Diagnostics, ease of use and maintainability are the leading attributes of Gen 3 packaging machinery.
In general, PLC and motion control have been separate elements in a machine control application. This has required unique methods to synchronize actions between domains. The significant difference between PLC and motion control domains is that PLC solutions are scan-based systems while motion control systems are event driven. In effect, the application program in a PLC is solved in a highly sequential fashion where the overall scan time dictates the ability of the control system to react to dynamic changes in the I/O system. Gen 3 solutions are now eliminating this distinction by offering real-time event handling to both the motion and logic control domains. At the heart of this innovation is the availability of a machine control language that offers the programming structure to support modularization, dynamic data sharing, and event handling (IEC 61131-3).