Opto 22 groov EPIC edge programmable controller

Opto 22 has announced the addition of international standard IEC 61131-3 programming options in its groov EPIC edge programmable industrial controller. Adding these programming options to the existing flowchart and custom user-written options in groov EPIC gives control engineers the ability to program using a variety of languages they already know, while taking advantage of the EPIC’s extended capabilities for automation and IIoT applications. All IEC 61131-3 standard languages are supported by the product, including Function Block Diagram (FBD), Structured Text (ST), Sequential Function Charts (SFC) and Ladder Diagram (LD).

Adding the IEC 61131-3 option gives engineers several key advantages. First, they can pick the best software tool for their specific application. Second, they can mix and match several software tools to build control and IIoT solutions on one unified platform. And last, companies can continue to leverage existing employee knowledge in IEC 61131-3 programming methods, including decades-old ladder logic.

The PC-based CODESYS Development System V3 is used to create and compile IEC 61131-3 programs for download to a pre-installed CODESYS Runtime running on the controller.

In addition to IEC 61131-3, the product can also be programmed using Opto 22’s native PAC Control. Other programming options include using software languages supported on the Linux operating system through secure shell. This access — along with toolchains and interpreters for Java, C/C++, Python and JavaScript/Node.js — allows developers to create custom applications. In addition, the device includes Node-RED as another programming option, which uses a flow-based development environment optimised for edge data processing and communications.