The Genesis of a Programmable Controller Available to Purchase

Over the past twenty years the programmable controller has been developed from a relatively simple hard‐ wired device used for controlling sequential operations to being almost a ‘computer’ in its own right capable of handling many distributed processing tasks on the factory floor in real time. This short feature takes a brief look into how Siemens is using CIM to produce programmable controllers more efficiently. Siemens has such a state‐of‐the‐art CIM‐based production line in Amberg, Germany, which is notable for the short time it took to be ‘up‐and‐running’. But why is the company increasing production in a recession? The answer is because of Far East markets, where the aggregated demand for programmable controllers is estimated to grow at some 15% per annum. Consequently, the company has changed its production techniques to gain ‘an edge’ in these burgeoning markets and in doing so has adopted heretofore Japanese attitudes to ongoing product quality.