Increasingly, the critical and unique features of machines and systems need to be fulfilled with the help of software. As a result, manufacturers are beginning to pay attention to the power of software development. This trend is reinforced by widespread cost pressures, resource scarcity, lack of skilled personnel and shortening time to market. Through the use of software modularization and prefabricated templates and utility blocks, it is possible to create applications faster and safer. With the availability of modern development tools, such as Lenze L-force Engineer, which can be optimally modularized through the use of modules and the provision of skills and libraries, nothing can stop this modern, useful software from being widely used in the production of useful machinery.
Although Germany machinery and equipment are exemplary in terms of mechanical modularity and electronic modularity, the software is still a "noodle code" with a messy structure that is difficult to understand. When developing a new machine, developers try to copy as much of this code as possible to reduce the amount of programming effort. This approach is desirable for small projects and projects where the head is the way. However, if the software has been in the works for many years and contains tens or even hundreds of thousands of lines of code, the situation will be completely different. Copying code briefly can adversely affect the quality and maintainability of the software, as well as the creativity of the developer.
So there's a danger of introducing faulty or no longer working code from an old project to a new one. Even if the original code is correct, it may be possible to prevent maintenance, extension, or modification of the application due to limited knowledge of the noodle code. In addition, the continued development of the program may lead to new and unexpected faults in the tested part of the program. As a result, every time the program is expanded, it can be very time-consuming to test the whole machine, and then affect the time to market of the product. Moreover, such a project is difficult to assign to multiple developers within a team or company size to ensure that they work together with each other. The result is a multi-year, high-value development.
divide and conquer
The machine planning is particularly special: it has long been established that the machines originating from the modules have a custom mechanical interface. The encapsulated utility blocks form a (convergent-managed) specification building block that planners can use to quickly and efficiently sort out a new mechanical solution from a mature module, and then reduce the cost of building and testing the machinery. Planners can focus on developing new features and common features, or extending existing specification components. In addition, because the module interfaces are clearly defined (in advance), it is easy to split the large-scale development mission among multiple planners, so that the development and testing tasks can be carried out in parallel, which then further shortens the time to market.
Therefore, the policy is to further promote software modularization in software development.
A library of utility modules from automation vendors
However, the construction and completion of software specification utility module components is often beyond the talent of machine and equipment manufacturers. Ninety per cent of the equipment manufacturers that supply the means of production for consumer goods occupations employ between 30 and 70 people, and of these workers, an average of only 1.6 workers are engaged in the automation of equipment. Before the enterprise gains a clear competitive advantage in the product market, it needs the employee group to develop standardized components. As a system and know-how partner in mechanical engineering, Lenze has been supporting its users for many years in the form of engineering skills services, providing prefabricated standard utility blocks, such as winding or flying saws, to support intelligent drives. Now, the company also offers utility blocks for controller-based automation solutions, together with the expansion of specific utility blocks for consumer goods occupations, such as "No gap – no seal". Cluttered utility blocks for 3-axis articulated robots are also coming soon.
Depending on the application and requirements, developers are able to use different levels of utility blocks and software – e.g., mechanics – for individual machines or complete plants – mostly on the basis of tested and proven functions in many applications. As we have observed in many areas of the electronics and software profession, with the gradual increase in modular software and corresponding development methods, third-party companies are also able to develop and supply utility blocks and associated test vectors for validation.
Customize utility block templates
As a result, users can quickly create custom utility blocks and integrate them into subsequent projects by using templates and, if necessary, with the help of abbreviated specification utility blocks. Modules provide pre-made software structures such as fault handlers, interfaces, databases, and state machines. Just like using a Word template, users can focus on creating actual functionality or content.
Modern engineering environment and OOP
Object-oriented programming languages support software modularity because the basic concept of this language is to encapsulate utilities and data in a "target". Inheritance can quickly generate new goals on top of existing ones, and then use them to complete new functions and new options in particular. Another advantage of goal-oriented speech compared to IEC 61131 "Programming Language" is that it has greater coverage in education and business. Powerful open programming environments, such as Lenze's L-force Engineer, not only support high-end goal-oriented speech programming, but also promise a combination of structured text similar to C language, code created in KOP, and prefabricated utility blocks in a single project.
Conclusions and outlooks
The scarcity of capital and human resources has led to the need for small and medium-sized machine and equipment manufacturers to optimize software engineering. The unified modularity of the software allows programmers to smoothly reuse existing and tested code and develop new functions on top of it. Together, the readability of the software was improved through software modularization, and then the maintainability of the software was improved. In addition, power can be further improved by using specification blocks with different levels of abstraction, which are supplied and tested by automation and solution partners (e.g., Lenze or third parties). Programmers are able to use the time saved for development and testing to focus on their product size and central competitiveness, and then improve the company's competitive position.
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