, a module in the Okala curriculum guide. The guide was developed under the auspices of IDSA, through financial support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Design for the Environment Program, Eastman Chemical Company and the Whirlpool Corporation. Okala has proven to be a valuable resource used by design schools across the world, as well as individual design firms and corporations. Click for more information on the Okala curriculum guide.

Prototyping

Tony over at the Factory Automation Software Blog writes some cautionary words about digital prototyping--something that's becoming the big push of design software developers. He still likes to prototype in the actual materials in order to catch little "gotchas."