Custom design, reusability, maintainability, team development, improved software quality, reduced development cycle

Improving program development efficiency is a universal concern of all PLCs. In particular, program reuse reaps benefits of high quality programs, short development cycles and low development outlay. In a relentless quest for improved total design efficiency from development thorough maintenance and maximum program reuse, the FA-M3R tasks a step beyond structured programming to introduce the concept of "object ladder." WideField2 is created with the vision and analogy to a baseball ground where flying baseballs in all directions must be caught. It thus aims to be a tool to developers, easy-to-use in all scenarios during the program development process. WideField2 introduces new functions like program modularization, local devices, component macros and "structures" for defining structures of devices, to realize further modularization of programs and device structures. The end result? Improved program reusability and reduced total cost.
*: Object Ladder is the program development concept integrating both programs and devices into blocks for each function to improve customization efficiency.

Local devices are key elements in the implementation of object ladder. Even if given identical names in different blocks, local devices are assigned to physically distinct devices, eliminating the risk of interference during program execution. Handling a ladder program and its local devices as a single object increases block independence, allows flexible reuse and customized design, as well as facilitates program development in a team. Similarly, by encapsulating local devices in component macros, a program can be divided into reusable components.

Job optimization is fundamental to improving efficiency. Debugging is inevitable in program development and reuse. By using an index view during debugging, however, a user experiences improved efficiency in reusing existing programs. The index view displays circuit comments of a ladder program and hides the detailed program code underneath, to present a contents page of a program. It improves readability so that a user may have an overall view of the program flow prior to debugging specific program segments.

WideField2 provides functions such as OLE support that allows you to tap the power of Windows. Using these Windows functions eases program development. For instance, device and comment data can be copied from MS Excel to WideField2 simply by dragging it with the mouse. Similarly, circuits can be dragged and dropped into Microsoft Word for preparation of design documents, etc.

Input macro function added to component macros. Input conditions that previously cannot be made into a macro can now be modularized.