March 31, 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 has been accepted in this group is PLCopen XML for the sequencing. In order to optimize this interface additional changes to the specification are proposed. For this reason the PLCopen members will meet again on May 6 at Mercedes Benz in Sindelfingen, to support this new activity for TC6.
The goal will be to update the existing specification, including all accepted changes and proposals.
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, PLC open creates specifications to materialize these concepts.