Opto 22 debuts new ioControl, ioManager, ioDisplay, OptoOPCServer

Temecula, CA—Opto 22 introduced Aug. 4 its ioControl 5.0, the latest version of its control programming software, and ioManager 5.0, which is software for configuring and managing Ethernet-based I/O products.

By Control Engineering Staff August 8, 2003

Temecula, CA— Opto 22 introduced Aug. 4 its ioControl 5.0, the latest version of its control programming software, and ioManager 5.0, which is software for configuring and managing Ethernet-based I/O products. The company also announced its ioDisplay 5.0, an updated graphics-based human machine interface (HMI) software package, and its improved OptoOPCServer 5.0 for its Snap Ethernet I/O and Snap Ultimate I/O products.

ioControl 5.0 is a Microsoft Windows-based flowchart control programming application that lets users develop control and data acquisition applications quickly and easily, and then download, run and debug them in real time directly on Opto 22’s Snap Ultimate I/O system. Control engineers can program with an extensive, self-documenting, plain-English command set, or use a powerful, built-in scripting language offering commands for math, conditional branching, string handling, and other complex functions.

ioControl 5.0 offers several new features, including compatibility with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system and new file handling capabilities. The latter lets users upload and download large amounts of data and perform common file operations to and from any FTP server, including recently announced FTP servers built into Snap Ultimate I/O brains. For example, SNAP Ultimate I/O systems can collect data from connected sensors and devices, such as floating-point, integer, state and string; convert the data to common file formats, such as ASCII text files; and upload it to an FTP server.

ioManager 5.0 is Opto 22’s newly enhanced, Microsoft Windows-based software utility for configuring and managing Snap Ultimate and Snap Ethernet I/O systems. ioManager 5.0 allows users to configure installed Snap I/O modules and I/O features and load their configurations to the assigned systems. The configuration can also be saved to a tag database on the computer for use with ioControl, or saved and downloaded to multiple I/O brains in batch mode.

A major enhancement in the new ioManager is its ability to view, configure and change every parameter and feature of every I/O point in real time from an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI), which significantly reduces the time and complexity of configuring and managing Ethernet-based I/O systems. ioManager 5.0 also enables batch configuration of multiple Snap Ultimate I/O units.

‘What we’ve essentially done is taken the functionality of two or three different software tools and utilities and integrated it into this new version of ioManager,’ says Mark Engman, Opto 22’s engineering VP. ‘As a result, users now have the ability to access all information about any given I/O point and make changes in the same utility. This lets control engineers and instrument technicians get their jobs done much more quickly and efficiently.’

Meanwhile, ioDisplay 5.0 is an HMI application for developing operator interfaces for Microsoft Windows-based clients communicating with the Snap Ultimate I/O system. Users can create their own graphical user interface using original or pre-existing commands, symbols, and bitmaps. Enhancements to ioDisplay 5.0 include improved security features that enable assignment of individual or group-level access to operator-driven dynamic attributes. Encryption of the resulting runtime operator action log file is also now possible, helping users comply with recent regulatory requirements found in the FDA’s 21 CFR Part 11 specification. ioDisplay 5.0 also boasts additions to the customized library of pre-designed industrial graphics and offers support for the JPEG file format.

Finally, OPC-compliant OptoOPCServer 5.0 provides standard integration of the company’s Snap Ethernet I/O and Snap Ultimate I/O systems with any OPC-aware software client, which eliminates the need for software and application developers to write custom interfaces when seeking to exchange data with these systems. Using OptoOPCServer 5.0, any OPC client program can access the Snap Ethernet I/O and Snap Ultimate I/O brains, giving users the ability to read and write to I/O points and ioControl strategy variables. OptoOPCServer 5.0, which meets OPC specification 2.0, makes it easy to combine data acquisition, soft-logic control, and HMI software from third parties into the process control and automation environment. Opto 22’s ioControl 5.0, ioManager 5.0 and OptoOPCServer 5.0 are included with purchase of the SNAP Ultimate I/O system. ioManager 5.0 is also shipped with all Ethernet-based SNAP brains.

ioControl 5.0, ioManager 5.0, and OptoOPCServer 5.0 are available for download now from Opto 22’s web site at www.opto22.com

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editor montague@reedbusiness.com