Connectivity: USB enabled storage for controller applications

Charlottesville, Va.—The Portable Program Device, a new tool from GE Fanuc Automation, simplifies the storing of controllers applications and configurations by allowing a user to easily upload and download to and from any USB memory stick.

By Control Engineering Staff July 12, 2007

Charlottesville, Va. —The Portable Program Device, a new tool from GE Fanuc Automation , simplifies the storing of controllers applications and configurations by allowing a user to easily upload and download to and from any USB memory stick. A USB connection connects directly to the communications port on the controller, and can be panel mounted or hand held.Durable enough for all industrial applications, the device does not require any controller software on the PC. Another key feature of the device is the ability to log the faults to the memory stick which allows the user to easily email the data to the programmer for a resolution to a problem. It acts as an alternative to sending hardware through the mail and fixing problems over the phone, or sending onsite technicians. With the ability to download programs onto a memory stick, users also can email them to other users in any part of the world, saving time, money, and downtime.—Edited by Lisa Sutor , Control Engineering news desk