Development of object-oriented modeling tool for the design of industrial control logic

As the level of automation increases, proper design of industrial control logic before the implementation of control logic is an imperative task for the successful operation of a AMS (Automated Manufacturing System). Whereas software engineering concept is mature in today's general information system developments, the systematic PLC program development methodology is not widely adopted on the shop floor. Proposed in this paper is a development of prototype modeling tool based on O-O modeling framework for industrial control logic. This prototype supports the systematic design procedure for reducing the logic errors before implementing the ladder logic, and enhances efficient communication among FA engineers who have different experiences and disciplines during the automation project. Besides logic design function, it provides the automation component library for standardized use of automation parts in the shop floor.