Rockwell added Function Block Diagram programming a few versions ago, and Add On Instruction capability in version 16. Would appreciate feedback from anyone with experience using these features. Have the bugs been worked out to make them ready to use for serious projects, or do you have to program around limitations?

 

I have used both and work very well. Are there things that vendor X has that I wish it would do and have to work around.......yes (like all products I use), but all in all it is solid.

I am doing a number of loops without issue and use both the user defined data type and custom blocks throughout a number of projects. Very handy tools.

I spent some time at Automation Fair with a couple of others pounding them about some additions to the "process tools" in fact going our to dinner with the lead controls guru and "discussing", to really compete with the big iron DCS's.

They have put a team of numerous process (DCS) guru's together and are going after this market with a vengeance so it will continue to improve.

Dave Ferguson

 

I am using AOI in a project I am working on right now. It is good start and I have found any bugs with it. If you like VB and using object oriented concepts, you'll find that AOI is a good tool. AOI work as a class and calls to the AOI are your instances. you can view the execution of each 'instance'. Not like calling a JSR that you can only see the last call to the JSR. I was told that Beckoff works pretty much the same way.