Press

From aviation through to business processes – simulations ensure safety and reduced costs in many industries. To meet this need, the European automation expert, COPA-DATA has now equipped its HMI/SCADA tool with new functionality: a programmed driver simulation and project simulation which can simulate automation projects covering entire facilities without the need for any hardware to be connected. For the user this means equipment is put into operation more quickly and more safely, training can be more realistic and analysis of live situations is comprehensive.

An integrated flow of data is the basic prerequisite for communication between several systems. It is a particular challenge when different systems must communicate with one another. One technology that can meet this challenge is the international standard OPC UA. In July 2009, COPA-DATA was one of the first providers to present its fully developed OPC client. The European automation experts have now integrated the new OPC UA server into the current version of its HMI/SCADA system, version 6.50. In addition to the encrypted exchange of data, this also makes it possible to send alarms and their acknowledgements.

The European automation experts COPA-DATA are opening up new possibilities for their customers to customize their system with the comprehensive integration of .NET. The zenon HMI/SCADA system has been designed for open interfaces and diverse connection possibilities since the nineties. From version 6.50, with the integration of Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA), it also offers the possibility of expanding zenon with the object-orientated .NET and automating the engineering.

Thomas Punzenberger, CEO of the European automation company COPA-DATA, hands over responsibility for the management of marketing to Mirjam Riesemann on May 1, 2010. Riesemann will take over management of the international marketing teams at the Salzburg headquarters.

To support planning and quality assurance in automotive production, COPA-DATA is developing the "Dynamic Car Manufacturing Interface" (DCMI). This solution ensures safe and efficient manufacturing processes as well as an integrated flow of information in all stages of production – from HMI/SCADA systems through to MES and application of QA. COPA-DATA GmbH Germany’s DCMI project is supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

Panels in automation equipment are subject to different conditions. Light, reflections, weak contrast and individual perception of colors play an often-underestimated role. Difficult to read information and unclear user elements lengthen reaction times and increase the likelihood of incorrect operation. The European automation experts COPA-DATA have added Chameleon Technology to the new zenon 6.50. This provides skins that are easy to implement using centrally configurable and switchable color palettes.

At the time of its launch, zenon 6.50 was subjected to its first external quality control test – and passed. COPA-DATA’s industrial process control and visualization software passed the Microsoft tests with flying colors and is now certified for Windows 7. This means: safety, reliability and protection of your investment.

COPA-DATA, a leading innovator in the field of SCADA/HMI software, is advancing the design of automation systems with the new zenon 6.50. Freely definable screen shapes, transparency, color gradients and shadows make distinctive user interfaces possible and WPF frees technicians from design duties. Consequently, an improved user interface supports Operators and companies benefit from CI-compliant designs.

In January 2010, COPA-DATA, the international automation expert based in Austria, officially begins selling the new version of its HMI/SCADA software, zenon. Amongst the many advancements in Generation 6.50 are a number of graphical enhancements; a customizable user interface; increased user-friendliness and sector-specific extras.

With the establishment of a total of four new offices during the period from June 2009 to September 2009, the automation experts COPA-DATA are continuing their strategic course of further internationalization and continuous growth. The subsidiary for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) opened its doors on June 1st. Additional subsidiaries were founded in Lisbon, Portugal on August 1st and in Stockholm, Sweden on September 1st. The US subsidiary, which has existed since 2006, was repositioned in the market and relocated to Princeton, New Jersey on August 1st.