New PLC Data Management

Optimised PLC data management in EPLAN Platform 2.4 simplifies data capturing and ensures data consistency between the electrical engineering hardware design and PLC programming. Communication units can now be designed as bus connectors, rather than listing and defining each network individually for one communication unit. To create the physical topology, users simply select a single-line overview where the complete network cabling can be defined. This is then followed by the logic topology, which describes and documents in detail the data flow between end devices and PLC connections. This makes the identification and definition of the control structure more intuitive. Specific data for communication protocols can easily and rapidly be captured early in the design phase – directly at the connector.