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APAX-5000 series, the new PAC solution from Advantech, inherits all advantages of PAC architectures, integrating control, information processing and networking in a single platform. Moreover, leveraging latest automation technology, APAX-5000 series offers a unique system architecture, including dual controllers for different tasks, allowing the same I/O with changeable controllers/couplers, and local/remote expansion with deterministic performance. All these new features make Advantech's PAC system more reliable, scalable and flexible, satisfying various complicated control and automation application requirements
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One Control Platform for Multiple Domain Applications |
Current manufacturing processes need to include more than one mode. Food & Beverage companies in particular face shorter production runs on a wide range of products that need to be modified for different vendors, while automotive companies are dealing with changes in customer preference, aggressive competition and rising fuel costs. These cases require a mix of discrete, batch, process and motion control applications. In the past, these applications had forced engineers to use multiple controllers: a PLC for discrete control, a motion controller for multi-axis control applications, and a distributed control system or loop controller for process applications. This approach proved time-consuming and costly. Advantech PACs feature the ability to handle all these applications from a single control system. The result is faster startups through re-use of programming tools, lower maintenance costs through reduced spare parts, better information sharing among applications, and fewer support personnel throughout the plant.
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Information Processing and Networking Capabilities |
As information-enabled controllers, Advantech PACs continue to evolve along with the information systems executives find useful. The key technique is to get information from one level of the application to the next. This improves control system networking tremendously, allowing the network to share a common protocol for the device level, control level, and information level, providing the ability to move information from the device level to executives at the enterprise resource planning (ERP) level without new protocols or drivers. Advantech PACs feature an Ethernet-enabled architecture, delivering significant benefits for manufacturers by allowing users to effectively manage I/O control and information flow throughout the manufacturing and IT enterprise. Leveraging the high computing power of Advantech PACs also allows networks to communicate seamlessly on the factory floor with other common sets of IT capabilities like video, data and telephony. Easy access to such information is critical to making informed decisions about the capacity of an enterprise.
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Scalability |
In the past, many PLCs required users to learn different programming software and specify networks depending on the size and complexity of the application. Advantech PACs, ranging from ADAM-5000 Series, APAX-5000 Series and APAX-6000 Series, allow the users to more closely match the controller to the needs of the application without compromising functionality or learning a new control system. Such scalability reduces the headaches and high cost associated with system redesign, lack of program re-use,and re-training.
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Software |
Advantech PACs support software to satisfy both PC-based and PLC-based programmers. The .NET class library can satisfy the programmers who are familiar with high level programming languages using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, while the PLC-based users can leverage KW Software MULTIPROG which supports IEC-61131-3 compliant PLC programming languages.These flexible programming capabilities take PLC operations to the next level in many areas, such as communication, information processing, enterprise level database integration, and user interface development.
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