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Modular blocks will slash software development ‘by 67%’
Published:  15 October, 2014

At next month’s SPS IPC Drives trade show in Germany, the Austrian automation manufacturer B&R will unveil a modular engineering software system that, it claims, will cut the time needed to develop the application software for new machines and systems by an average of 67%, as well as reducing service and maintenance costs.

The software, called mapp, is designed to eliminate recurring simple programming tasks – such as loading recipe data – that usually take up considerable programming time.

The software provides preconfigured blocks that B&R says are easy to use and have been tested extensively. This allows programmers to concentrate on their main task: implementing machine or system processes in the application software.

The software blocks integrate with B&R's Automation Studio software so that developers can use them to simplify their work and make their application software clearer. The results are said to include increased machine availability, lower maintenance costs, and easier collaboration within development teams.