About PLCopen

PLCopen - Standardization In Industrial Control Programming

IEC 1131-3 is the only global standard for industrial control programming. It
harmonizes the way people design and operate industrial controls by
standardizing the user interface. A standard interface allows people with
different backgrounds and different skills to create different elements of a
program during the different stages of the software lifecycle: specification,
design, implementation, testing installation and maintenance. Yet all pieces
adhere to a common structure and work together harmoniously. The standard
include the definition of Sequential Function Chart (SFC), used to structure the
internal organization of a program, and four inter-operable languages:
Instruction List (IL), Ladder Diagram (LD), Function Block Diagram (FBD) and
Structured Text (ST). Via decomposition into logical elements, modularization
and modern software techniques, each program is structured, increasing its
re-usability, reducing errors and increasing programming and user efficiency.

PLCopen is a vendor- and product-independent world wide association supporting
IEC 1131-3. Via this programming standard we want to provide greater value to
users of industrial controllers. By implementing this standard on many program
development environments, users can move between different brands and types of
control with very little training and exchange applications with a minimum of effort.
To reach this goal, the members of PLCopen are committed to supply and/or use
IEC 1131-3 compliant products. To guarantee compliance, certification is
accomplished through PLCopen accredited institutes, insuring that certified
products meet the criteria for common implementation.
PLCopen was founded in 1992 and has headquarters in The Netherlands, with
supporting offices in North America and Japan.

PLCopen - PO Box 2015, NL 5300 CA Zaltbommel, The Netherlands
Tel.: +31-418-541139 Fax: +31-418-516336
email: evdwal@plcopen.org
website http://www.plcopen.org

Courtesy Electrical Contractor Network