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KINGSTAR Soft Motion provides all the benefits of a software solution to motion control in an automatically configured EtherCAT environment with “plug-and-play” compatibility. With the highest quality and performance of pre-integrated and pre-tested motion libraries, KINGSTAR delivers motion control at half the cost of traditional hardware platforms. Deliver Software-Only Motion Control and Positioning Systems Quickly and Affordably KINGSTAR Soft Motion is an open and standards-based, software-only solution that streamlines motor control and automation. Soft Motion runs directly on the PC, uses the NIC card for I/O, and uses the powerful EtherCAT protocol to free you from the shackles of proprietary and costly hardware. With Soft Motion, motion control engineers can design, develop and integrate PC-based machine controllers in a “plug-and-play” environment for consolidated, inexpensive and scalable motion and vision control.

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Key Components of a Soft PLC

POSTED 05/31/2017 | By: Matt Edwards, Director of Professional Services

A Soft PLC is software that enables you to transform a conventional PC into an industrial programmable logic controller. By using the a Soft PLC, industrial automation engineers can efficiently manage and deploy robotics controller applications that execute such functions as motion control and machine vision efficiently and quickly, and at an extremely reduced costs.

An All-Inclusive Software PLC
As an all-in-one package, the KINGSTAR Soft PLC incorporates a wide range of features aimed at improving productivity in industries that handle huge volumes of work. Unlike most PLCs on the market, the programmable logic controllers by KINGSTAR have real-time (RTOS) extensions that can easily interact, execute and pair up with third-party devices like machine vision and motion control, which makes them convenient for consolidation of industrial processes.

The PLC package consists of several soft logic programming tools, custom product development tools and a runtime execution engine. These work in a multitude of ways to facilitate speed-to-market and precision performance in the development of automated control applications. The software is developed to effectively transform any industrial Windows 64-bit PC into an intuitive software PLC with greater performance and easy-to-use features and security (OPC UA).

Key Components of the KINGSTAR PLC
The KINGSTAR PLC is made up of a wide range of components and features, including:

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KINGSTAR Soft PLC
This is the ideal replacement for hardware PLC solutions, designed with KINGSTAR’s runtime system-enabled software. It works by monitoring and controlling the input and output of all the systems linked to the PC via Ethernet cabling to generate improved and simpler workflows for greater productivity at lower costs.

KINGSTAR Workbench
This enables engineers to easily develop PLC programs. The package includes a sample KINGSTAR program for conducting tests. It also supports up to 6 PLC programming languages including Structured Text, Function Block Diagram, Sequential Function Chart, SAMA and IEC 61499 Application and Ladder Diagram.

KINGSTAR Analysis Console
This is a support component that helps in the identification of network and configuration settings of a runtime target system on the KINGSTAR soft motion platform.

Summary
The KINGSTAR Soft PLC is a fully-integrated software robotics controller that every engineer should consider. With the KINGSTAR Soft Motion Platform, you can easily consolidate a wide range of industrial automation application processes for less downtime and enhanced performance at very low costs.