Abstract: Systems, methods, and software to facilitate simulating machines used in industrial automation are disclosed herein. In at least one implementation, an API is utilized to establish at least a communication link between a simulation model created in a simulation application and an industrial controller system outside of the simulation model, wherein the simulation model comprises definitions for a virtual representation of at least a portion of a machine used in an industrial automation environment. Data is then exchanged between the industrial controller system and the simulation model over the communication link.

Abstract: An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) allows project topologies to be defined using an industrial domain-specific language (DSL) script. DSL scripting language can be used to define a control system topology in terms of the devices that make up the control system as well as the data connections between those devices. The IDE system can translate resulting topology to a project tree that serves as the basis for a control system project.

Abstract: A method for determining contact thickness change in a contactor includes sensing a first displacement distance moved by an armature of the contactor from a reference location to a first transition point during a switch-off operation of the contactor at a first contactor life reference time when movable contacts and fixed contacts of the contactor define a first contact thickness. The method further includes sensing a second displacement distance moved by the armature from the reference location to a second transition point during a switch-off operation at a second contactor life reference time that is after the first contactor life reference time when the movable and fixed contacts define a second contact thickness that is less than the first contact thickness. The first displacement distance and the second displacement distance are used to determine a contact thickness change between the first contact thickness and the second contact thickness. A contactor adapted to implement the method is also disclosed.

Abstract: An industrial automation controller includes a housing with a forced convection chamber. First and second fans are releasably connected to the housing and are adapted to induce airflow through the forced convection chamber. The first and second fans are each connected to the housing by respective first and second latch systems that each include a primary latch and a secondary latch. The secondary latch imposes a time delay during removal and replacement of a fan to facilitate hot swapping of the fan with a replacement fan. A make-last/break-first contact system is provided for each fan such that the fan is shutdown in a controlled manner prior to removal of the fan from the housing. The controller monitors internal temperature and fan speed. The controller initiates, logs, and reports fault conditions based upon the monitored temperature and/or fan speed. The controller is shut down if the monitored temperature exceeds a select temperature level.

Abstract: External interaction with a mover in an independent cart system is allowed at known locations along the track. The mover is initially propelled along the track in a first operating state. When the mover arrives at a station, the controller generates a signal to alert the external actuator of the presence of a mover at the station. After waiting at the station for a first predefined time interval, the controller switches to a second operating state, in which the coils are de-energized or the controller is reconfigured to operate in a less responsive manner than in the first operating state. The controller remains in the second operating state for a second predefined interval, during which the external actuator interacts with the mover or a load on the mover. After the second predefined interval, the controller enters a third operating state, and the controller propels the mover away from the station.

Abstract: An adapter of a common gateway platform associated with an industrial automation system is described for communicating data acquired from various devices using a data model of the common gateway platform with external components using various data models. The computing device may determine a relationship between datasets of the native data model and datasets of an external component based on obtaining an application programming interface (API) and/or software development kit (SDK) of the external component. Accordingly, the adapter may enable the common gateway platform to interact with the external component by providing functionalities of the external component as native functions of the computing device. That is, the adapter may provide functions to connect, create, read, write, update, delete, run commands and queries, and disconnect from the external component using native commands and actions of the common gateway platform.

Abstract: A system includes a processor and a memory accessible by the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive an input adding a new industrial automation device to an industrial automation system including a plurality of industrial automation devices, generate a new name for the new industrial automation device based on a naming convention and a location of the new industrial automation device within the industrial automation system, determine, for each of one or more industrial automation devices of the plurality of industrial automation devices, a name change based on the addition of the new industrial automation device to the industrial automation system, wherein the name change comprises generating a replacement name and replacing a previous name with the replacement name, and update one or more respective configurations of the plurality of industrial automation devices based on the one or more name changes.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present technology provide an integrated platform that provides optimization tools that can be used across multiple lifecycle phases of an industrial automation system. In accordance with various embodiments, the integrated platform can take specified designs in a presale phase and easily open up that information in a corresponding tool to address needs in the post-sale phase to allow for all device commissioning, programming, and configuration without any importing, exporting, or recreation of presale files. Various embodiments use a common, cross-platform data file that links activity within each lifecycle phase. As such, any layouts or designs can be easily opened up within the platform by users with differing roles. Moreover, if in the post-sale phase, a control engineer decides that a specific aspect of control system was left out, the control engineer can summon the capability of the presale phase to expand the system.

Abstract: A method may involve receiving, via at least one processor, a request from an industrial component operating in an industrial automation system, such that the request may include an indication of a software function. The method may then involve querying a container registry having a plurality of container images based on the software function, identifying at least one container image of the plurality of container images that corresponds to the software function, sending an indication of the at least one container image to the industrial component, and receiving a selection of the at least one container image from the industrial component. The method may also involve retrieving the at least one container image from the container registry and sending the at least one container image to the industrial component.

Abstract: An industrial CAD system is supplemented with features that allow a developer to easily convert a mechanical CAD model of an automation system to a dynamic digital twin capable of simulation within a simulation platform, including simulation of fluid dynamics throughout the system. The features allow the user to label selected elements of a mechanical CAD drawing with “aspects” within the CAD environment, and to add fluid models representing fluids that travel through or are processed by the system. Based on these aspect labels and fluid models, the CAD platform transforms the mechanical CAD model into a dynamic digital twin that can be exported to a simulation and testing platform to facilitate simulation of both machine operation and fluid dynamics.

Abstract: Techniques to facilitate adaptive optimization and control of flotation cell processing are disclosed herein. In at least one implementation, a computing system receives a plurality of flotation cell process variables associated with a flotation cell process. The flotation cell process variables are fed into a machine learning model associated with the flotation cell process to determine improved settings for the flotation cell process. The improved settings for the flotation cell process are provided to an industrial controller that controls at least one aspect of the flotation cell process to improve the flotation cell process.

Abstract: An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) provides a development framework for designing, programming, and configuring multiple aspects of an industrial automation system using a common design environment and data model. Projects creating using embodiments of the IDE system can be built on an object-based model rather than, or in addition to, a tag-based architecture. To this end, the IDE system can support the use of automation objects that serve as building blocks for this object-based development structure. To ensure consistency within and between projects, as well as to ensure that a given industrial project is dynamically updated to reflect changes to an industrial asset's attributes (e.g., control code, visualization definitions, testing scripts, analytic code, etc.), embodiments of the IDE system can use automation object inheritance features to propagate changes made to an automation object definition to all instances of the automation object used throughout a control project.

Abstract: An airflow health predictive maintenance system and method for a motor drive includes a differential pressure sensor that senses an air pressure differential between a sensing location within an enclosed cabinet space of the motor drive and a reference location. The system includes an electronic control system configured to select a setpoint that indicates that airflow through the cabinet space has reached a value associated with a need for air filter maintenance. The control system is further configured to obtain air pressure differential measurements periodically from the differential pressure sensor and generate an actual trend comprising a series of values, wherein each of the values of the actual trend is derived from one or more of the air pressure differential measurements.

Abstract: An industrial system includes a load control assembly, an integrated absence of voltage tester (AVT), and an absence of voltage indicator. The load control assembly has a supply input, a load output, a disconnecting device, and a load controller coupled to the load output, with the disconnecting device coupled between the supply input and the load controller. The AVT is integrated into one of the disconnecting device and the load controller, and the AVT configured to detect an absence of an operating voltage of the load control assembly. The absence of voltage indicator is coupled to the AVT and configured to indicate the absence of an operating voltage of the load control assembly detected by the AVT.

Abstract: A system for distributing DC bus voltage and control power to multiple motors includes a rectifier front end supplying a DC bus voltage and a DC control voltage. Both the DC bus voltage and the DC control voltage are distributed via a common set of conductors. Diodes are operatively connected between the DC control voltage and the common set of conductors. The diodes allow forward conduction of the DC control voltage and distribution of control power to distributed devices when the DC bus voltage is not present. Once the DC bus voltage is present, the diodes block conduction of the DC control voltage. Each of the distributed devices are configured with an internal power supply that is operative to generate an internal control voltage from either the DC control voltage or the DC bus voltage.

Abstract: Techniques for data transmission within an industrial automation system include modeling or simulating, in accordance with a model, a plurality of devices performing one or more operations in an industrial automation system, determining, for a first operation of the one or more operations and from a plurality of categories, a category for the first operation, sending a request to the industrial automation system for data associated with the first operation at a time, wherein the data and time are determined based on the category of the first operation, receiving, from the industrial automation system, the requested data, and modifying the model based on the received data.

Abstract: A method for managing device lifecycles within an industrial automation environment includes receiving a request for lifecycle management data including a scanning configuration, producing configuration data obtained by scanning industrial devices specified by the scanning configuration, receiving lifecycle management data including a lifecycle phase for the industrial devices, generating a graphical representation of the lifecycle phase of the industrial devices, determining an identity of a replacement device for a first industrial device of the industrial devices having a predetermined lifecycle phase, generating a graphical representation of replacement information including the identity of the replacement device, and managing migration to the replacement device by initiating replacement of the first industrial device with the replacement device.

Abstract: A cloud-based modeler component that generates interactive models of an industrial automation system(s) (IAS(s)) is presented. An interactive model facilitates remote viewing of, interaction with, troubleshooting of problems with, or optimization of industrial assets of an IAS. The modeler component polls industrial assets via cloud gateways to obtain information relating to the industrial assets to identify industrial assets of the IAS and relationships with other industrial assets or can receive information from a communication device that obtains information relating to legacy industrial assets to identify those legacy assets and their relationships. The modeler component generates an interactive model of the industrial assets of the IAS based on the information.

Abstract: A system for communicating between redundant devices balances the desired attributes of a high availability (HA) control system and a safety control system. The system includes concurrent connections as a fault tolerant mechanism for industrial protocol connections at the transport layer. The concurrent connections establish multiple paths for redundancy from a data producer to a data consumer. Concurrent connections increase availability of the HA control and safety instrumented systems. More specifically, concurrent connections and architectural redundancies eliminate a single point of failure within the control system and further reduce safety connection timeouts during fault detection and/or recovery. Concurrent connections may be used to keep a HA system operational or to provide detection of a failure in a safety system. The industrial control network may be configured to function as a HA control system, as a safety control system, or with certain degrees of both HA and safety-related operation.

Abstract: A motor-drive system may include a rectifier, a metal-oxide varistor (MOV) assembly, and an inverter. The rectifier may generate a direct current (DC) voltage based on a first voltage received from at least one supply voltage line coupled to a voltage source. The MOV assembly may include at least two metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) respectively coupled to the at least one supply voltage lines. The MOV assembly may couple between the voltage source and the rectifier. The motor-drive system may also include a permanently-installed jumper to couple at least one MOV of the at least two MOVs of the MOV assembly to a system ground. The inverter of the motor-drive system may convert the DC voltage to an alternating current (AC) voltage, which may be provided to a load of the motor-drive system.