The SICK Function Block Factory is the first web-based service of its type that enables users to create function blocks automatically from any IO-link device with an I/O device description (IODD), no matter what the device type or its manufacturer.
Creating function blocks from scratch can be a laborious task and errors can easily creep in and be repeated. Using the SICK Function Block Factory service, users without specialist IO-Link knowledge can configure and create their own function block libraries and reuse them in their PLC programs as often as needed. The new 24/7 service offers to save time and cost for example when setting up an IO-Link device for the first time, replacing a device, or adjusting parameters during operation.
Charlie Walker, smart sensor specialist with SICK UK, explains: “Machine builders, integrators and end-users have come to value the additional automation benefits that IO-Link devices can bring, such as smart functions, diagnostics and edge applications. But anyone who wants to integrate IO-Link devices and read/write IO-Link device parameters to the PLC control must program many acyclical requests and deal with many different devices, parameters and complex data types.
“With the SICK Function Block Factory, you can have a fully-tested function block ready to use in your code in a matter of minutes. Not only is development time and cost dramatically reduced, but there is no opportunity for errors to creep in.
“You don’t need to be experienced in IO-Link and there’s no need to start searching for parameters, indexes and data formats. You can download a library with all of the software you need to install the function block, as well as the full supporting documentation.”
