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Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial)Logforum. 2008. 4(3), article 2

REAL-TIME-SIMULATION OF A LOGISTIC-SYSTEM INCLUDING DRIVES AND SENSORS FOR TESTING PLC-SOFTWARE BY SOFTWARE

Wilhelm Caninenberg

Abstract: While installation of warehouse-managing-systems, storage- and transport-systems and their PLC problems and errors are caused by untested software. Repairing the defects causes delay of time and stress with deadlines. Insufficient tests of PLC-Software cause nearly 40% failed systems. More complicated functions in storage- and transport-systems demand a linking of hundreds of drives and sensors. Furthermore PLC-Software is installed after hardware as the last step of installation of a logistic-system. Therefore PLC-Software is getting the responsibility of failure and delaying. Testing PLC-Software before real-operation avoids those defects and problems. The company Swisslog AG, Switzerland asked us to develop a real-time Simulation System called E-Control. E-Control is such a testing system. It shows the whole of an operating Logistic-System on a PC including all drives and sensors. Inspection of the PLC-Software takes place by watching the events and the movement of objects on the monitor of the PC without the construction of the real Logistic-System. The Simulation considered a high degree of details in pictures and movement as well as the capture of the positions of the objects (containers or pallets). On the other hand E-Control produces all signals for the PLC which is connected with Simulation-PC by real network. The signals represent the events of the visual simulation. E-Control replaces the real Logistic-System by means of a virtual system on the PC. The amount of the signals between PLC and PC and their timing correspond with the reality. The software of the connected PLC gets these Signals and reacts corresponding of the PLC-Software. The PLC with its software will be the original system later on installed into the real Logistic-System. This cooperation: the simulated visual events of a Logistic-System and the PLC with software makes possible testing and improving the PLC-Software.
Keywords: logistic, software, PLC, simulation, testing, education
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For citation:

MLA Caninenberg, Wilhelm. "Real-Time-Simulation of a Logistic-System including drives and sensors for testing PLC-Software by Software." Logforum 4.3 (2008): 2.
APA Wilhelm Caninenberg (2008). Real-Time-Simulation of a Logistic-System including drives and sensors for testing PLC-Software by Software. Logforum 4 (3), 2.
ISO 690 CANINENBERG, Wilhelm. Real-Time-Simulation of a Logistic-System including drives and sensors for testing PLC-Software by Software. Logforum, 2008, 4.3: 2.