ABB says the new release of its integrated development tool suite, Automation Builder 1.1, provides an integrated development environment for solutions using a range of automation components. These include PLCs, safety PLCs, motion controllers, drives, robots and HMIs, and will,the company says, reduce software complexity, time to market and cost of ownership.
New features include extended data exchange capabilities with electrical planning and engineering software, so electrical automation and PLC design data may be imported, modified and transferred back to the electrical CAD environment. In addition the release now includes a comparison function that allows engineers to see what might have changed since they last looked at a project, and the ability to use profiles of previous development tool versions for compatibility.