IEC 61499 is a new domain specific programming and modeling paradigm for design and development of truly distributed control systems for industrial automation.

In this course on IEC 61499 control system development, you will get an hands-on training on building a simple distributed control application of a mechatronic system. You will first start with learning the basic building blocks of IEC 61499 and later on build a real application with three distributed controllers. In the first 4 sections of the course, you will use soft PLC (on your PC) and in the remaining sections, you will use real PLC's to deploy your application.

The complete course curriculum is available below.

Note: The PLC's are not included in the subscription of this course, they are to be purchased separately. It is not mandatory to buy PLC's used in the course and you can follow the course completely without them. Please see the FAQ section below for more details. In order to use the engineering tool used in the course, you will need a Windows 10 PC.


Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction

    • Installing NxtStudio

    • Installing License
  • 2

    Getting started with Basic Function Blocks (BFB)

    • Understanding tool layout and creating new solution

    • Creating a Basic Function Block (BFB)

    • Defining interface for calculator BFB

    • Defining ECC and Algorithms for calculator BFB

    • Compiling and debugging the calculator BFB

    • Creating App, Mapping and running the calculator app

    • Watching data and event values of BFB, forcing values

    • Importance of Event and variable associations
  • 3

    Getting started with Composite Function Blocks (CFB) and Standard library

    • Defining CFB interface for the Calculator

    • Defining the CFB network using standard library function blocks

    • CFB Event merge and CFB auto creation

    • Creating merge BFB to merge events and data

    • Create and test new app with the new calculator CFB

    • Running the Flasher example
  • 4

    Getting Started with Lifting Luggage example

    • Unarchive the starter project, renaming and a quick walk through

    • Implementing a centralized controller

    • Adding the controller to the app and testing

    • Refactor the controller into two function blocks, 1 for each mechatronic system

    • Adding the refactored controller to the app and testing
  • 5

    Getting Started with IceBlock Nano PLC

    • Initial connections and powering on the IceBlock

    • Setting up the IceBlock to connect via a network router

    • Installing IceBlock FB Library and adding the library to a project
  • 6

    Using IceBlock Nano PLC with the Lifting Luggage example

    • Adding IceBlock devices to the project, mapping controllers, deploying and running

    • Adding NxtMini PLC device to the project, mapping plant model, deploying and running
  • 7

    Working with Digital IO’s on the IceBlock and NxtMini PLC’s

    • Adding Symbolic links to controller IO’s and IceBlock HW configuration

    • Adding Symbolic links to model IO’s and NxtMini HW configuration

    • Running and testing the Lifting Luggage example with Hardware-in-loop simulation
  • 8

    Conclusions

    • Conclusion and what's next

FAQ

  • Do I need a real PLC's to do the course

    The first 4 sections of the course (see course curriculum above) does not need any PLC's. However if you want to practice sections 5 and later, you will need to purchase the PLC's used in the sections. These are sold separately. Please contact us for pricing. You can still follow the videos without real PLC's.

  • Do you have special pricing for students

    Yes, please email any proof you have about your student status and we will give you a special price of 1 month access for just €61.25 (including tax).

  • What is the refund policy

    Unless required by law, there are no refunds available for the course.

  • Where can I buy the PLC's used in the course

    Please contact us and we will get back to you with pricing details.

  • What are the system requirements for the course

    To watch the videos, all you need is a modern web browser. In order to follow along and "learn by doing", you will need a Windows 10 machine.

  • How long do I have access to the course?

    How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own. If you were an invited participant of the course and did not pay for the course, then you have 3 months access to the course. If you bought a student pack, you have 1 month access.

  • Does the price include taxes (VAT)

    The price includes taxes.

  • I want to buy as a company in Europe, can I get taxes waived off

    Yes, you can. Please send us an email with your EU VAT ID and we will send you an invoice without taxes applied and instructions on how to pay and enroll for the course.

Instructor(s)

Senior Instructor

Sandeep Patil

Sandeep Patil is senior lecturer at Luleå University of Technology (Sweden) and head of Research and Development at Flexbridge. He has been involved with IEC 61499 technology for more than 10 years.