Bosch Rexroth is advancing the evolution of controls and drives to the standard of Connected Industry with additional communication protocols and programming languages. This openness in the controls and drives lays the foundation for horizontal and vertical networking. In addition to the already supported programming languages for PLC and IT automation, support will now be offered for the languages HTML5 and Java, which are used in the area of web-based applications. At the SPS IPC Drives trade fair the company will be presenting the next phase in the evolution of the bridge between PLC-based automation and the IT world.

Capture and evaluate all the energy flows of a production system incorporating machines from different manufacturers with a single mouse click, or call up the operating conditions for condition monitoring. By providing controls and drives with new communication possibilities, Bosch Rexroth is ensuring that the wishes of many end users can become a reality. Moreover, with Open Core Engineering, Bosch Rexroth is supporting a uniquely broad range of protocols and programming languages. This provides machine manufacturers and end users with maximum freedom for the realization of future-proof production automation.

Bosch Rexroth has developed the WebConnector as a "universal translator" between high-level languages and Internet dialects on the one hand, and PLC-based machine control on the other. This communication platform transfers, for example, technologies recognized by smart devices, including WebSocket, Java Virtual Machine and the new HTML5 standard, to motion logic systems. As a result, controls and drives can directly access web applications and exchange information with them. The WebConnector thereby creates new possibilities for the direct programming of the control system using efficient high-level languages.

Over and above programming in the standard PLC languages of the IEC 61131-3 standard and the popular high-level languages of the IT world, with the IndraMotion MLC control system, Open Core Engineering now also supports the script language Lua. Thanks to its simple syntax, this platform-independent language, which is widely used in the world of computer games, reduces the time and effort involved in programming. Lua will be demonstrated at SPS IPC Drives using the sequential programming of the functional toolkit "Robot Control" as an example.

Bosch Rexroth has now significantly expanded the OPC-UA information model for IndraMotion MLC. The integrated OPC-UA server makes all the information of the control system available to applications. This information is object-oriented and semantically connected in the motion logic and robotic systems and can be read and written in the integrated OPC-UA address space.

With the interface technology Open Core Interface for Drives, Bosch Rexroth is now also making the new functions and communication possibilities available for the drive family IndraDrive. With this applications programmed in high-level languages for the Windows operating system have access to all parameters and functions.

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