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Flexible Line and Equipment Simulator
Hermes Simulator is a simulation solution for line logics and automation stations, which enables us to build logical interaction workflows, with the aim of testing changes, before going into production.
The goal is to provide a system that is flexible on design complex station logics.
Connectivity: the solution implements as OPC.UA Server, that is an industrial standards, in order to expose items and any OPC.UA Clients can connect to it
Stand-alone: the solution implements a OPC.UA Server without need to install third-parties software or frameworks.
Flexibility: configure exchange items browsable by any OPC.UA Browser and design logics using a visual editor.
Technologies: .NET | OPC.UA | LITEDB | ANGULAR | BLOCKLY| DEVOPS
Production management systems are critical for the business. Let's discover how to avoid workarounds on the system for certification tests and how to ensure that tests are close to the final situation.
Abstracting Automation
Logic Editor
The solution exposes an OPC.UA server with which an interface can be defined. It will be the same that will be used in production. This abstracts the level of connectivity with the field.
In this way, I can get various benefits:
Keeping system clean: everything above my connectivity level stays clean and close to what will be installed in production in the customer's real environment, so there is no risk of making configuration mistakes due to certification workarounds.
Making configuration portable: similar to previous benefit, if I have independence of the environment, because the connectivity with the field is abstract, then it means that the system configurations in the laboratory are like those in production and vice-versa.
Using Simulation as an investigative methodology: finally, when I encounter bugs in production, which require analysis, I can perform the investigations without impacts of customer production to troubleshoot problems.
The solution is developed considering two aspects:
It must be stand-alone, as a solution it brings with it everything it needs to work, this allows technicians to install the simulator on their PC, which is also present in the laboratory servers.
It must provide a graphical interface with which technicians can edit the logic of an simulated station.
Solution features:
It exposes and administrator page, where is possible to check the logs of the simulation.
It automatically generates configuration schemas in order to show configuration settings that can be changed to act on logics.
Station simulator editor uses Blockly as library to provide a low-code editor of station logics.