Proview project is probably the first Open Source system for process control in the world.

Originally developed in Sweden by Mandator and SSAB Oxelosund as a process control system based on standard computers, the system has become a fully-fledged, integrated and low-cost solution that is running on standard PC's with Linux as operating system.

It is modern, powerful and general and contains all functions normally required for successful sequential control, adjustment, data acquisition, communication, supervision, etc.

The configuration of a Proview system is done graphically, making the application adaptation simple, reliable, and flexible. Proview is a distributed system, which means that the system can consist of several computers, connected via a network, preferably ethernet. A typical Proview system consists of one process control system and one or more operator stations. It is easy to configure one operating station to become the HMI-system of several control systems.

Programming is possible both with a graphical PLC-editor and with high level programming languages (such as C, Java or FORTRAN). The concept of Proview is based on a soft-PLC solution which runs on standard computers with Linux as operating system.

Performance

The great advantage of using standard hardware and soft-PLC is that system size, properties and performance is mainly limited by the hosting operating system and its hardware. In Proview there are no limits in number of I/O, PID loops, PLC programs, counters etc. The minimum cycle time for a PLC loop is 5 ms.

Communication

Proview can communicate with other computers both via ethernet network (ip) and via serial mechanisms. Proview supports several different protocols, such as UDP or TCP sockets via ethernet and Siemens 3964R on serial links.

I/O system

The most common I/O system used in Proview is a QBUS based system with I/O cards developed at SSAB Oxelösund which interacts with the system through a PCI/QBUS bridge. This I/O system can also be used as remote I/O via an ethernet network. As a complement, it is also possible to use Profibus/DP as field bus. Furthermore, since Proview is based on Linux and high level languages, it is easy to use other systems with available drivers or develop new ones.

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

· Storage environment with history database.
· Faster scantimes of the plc program (less than 1 ms).
· Color gradients, antialiased metric fonts and jounal file (Undo/Redo) in Ge.
· Support for keyboard editing in the configurator and plc editor.
· Security updates.