An OEM of pharmaceutical packaging equipment needed assistance developing standardized PLC and HMI applications to update machines from antiquated to modern controls systems.
The antiquated controls systems were up to 25 years old and consisted of differing controls designs. The challenge was to create modular code that could be easily modified to select the options that existed on the different vintages of machines. The programs had to be very robust before downloading to new controls systems because available downtime for debug was minimal.
Cybertrol developed standardized/modular PLC and HMI code that accomplished several things, including:
The ability to upgrade multiple machines in the field
Base programs containing all options possible for the machines
A modular style of programming allowing for easy removal of dead code
Successful validation activities due to heavily tested code
The standardized code is still being used on machine upgrades throughout the pharmaceutical industry.