Bradley Mesa

Bradley Mesa

Manufacturing Journalist TR Cutler Finds Eclectic Customer Base for INGEAR as reported in Automation.com

Manufacturing Journalist, TR Cutler, recently interviewed eight distinct companies about technology, efficiency, and automation trends. The article appears in the current issue of Automation.com.   

Here is the line-up of professionals and companies interviewed:

• Jim Feeney is VP of F&A Data Systems, Inc., based in East Brunswick, New Jersey. The company produces Controls and Systems for Warehousing and Distribution.
• Tim McGuire is President & CEO of MicroCODE, Inc., based in Troy, Michigan. The company is best known for software development and control engineering.
• Laz Temimi, Automation and Control Engineer for Olympus Automation based in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. The company adopted a lean approach to engineering to develop products and services that are more sustainable.
• Randal Boyd is a Software Engineer for Special Devices Inc., based in Mesa, Arizona. The company is solutions provider for precision engineered energetic devices.
• Rhett Spencer is the owner of Spencer Systems based in Heber City, Utah. 
• Al Barnard is owner of True Logic Group, with a primary focus on the development of Data Collection & Control Systems for industrial equipment. The company is based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
• Jeff Zerr, Director of Engineering for United Sortation Solutions based in Owings Mills, Maryland brings together the best solutions for the material handling industry.
• Mike Sluz, Electrical Superintendant for Wynndel Box & Lumber based in Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada. The firm is a specialty wood product manufacturer.

 

While the numerator was different, the technology solution selected by each company, the denominator, was remarkably consistent. Chuck Karwoski, President of Cimquest INGEAR was not surprised as this journalist shared the eclectic nature of these responses. Karwoski suggested, "Companies are not only turning to INGEAR but to Microsoft Visual Studio .NET as a real solution to fit their needs. Customers recognize the speed, power, flexibility and cost reducing benefits that INGEAR software adds to the manufacturing environment. At the same time, Visual Studio .NET is an open development platform that is the backbone of any IT department and is supported with thousands of books, college courses, web sites, third party add-ons and components. It means the customer is not boxed in by the limitations of current automation software offerings on the market."

 

 

So that is the team. Each of these individuals for each of these companies performed one act in common, regardless of industry sector, geography, title or function. Each Googled the phrase ".NET PLC driver" which lead them to www.ingeardrivers.com.

The INGEAR.NET software from CimQuest is a set of runtime free class libraries that simplify building, developing, and deploying connected systems for manufacturing applications using Visual Basic or Visual Studio .NET. It uses only three primary classes of .NET code:

 

• one of which manages the PLC,
• one manages the data that are read from or written to that PLC,
• one manages groupings of methods, properties, and events to optimize read/write operations on a collection.

 

 

The better the information plant personnel have regarding operations, the greater the ability to manage costs, output, quality, and ultimately – profitability. Some of the most valuable data lies within the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that automate assembly lines.  Manufacturers typically deploy PLCs machine-by-machine, however, accessing that data can be a real challenge.

Recognizing the growing importance of this data, manufacturers are looking to integrate plant floor operations with enterprise applications; PLC vendors have been offering solutions to improve communications with their devices. Rockwell Automation, a world leading manufacturer of PLCs, offers its customers a software connectivity solution built on the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) standard to enable connectivity between human machine interface (HMI) software packages and Allen Bradley PLCs. One OPC connectivity solution, which Rockwell Software offers is its RSLinx software. The RSLinx connector is an OPC Data Access 2.0 compliant server that provides communication services for Rockwell Automation's Allen-Bradley brand of PLCs.

Once a user builds an interface application with an HMI development tool, the RSLinx software provides the drivers and other connectivity components that enable communications with the PLC. Users are then required to purchase individual RSLinx copies for every machine on which they wanted to run their application, along with annual software maintenance fees for each cop.               An off-the-shelf Microsoft.NET technology solution enables                              manufactures to develop an open standard HMI, using user-friendly tools.

 

It includes a direct Ethernet communication channel to the PLCs enabling developers to write HMI interfaces to PLC controls or acquiring data from them.  No additional third-party components, drivers, APIs or tools, such as OPC Servers, are required. This simple programming model by CimQuest InGear                 contributes to faster response times and ease of use and ultimately – profitability.

 

CimQuest  INGEAR

www.ingeardrivers.com

Chuck Karwoski

plc.net@ingeardrivers.com

Toll Free: 1.866.935.7979 | Telephone: 1.610.935.8282

 

About the Author

Professional Marketing Firm for the Manufacturing Community.  Manufacturing Journalist or Contributing Journalist for many manufacturing magazines and journals.  Founder of the Media Consortium and media blitz.

2010 Milken Educator Awards Bradley Breuer, Mesa, AZ