COPA-DATA is taking another step toward full digital connectivity in industrial and energy automation with the new release of its zenon software platform. Ready-made components save additional time during project planning. The new versions of zenon 8.20 and the reporting and analytics software zenon Analyzer 3.40 are available now.
With the release of version 8.20, COPA-DATA has upgraded many of the features of its zenon software platform. There are improvements, for example, to the authorization and authentication functions. COPA-DATA has also added new drivers to its portfolio, e.g. for Euromap-63 interfaces for injection molding machines. Additionally, the zenon Web Engine now supports alarm causes detected by zenon Editor. Overall, zenon applications will run even more robustly.
Ergonomic engineering with Smart Objects
One highlight of version 8.20 is Smart Objects. This upgrade to zenon Editor provides users with ready-made components that can considerably simplify project engineering. Smart Objects contain the standardized functional units for all module functions and settings that are required to map a process component. ”With Smart Objects, we have created a tool to help our customers efficiently re-use related elements, including symbols, variables, and functions. The Smart Objects form a kit of building blocks available in a library, all packaged up. This kit makes configuration, upgrades, and maintenance quicker,” explains Gerald Lochner, Head of Product Management at COPA-DATA.
Once created, templates for Smart Objects can be instanced multiple times in the project. All objects and links are generated automatically by zenon, and users can also customize individual Smart Objects and its templates. Components used previously can be transferred to the new project in just a few steps and adapted to the relevant requirements. The benefits for users are clear: because object orientation is firmly integrated in zenon, it is possible to manage complex content centrally and thus save valuable time.
Scale up cost-effectively
With zenon 8.20, COPA-DATA is deploying, for the first time, Docker container technology, which isolates services and processes from each other. This makes it possible to have multiple zenon Runtimes on one server. All the applications and functionalities that zenon needs are compiled in a package that can be launched from its own file system. Until now, it was possible to store the entire infrastructure centrally, using virtual machines, but this was operationally inefficient due to the resources required. The isolation of services and processes has a positive effect on performance and ensures optimal scalability. Because the different runtimes are available centrally on a host system, costs can be saved in terms of hardware and the maintenance of IT systems.
Improved automated audit logs
zenon logs every event reliably in its Chronological Event List (CEL). To ensure that only the information relevant to the user is available quickly and efficiently, COPA-DATA has redesigned the CEL in the new zenon 8.20 version to bring extra clarity. It is now possible to assign all events to one or more categories. Users can filter by these categories in the Runtime. In zenon Editor, as well as assigning categories, users can add new categories. This means the CEL can be customized and relevantly configured for each application. In particular, this supports industries such as the pharmaceutical industry that require documentation and must collect relevant data for audit trails, in accordance with regulations, and then make this accessible digitally.
New process transparency – zenon Analyzer 3.40
Enhancements to zenon Analyzer 3.40 will make processes more transparent. The comprehensive, flexible and automated reporting and analytics functions have been upgraded in zenon Analyzer 3.40. One major improvement is the pyZAN library. It adds the strengths of the Python programming language to zenon Analyzer; expanding the predictive analytics options. As a result, both detailed process data and metadata can be transferred from the zenon Software Platform to zenon Analyzer and subsequently exported from zenon for further processing using Python.
For the first time, with the new release, reports in zenon Analyzer can be customized with a company’s corporate design. Both headers and footers in a report can be updated, and these update dynamically based on formatting changes. All of these customizations can be saved as templates and re-used in the future.
The XY chart display is more versatile in zenon Analyzer 3.40. Users can now contextualize several variables in one diagram. For example, variables such as pressure, density or electricity consumption can be set in relation to temperature and displayed clearly in one diagram.
Upgrades to IoT functionality
COPA-DATA has upgraded zenon’s IoT functionality with zenon Service Grid, which comprises a system of modular software components, or microservices. These microservices form a large, scalable application that can be adapted individually. By distributing the components, hardware resources are used more efficiently. zenon Service Grid is ideally suited for use as an integrated solution for data monitoring in distributed systems, such as equipment used in the field of renewable energies. The solution enables users to transfer data continuously from fieldbus level to the cloud. Users therefore benefit from increased robustness and the wide range of options in zenon for data acquisition and data management.
Availability
The new software releases for zenon 8.20 and zenon Analyzer 3.40 are available now. Find more information about what’s new here: https://www.copadata.com/current-version
