The following new functions and improvements are available in ibaPDA from version v8.14.0.

Analytics: New function CharsToText

This function builds a text string out of single character codes, which are provided as numerical values based on a selected encoding. The encodings ASCII, UTF-8 and UTF-16 as well as other codepage ids are supported. The number of characters to be concatenated in a string is limited to 999. Decimal as well as hexadecimal values are supported. Of course, analog signals may be used as arguments of the function, transmitting the numerical character codes.

Generating readable text from sources which can only process numerical values is made easier by this function.

For more information see CharsToText

Supporting MQTT 5 broker

The MQTT interface and the MQTT data store now support also MQTT 5 brokers. The MQTT 5 standard offers new features, which are implemented in ibaPDA step by step. ibaPDA v8.14 supports the following features:

  • Session expiryTime limitation of client sessions after the connection to the server got lost.

  • Flow ControlAdjustable property "Receive Maximum” for a stable and efficient connection between broker and client.

  • Topic aliasNegotiation of an alias number for each topic between broker and client for the sake of a better bandwidth utilization.

For more information please refer to the documentation of ibaPDA-Interface-MQTT and ibaPDA-Data-Store-MQTT.
Melsec-Xplorer: New operand type

The interface ibaPDA-Interface-MELSEC-Xplorer now also supports the operand type R (File register block switching method). This operand type can be selected in the MELSEC operand constructor like all the other types.

For more information please refer to the documentation of ibaPDA-Interface-MELSEC-Xplorer.
Playback module: New playback options and diagnostic module

New options are available for playback of data files in ibaPDA by using the playback function. If you want to replay the data files faster than the original timebase suggests, you have the choice between two methods:

  • Skip samples and keep the original timebase

    This is the previous behavior.

  • Keep all samples and change timebase

    This new method guarantees that each sample is read from the data file. To ensure this at higher replay speed, the timebase is subsequently reduced with regard to the requested factor. For example, if you have a data file with a timebase of 10 ms and you want to replay it ten times faster, the timebase will be reduced to 1/10, i. e. to 1 ms.

As for other interfaces you can now add a diagnostic module for the Playback. The diagnostic module provides information about replay speed, current position in the file, total playback time and the path of the playback file as analog signals. The pause status is provided by a digital signal.

For more information see Playback

ibaQDR New data store type for inspection lines

There is a new data store type ibaQDR inspection lines data store available, dedicated to ensure the correct acquisition and length-based mapping of quality data in inspection lines.
I/O Manager: Module overview

You can now add a column “Samples/s” in the table of the Module overview in the I/O Manager. The values in this column show the number of samples per second for each module. The values result from the number of active signals of a module divided by the timebase, given in seconds.

Furthermore, you can adjust the layout of the table according to your needs by showing or hiding columns or column groups.

For more information see Module overview

ibaFOB-D board: Supporting MSI

The ibaFOB-D boards now support "Message Signaled Interrupts (MSI)".

The firmware version E2 or higher is required. You’ll find the current firmware in the download area on our website in the Hardware category.

MSI is disabled by default. You can enable it in the I/O Manager, section General - Boards, if needed.
ibaHD-Server: Improved handling of start triggers

In case, another start trigger fires while an ibaHD timebased data store is running, you can now decide whether ibaPDA should ignore this trigger or start another recording.
ibaInCycle, ibaInSpectra: Import of reference curves for auto-adapting

Reference curves provided as CSV or TXT files can now be imported for the auto-adapting module in ibaInCycle or ibaInSpectra.

Reference curves, that are available in ibaAnalyzer, can be extracted into a CSV or TXT file by using the extractor feature. You can import these files into ibaPDA, in the Edit reference curves dialog of an InSpectra- or InCycle auto-adapting module. You can also export reference curves or spectra directly out of ibaPDA.

For more information please refer to the documentation of ibaInCycle or ibaInSpectra.
Simatic: TIA Portal V21

TIA Portal V21 is now supported.
Request-S7: Merging of licenses

The licenses ibaPDA-Request-S7-DP/PN/ibaNet-E and ibaPDA-Request-S7-UDP have been merged. Systems, that have the ibaPDA-Request-S7-DP/PN/ibaNet-E license only, can now use Request-S7 over UDP without further license. Of course, the corresponding interface license ibaPDA-Interface-UDP is still a requirement. The previous limitation of 2 UDP-connections per Request-S7-UDP license has been removed. Hence, no step-up licenses are required anymore if you want to use more than 2 connections. The new license product name ibaPDA-Request-S7 comes into effect immediately and the order number is 31.001310.
ibaMAQS: New modules

The following new modules in the ibaMAQ System are now supported and can be configured in the I/O Manager:

  • ibaM-EIP-S-1G (bus module for EtherNet/IP, Sniffer mode only)

  • ibaM-8DI-24V and ibaM-8DI-220V (input modules for 8 digital inputs)
Discontinued: Sigmatek-Xplorer

The interface Sigmatek-Xplorer for ibaPDA is no longer available.

The function was completely removed from the code, so that the current and future versions of ibaPDA are not downward compatible in this regard. If you have configurations using the Sigmatek-Xplorer interface, a change to another interface is inevitable.
Discontinued: Universal and fan module for ibaInSpectra

The two module types Universal module and Fan module for ibaInSpectra applications are no longer available for new configurations. Existing configurations with these modules can still be used.