Summary
- Challenge
- Opto 22 needed to update its 1980’s-era programmable automation controller to leverage existing technology and provide real-time data for customers.
-
Solution
Incorporating Freescale’s ColdFire processors with connectivity options that offer the networking and communication power required to handle industrial control systems.
Benefit
Opto 22’s design needs were exceeded and the competitive ColdFire system cost and reduced time-to-market extended to an improved overall experience for Opto 22’s customers.
“
Freescale has a knack for delivering the products we need right in line with our design cycle; we often see parts on the roadmap that look like something we would have otherwise done in custom silicon.
”
Matt Chang, Principal Digital Hardware Architect
Case Study
The Challenge
Industrial business owners have a growing need to be able to monitor,
control and get data quickly and securely from all of the devices and
machines that are critical to their company’s daily activities.
Implementing a modern industrial application can present a challenging
and sometimes daunting mix of requirements. A typical control system must
interface with signals from sensors and actuators, yet for many modern
applications this is merely the starting point.
Advanced control features, network connectivity, device interoperability,
and enterprise data integration are all capabilities increasingly demanded
in a modern industrial application. These requirements extend far beyond
the traditional discrete-logic-based control of input/output (I/O)
signals handled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). Applications
that diverge from or expand beyond this model become increasingly hard
to program in ladder logic.
The Application
Temecula, Calif. –based, Opto 22 was founded in 1974 to provide
products that make it quicker and easier to connect to, control, monitor
and gather business intelligence from the extended enterprise and bring
it into business applications. While the idea of combining PLC and
PC-based technologies for industrial control has been attempted previously,
it has usually only been done through “add-on” type of
approaches. Opto 22 developed an efficient, easy-to-use product line
to respond to the modern industrial application’s increased scope
of requirements.
Opto 22’s industrial control devices that blend process control
with the flexible configuration and enterprise integration strengths
of PC-based systems are the Programmable Automation Controller (PAC)
series. The PAC series of automation controllers have advanced capabilities
built directly into their design and characteristics that offer unprecedented
development, functional and financial benefits. With their modern networking
and communication capabilities, Opto 22’s PACs make production
information available in or near real time and the overall cost of
the control system is significantly less expensive. This in turn makes
the data collected more accurate and timely, and thus more valuable
for business use.
Technology Behind the Scenes
What makes this low-cost device possible? The selection of a high performance
embedded processor at relatively low power with a range of peripherals
was critical to the design of the PAC series of controllers. According
to Matt Chang, Principal Digital Hardware Architect, Opto 22, “Freescale
Semiconductor’s low cost, high performance, versatile and comprehensive
on-board peripherals and integrated communications features are ideal
for network-connected control applications. The ColdFire processors
(MCF 5475 and MCF 5272) are excellent examples of a robust and robustly
featured CPU. They also make possible the development of a unified
kernel despite using different CPUs, as the instruction set is the
same.”
OEM and Customer Benefits
Freescale’s ColdFire processors offer connectivity options, robust
peripherals and a competitive system cost, meeting the needs of the
Opto 22 designers. Once Freescale’s ColdFire microprocessors
were selected, Opto 22 moved quickly to develop the hardware, saving
considerable time-to-market.
Opto 22 is able to gain a competitive advantage as the first provider
of PAC-type hardware. The company stays ahead of the curve by coupling
ease-of-use, next-generation versatility, scalability and reliability
into its products powered by Freescale’s industry-recognized
ColdFire processors. “Freescale has a knack for delivering
the products we need right in line with our design cycle; we often
see parts on the roadmap that look like something we would have otherwise
done in custom silicon,” said Chang. Opto 22’s PAC products
have become an integral part of meeting the new and diverse requirements
demanded in modern industrial automation.
Contacts
Matt Chang
Principal Digital Hardware Architect, Opto 22 Corporation
951-695-3000
Temecula, CA
Dale Weisman
Freescale Semiconductor
512-895-2795
dale.weisman@freescale.com
