The LASAL Machine Manager

With Industry 4.0 and IoT in sight, SIGMATEK favors modular, decentralized automation solutions. Small mechatronic units with their own processing intelligence, which largely run their functions independent of one another, are perfectly networked in a complete system. The system configuration can therewith be assembled into a customer-specific toolkit system and later expanded with optional function units, such as a handling robot or vision system.  

For this approach, a new tool is available in the object-oriented engineering environment LASAL: the Machine Manager. It enables the clear display of individual software projects in a machine or system and regulates the communication of distributed intelligences.

Machine software consists of partial projects, which are often subdivided in projects such as operation and visualization. With the use of the Machine Manager, a solution is formed from these complex relationships. The Machine Manager thereby channels and translates the communication between individual machine components. Projects, which provide data are connected to the projects that should or can use the respective data. Data exchange with external system components and higher-level software can also be implemented with the help of the Machine Manager.

This ensures maximum clarity and reduces the work of initial start-up, handling and maintenance of complex machines and systems. With the Machine Manager, the adaptation to changed requirements can be performed quickly and clearly. And this simplifies the implementation of adaptive production strategies.