By Andy Dyer, Siemens Power Supplies Product Manager
Why is cloud connectivity such a big deal?
From data analysis and push messaging, to secure remote access for visualisation and control, the new Amazon Web Services cloud connectivity that will be available as part of the LOGO! v8.3 due to be released in Autumn 2020, opens up many possibilities for new applications as well as providing a cost effective method of connecting existing machinery to a cloud environment. By connecting remote assets to a central system, a user can now monitor service life to plan maintenance across a globally installed machine product, or record performance data to implement process improvements and improve product quality, all with the added benefit of remote alarming, data logging, or indeed any other feature contained within their AWS cloud environment. Alternatively, cloud connectivity can simply provide an easy and secure route to access the LOGO! web pages remotely! The sky really is the limit when adding cloud connectivity to your machine or process!
Why is the LOGO! controller a good choice for cloud connectivity?
With almost 25 years of use within many industrial and hobbyist applications, the Siemens LOGO! controller has become the first choice for many when they wish to control a simple machine or process. The flexibility afforded by the modular concept provides the user with many possibilities suitable for connecting to a range of digital and analogue standard signal types, as well as the capability to communicate with the Simatic controller range, and even third-party systems via the included Modbus TCP communication protocol. When you then consider the fact that the LOGO! includes, as standard, a built in web server for building/hosting your own web page designs, as well as being able to communicate through SMS and email messaging using the CMR2020 module, you can start to see that the power embedded within the LOGO! controller portfolio really is something to shout about!
The simplicity of LOGO! has always been key to its success. Writing logic programs is made easy with the drag and drop LOGO! Soft Comfort programming software environment meaning that beginners and experts alike can quickly build and edit their own control system behaviour. The drag and drop functionality is even utilised when configuring communications between LOGO! controllers (yes they can even be networked together to distribute control over an Ethernet network!) making the method of configuring LOGO! communications the simplest that I have seen across any platform in my 30 year career. By dragging from the signal in one LOGO! program and dropping onto the destination program, the communications is configured without the need to manually add specific communications instructions. The software takes care of all of that for you! If you would like to try this for yourself, you can download a demo copy of the software at the link below. It includes full simulation so that you can fully test your programs, and even simulate signals across the network!
All of this cloud stuff sounds a bit complicated?
To make the new cloud connectivity as simple and straight forward as possible, existing software tools are used so that no new (or very little) learning is required before being able to enjoy the new features. The setup of the cloud connection is performed via the existing Properties menu where extra tabs of configuration will allow the user to securely login to their AWS cloud account, and allocate the addresses from the LOGO! program that will be made available to the cloud. This is similar to the Parameter Mapping function that exists in today’s version of software. For building visualisation, we will use a new version of the LOGO! Web Editor software. Existing web pages can be included in a cloud environment via a simple tag setting change, or new pages can be created specifically for cloud hosting, making use of a new selection of display and control elements in the new software version. By using these existing tools and skills, users will be able to pick up the LOGO! v8.3 devices and connect to the cloud with no more effort than would normally be used to setup a program and web pages. Adding to the existing vast feature list of the current LOGO! controllers, I am sure that the AWS cloud functionality will provide a huge plus for machine builders, process controllers and hobbyists alike!
To take a look at our LOGO! range, visit the shop link below, or email us with any inquiries you have.