Inductive Automation Blog

Detailed Simulation Greatly Improves Training

There are a variety of limiting factors with traditional hands-on equipment training. Most pieces of equipment are not built for the constant repetition required in a classroom or hands-on training environment. In most cases, the number of students exceeds the available equipment — so training is often done in stages rather than in sequence. In addition, valuable and strategic training time is often restricted by the setup and tear-down time. Weather delays are a continual problem for in-the-field, hands-on training. The use of hazardous chemicals and disposal are of real concern as well as the filling and phasing on and off of various component systems such as hydraulics or tank fills. These are all issues that limit the actual training time.

Control Systems Upgrade for NASA Space Simulator

This was a control systems upgrade for the space simulator, which is a joint venture of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the California Institute of Technology.

Andritz Automation Builds a Full-Fledged Virtual Plant

The Ignition application itself is primarily an HMI for an entire pulp mill. It spans all main process areas, except for the recovery boiler. The application is composed of 71,512 tags, 107 distinct displays, and 2,333 alarms. Parameterized popups are, of course, used extensively and are available for every motor, valve, and control loop. The training functions are built into the same application and are a straightforward database application with SQL Server as the database.