The big Factory I/O Wishlist

This project seems rooted in conveyor applications. We work with material handling such as airlocks, air conveying, filling trucks. diverter valves. butterfly valves, solenoid valves etc. Are you looking to add other factory applications? Compressors and pnumatic valves would be a benefit. example your pusher obviously uses air but if your compressor isn’t running, the pusher could technically not work, or only half work. or drift away if the pusher was aimed downward.

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This is a wishlist:

Variable Speed Drive simulation (SINAMICS?)
NC Safety button
More coloured buttons
Cursor buttons
Rotatory positioning table

some pneumatical/hydraulic devices

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A smother “flight” when changing between saved camera positions.

Some kind of basic AMR/AGV

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Be able to have multiple simultaneous instances of drivers. (In larger setups each section or machine can have its own interface.)

Ideally also if different types of drivers could be used for each instance.
Also ideal if each driver could be assigned to a specific network adapter to support multi-network or segmented setups.

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I really like the product so far, but I do think for a training tool outside of the basics of automation or anything outside of a packaging and fulfillment center automation application it is very limited. I see that there are dev maps to fix some of this, but I think certain areas really need to be addressed to make the product have more functional application to mimic a larger variety of real-world practices.

First you have to have scalability of components this offers a lot more functionality where the end user can manipulate the existing box and parts for other applications they may be doing.

Secondly, fluids in tank and potential future process I/O updates have to have editable properties. Because this can help new automation engineers have a very good understanding of principles such as cavitation in pumps and how temperature and pressure can be managed and controlled in a fluids process.

With these fluids you need key instrumentation that is used regularly on real world applications like level switches, level transmitters, pressure and temperature transmitters.

I know lots of people have suggested to add a fluids and process equipment section to factory I/O. I think that solids are another aspect of this process side that needs to be accounted for. That includes varying particle sizes for different types of solids. An increase in equipment to move and handle the solids and instrumentation to aid in the process.

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Also liquid color for batching. What do you think of that Also agitator and temperature to affect the blends. I read someone suggest pipes to interconnect tank processing. This would be soo cool :sunglasses:

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My colleagues and I like factory io and the new features of the release 2.5.6 with the light indicator colors and the start and stop button by the IEC standard.

My wishlist:

For the use of the closed-circuit current principle by the IEC 13849 it is important to configure the sensors to normally open or normally close. NO and NC depends on the application.
It would be great if we get this feature for the inductive and capacitive sensors.

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Hello, mining equipment, reclaimers, mining forklifts, off-road trucks would be interesting.

Pretty excited with the latest update. It makes our button colors much easier to understand.

One thing I would love to see added: is on the Chain / Roller Transfer. I wish there was an additional configuration for the lifting mechanism to require a PLC output for raise/lower and 2 PLC inputs for chain raised/lowered.

Also would love to see if the RFID tags on the boxes and Pallets could show their details on the outside some how. Either with hovering over it, or as a text on the face of the tag. We have some new hires doing pallet tracking on a conveyor, and would like to make sure they are not off sync one direction or another.

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Hi Jan,

I am not sure if somebody else already had mentioned these points but these are my wishes below:

  • Interface to the parts library to upload your own models via a defined format
  • possibly also kinematics models
  • Possibility of linking the kinematics model processes with control signals