OptoBlog

Outside-In Journal: Training Day Part 1

Posted by Josh Eastburn on Sep 4, 2019 10:18:01 AM

Documenting the journey from the outside world into the world of Opto: First in a series.

After more than a decade as an automation engineer, I recently joined Opto 22’s marketing group. A few weeks ago, my workday was focused on maintaining the cell culture process automation of a world-class pharmaceutical manufacturer. This system had dozens of distributed controllers and hundreds of devices that worked together to deliver thousands of kilograms of the finest monoclonal antibodies you’ve ever seen. It was big.

What I enjoyed most about my job, though, was helping other engineers succeed. In the early years, I learned pretty quickly that you could take a group of smart people, give them bad tools, callous management, and a ridiculous schedule, and they would fail every time. I did the best I could to fix the managerial and scheduling issues, but the tools were always a limitation.

Now it’s my job to help connect other engineers with the kinds of tools and technologies I wish I’d had. I’m kicking it off with a deep-dive into the first place I visited as a new Opto employee: the training room.

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth your time and money to get some Opto training yourself, I’ll be walking through everything you can expect to experience.

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Topics: Training, PAC Control, Node-RED, Ignition Edge, groov EPIC, groov EPIC Learning Center, Factory Training

groov EPIC Learning - You Have Options!

Posted by Norma Rodriguez on Aug 29, 2019 12:37:03 PM

Pick from three options to fit your time and budget.

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin

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Topics: PAC Control, IIoT, Node-RED, MQTT, Ignition Edge, CODESYS, groov EPIC, HMI, groov EPIC Learning Center, OptoU

groov EPIC 1.4 means more Ignition

Posted by Ben Orchard on Aug 26, 2019 7:35:14 AM

The groov EPIC has always come pre-installed with Ignition Edge® by Inductive Automation® on board. Ignition Edge in the EPIC means you have OPC-UA drivers built in to communicate with other control systems (for example, Allen-Bradley and Siemens PLCs). It also means you can use MQTT/Sparkplug for more efficient and secure data communications. 

But starting with groov EPIC firmware version 1.4.0 (released in August 2019), that changes—in a good way. You now have the option to choose which edition of Ignition you run on your Edge Programmable Industrial Controller—either Ignition Edge or full Ignition.

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Topics: Ignition Edge, groov EPIC

New EPIC firmware 1.4: VPN Client, Network Diagnostics, and more

Posted by Janice Colmer on Aug 22, 2019 9:05:00 AM

Firmware update 1.4.0 is now available for the groov EPIC processor, GRV-EPIC-PR1.

Our engineering team released an exciting new update for groov EPIC this week. Here are some of the highlights.

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Topics: Node-RED, Ignition Edge, CODESYS, groov EPIC, software, serial module, OpenVPN

How to activate your groov EPIC (video)

Posted by Janice Colmer on Aug 22, 2019 9:03:00 AM

Ready to start using your new GRV-EPIC-PR1, the groov EPIC Edge Programmable Industrial Controller? An EPIC can do so much more than a traditional controller.

But first, you'll need to activate it. Once you've activated, you can:

  • Get future software and firmware updates
  • Receive automatic notifications about updates
  • Build and use web-based HMIs with groov View (the visualization software)
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Topics: Ignition Edge, CODESYS, groov View, groov EPIC, ssh

The Edge Unleashed at Ignition Discovery Day

Posted by Janice Colmer on Jul 17, 2019 9:00:00 AM

Attendees learned how to build a complete IIoT infrastructure for improved efficiency and real-time analytics.

The Opto 22 Road Crew was in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month to take part in another Ignition Discovery Day. These are one-day seminars hosted by Inductive Automation® that show the unique capabilities of the Ignition Edge® platform, and how it offers the automation industry a new architecture for collecting and analyzing data.

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Topics: IIoT, MQTT, Ignition Edge, groov EPIC

Publish Allen-Bradley PLC tags using MQTT & Sparkplug

Posted by Janice Colmer on Jul 2, 2019 3:03:36 PM

New video shows you how to use the Ignition Edge® MQTT Transmission module in groov EPIC to publish tag data from Allen-Bradley® PLCs.

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Topics: MQTT, Ignition Edge, groov EPIC, Sparkplug

Update available for your groov Box

Posted by Janice Colmer on Jul 1, 2019 8:20:57 AM

groov Admin update version 1.570.51 is available now.

If you own or use a groov Edge Appliance (GROOV-AR1-BASE), we've got good news for you!
A new groov Admin update has just been released. This new version includes an Ignition Edge® update to 7.9.11, which removes the 500 tag limit for connectivity to 3rd party PLC devices.

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Topics: groov, Ignition Edge, groov Admin

Watch and learn: another video added to Ignition Edge series

Posted by Janice Colmer on Jun 13, 2019 8:26:02 AM

Last week's new video showed you how to activate Ignition Edge on groov EPIC. This week brings another new video in the Ignition Edge series: Configure Ignition Edge's OPC-UA Server on groov EPIC.

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Topics: IIoT, MQTT, Ignition Edge, groov EPIC

A day of discovery with Ignition Edge and MQTT

Posted by Janice Colmer on Jun 11, 2019 1:22:40 PM

Join Opto 22 and Inductive Automation for Discovery Day 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Opto 22 is partnering with Inductive Automation once again to present a new architecture that allows large enterprises to collect and analyze data.  Don't miss this free one-day seminar designed for the Oil and Gas industry!

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Topics: Oil & gas, IIoT, MQTT, Ignition Edge

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