Santa Ana, Calif. — ObjectAutomation (OA) and International Laboratory Corporation (ILC, Hiroshima, Japan) recently formed a partnership in which ILC will develop complementary plug-ins for OA's OAenterprise products. ILC's plug-ins will include LogiPro, a ladder logic programming tool and control engine, and VLinks, a communication server for PLCs and I/O that provides high-speed data communication plus uploading and downloading of sequence programs to and from a variety of major PLCs.

ILC will provide technical and sales support for their plug-ins and for OAenterprise in selected markets. In addition, these co-developed products will be demonstrated at OA's booth at ISA Expo/98 in Houston, Tex., in October.

In other news, OA recently formed a co-development relationship with Delta Tau Data Systems (Chatsworth, Calif.) to create Object-Based Control solutions for Delta Tau's motion control products using OAenterprise software. Delta Tau provides motion control hardware and software solutions for vertical markets, such as automation, machine tools, and robotics. Its product line includes general-purpose motion controllers for robotic, CNC, and industrial automation.

"OA's open architecture and software tools are a welcome addition to our offerings," says Dmitri Dmitri, Delta Tau's president. "Our relationship with OA will be highlighted by the connectivity created between our PMAC (4/8-axis, programmable multiaxis controller) card and OA's software."

Dave Smith, OA's president, added, "Precision motion control is a significant part of our automation offering.