December 8, 2008 - The PLCopen Technical Committee (TC6) - XML opened up the IEC 61131-3 development environments by specifying the XML schema for this. As such it provides an open interface to other software tools. PLCopen TC6 published their XML schema and documentation in June 2005 as version 1.01. After that, feedback came in from companies starting to implement this specification, not only from Europe but also from Japan.
With a new initiative called AutomationML we have come to a new phase. The companies Daimler, ABB, KUKA, Rockwell, Siemens, netAllied and Zühlke together with the University of Karlsruhe and the University of Magdeburg jointly define and standardize the Automation Markup Language (AutomationML) as an intermediate format for the Digital Factory. One of the formats that have been accepted in this group is PLCopen XML for the sequencing. In order to optimize this interface additional changes to the specification were proposed. These proposals now result in a new release of the PLCopen XML schema.
This schema also includes previous feedback on this schema from other parties involved. With this release an optimization between the simulation and realization is created, creating more efficiency in automation.
About PLCopen
PLCopen was founded in 1992 as an independent worldwide association for industrial suppliers and users. It is the leading association resolving topics related to industrial control programming. PLCopen creates concepts to reduce the costs of industrial automation. These cost savings are realized in areas such as engineering, training, operation and maintenance. Together with its members, PLCopen creates specifications to materialize these concepts.
