Opto 22 speaks up for open-source software.

For this month’s IoT feature in Design World magazine, Opto 22 had the chance to weigh in on the value that open-source software brings to industrial automation.

Some key points for the industry:

• Open source is everywhere in the enterprise and consumer sectors, powering innovation in products, services, and projects we all know.
• Open source changes the economic model for industry, freeing engineers and end users from the trap of vendor
  lock-in.
• Open source accelerates innovation and offers key technologies that empower IIoT growth.

Three more companies join the OptoPartner program to give you cutting-edge IIoT product solutions.

Do you need help integrating, installing, or updating your Opto 22 system? An OptoPartner can help. OptoPartners have a proven track record of working with Opto 22 industrial control products (like the groov EPIC system).

And if you need help on an industrial internet of things (IIoT) project, contact one of our IoT OptoPartners.

If you are using PAC Control with either SNAP PACs or groov EPIC, please be aware of an urgent bug fix related to how the control engine configures PID loops.

The issue affects:

• SNAP PAC firmware R10.0a - R10.0f: It is advised you update to SNAP PAC firmware R10.0h immediately.
• groov EPIC (all versions): We recommend you update to groov EPIC R1.4.4.

The latest SNAP PAC firmware release is now available for the SNAP PAC system.

If you are using any of the following SNAP PAC system controllers or brains, you'll want to take a look at the new R10.0h update: 

• SNAP PAC S-series
• SNAP PAC R-series
• SoftPAC
• SNAP PAC SB brains
• SNAP PAC EB brains
• G4EB2 brains

Opto 22 is once again partnering with Inductive Automation for a free all-day seminar in downtown Chicago on November 19, 2019:
Digital Transformation Made Easy with Ignition and MQTT: Learn how Combining IT & OT Empowers Innovation Within Your Enterprise

Curious to get your hands on a groov EPIC learning center (LC)? So was I. Lucky me, this was dropped off at my cubicle recently. Let’s see what’s inside!

What's new at Opto 22? We've had plenty to talk about this past month, so here's a recap of product, firmware, and software updates, as well as new groov I/O module releases!

Learn about new groov EPIC system capabilities, and make sure you are using the latest versions of firmware and software to optimize system performance.

New groov  I/O modules available now

Three new groov I/O modules were released this week as we continue to expand the groov EPIC system to support your application requirements. These modules include designs for mixed signal types, signal isolation, channel density, and also meet precise requirements for temperature control. 

One of the new features in recent versions of the groov EPIC firmware (R1.4.0+) that hasn’t gotten much attention yet is the built-in virtual private network (VPN) client. I’m excited about it because it’s an incredibly rare feature in PLCs and PACs and makes it much easier to create a secure architecture for managing remote equipment.

Why? Because a VPN essentially creates a secure tunnel through the internet—using encryption and user authentication—that can connect remote EPICs to your PC or trusted company network. From a security and connectivity standpoint, it’s like the EPIC is on your desk or in your facility, protected in all the ways you protect your company network. Anything you can do with a locally networked device, you can do with a remote system using VPN.

Control Engineering magazine hosts its annual awards program, which highlights some of the best new control, instrumentation, and automation products.

We're excited that Opto 22's groov EPIC (Edge Programmable Industrial Controller) is once again in the running for an Engineers' Choice award! 

Major new features were added to the groov EPIC controller this year, making it a repeat contender:

1 - Programming options now include IEC 61131-3 compliant languages like:

• Function Block Diagram (FBD)
• Structured Text (ST)
• Sequential Function Charts (SFC)
• Ladder Diagram (LD)

2 - For greater security in data communications, you can now connect the GRV-EPIC-PR1 to a virtual private network (VPN), and configure the EPIC as a client to connect to an OpenVPN server.

3 - For Ignition users, you can now choose Ignition or Ignition Edge platforms. Full Ignition gives you access to more Ignition modules, external access to the OPC UA server (no need for a PC!), scripting, and database support.

But groov EPIC can't get the recognition without your help!

How one integrator used the remote connectivity in groov EPIC and groov View to save his systems from Midwest storms.

Rainstorms have pounded Wisconsin this season, along with much of the Midwestern United States, producing strong winds, flood waters, and tornadoes. Opto 22 field sales rep Dave Engsberg calls this area home and shared a story last week about one groov EPIC system on a particularly rainy night.

His story is a great example of what secure remote connectivity can mean for your applications: the difference between continuing operations or being submerged under water.