The PLC Connect is a system option to the 800xA System, adding a PLC interface to the system. Primarily it’s intended for connection to 3:d party PLC’s and controllers, but it is also applicable for ABB controllers where no dedicated connect package exist. PLC Connect thus makes it possible to configure the System 800xA as a hybrid DCS/PLC system. PLC Connect uses of Real Time Database to store all process information before it gets presented to the operator, a benefit in particularly useful for slow or fragile connections as the database at all times keep an image of all connected signals on the hard drive of the computer. PLC Connect supports OPC, serial and dialed communication. The basic idea with PLC Connect is to give the engineer the ability to create a logic, object based environment in Plant Explorer, independently of how the actual PLC structure does look. To collect variables from a PLC and organize them into object types enhances the overview and understanding of the system. The operator does not have to see a flat variable list, instead a intuitive object with attached I/O signals is shown, just as if the controller would be an AC 800M. All engineering is based on types of which all abilities are inherited to the actual object instances. This means that traditional system capabilities, typically requiring a large number of process IOs to be connected through a range of controllers from different manufacturers, can be realized with an Industrial IT System 800xA PLC Connect.
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