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Create Automation Controller#

🔒 AutomationController.Create

Overview#

This operation is used to create a new Automation Controller within the automation environment.

Setup#

No specific setup is required other than to meet the preconditions of the operation.

Preconditions#

  • Automation drivers and protocols you plan to use are already created.

Sequence of Steps#

Step 1: Start the New Controller Wizard#

  1. Open the Automation Controller page.

  2. Select New on the top ribbon.

  3. Select the version level to create:

    • Revision - Create a new revision. For more information, see Revisions.

    • Version - Create a version associated to an existing revision. For more information, see Versions.

Step 2: Configure Change Set#

  1. Specify the Change Set field on the first page of the wizard.
  2. Alternatively, bypass this field if it's already defined in Entities Administration.

Wizard1

Step 3: Enter General Data#

  1. Provide a Name for the Automation Controller.

  2. Specify the Revision Name.

    Info

    If creating a new version, the revision selected when starting the process will be used. If creating a new entity or revision, provide a revision name or it will be automatically generated. For more information, see Revision Naming.

  3. Optionally, provide a Description for the Automation Controller.

  4. Select the Type from available options.

  5. Select the Scope from available options:

    • Connect IoT - Enables usage within the Automation Controller and Connect IoT realm. Select the package version and Entity Type for this implementation.
    • Enterprise Integration - Allows workflow execution in response to events posted by Integration Entries. Select the timeout value for device connections.
    • Factory Automation - Enables creation and execution of automation jobs managed in the Automation panel Monitoring section. Select the timeout value for device connections.

  6. Select the Link Connector type:

    • Normal - Default simple connector
    • Smooth - Connector interpolated as a bezier curve (default)
    • Rounded - Connector with rounded edges
    • Jumpover - Connector with bridges over link intersections

  7. Select the Link Router type:

    • Normal - Default simple router (default)
    • Orthogonal - Basic orthogonal router
    • Manhattan - Smart orthogonal router
    • Metro - Smart octolinear router

    Link Connector and Router Configuration

    System configuration values are automatically loaded if available. If these values are changed, close and reopen the page to redefine the workflow.

  8. Select the Workflow Type:

  9. Optionally, select a Parent Automation Controller to inherit configuration and capabilities. For details, see the Extend Automation Controller guide.

Wizard2

Step 4: Select Driver Definitions#

  1. Click the sign to add a new line to the grid.
  2. Fill in the required data for each driver definition.

  3. The available options depend on the scope selected in the previous step:

    If the Scope is Connect IoT, select from the available Automation Driver Definitions. The following attributes should also be added:

    • Name - a unique name should be entered; this name corresponds to the driver's identification in the workflow configuration pages, so it should be an easy-to-remember name in order to easily identify it.
    • Driver Definition - select one of the created Drivers Definitions.
    • Color - A color to easily identify the driver in the workflow configurations' pages.

    Wizard3

    If the Scope is Enterprise Integration or Data Platform, select from the available IoT Event Definitions.

    You may select from the following IoT Event Definitions:

    * Material Operations * Resource State Change * Post Data Collection

    For each of these IoT Event Definitions, you can choose the Variant: Any, Light, or Standard. The Light variant is optimized for performance by including only the essential properties of the IoT Event. For more details, see Real-Time Insights on Shop-floor Hierarchy.

    Screenshot showing a list of IoT Event Definitions with options for Variant selection.

    If the Scope is Factory Automation, select from the available IoT Driver Definitions. Then, select an Event Filter to select which events must be parsed and handled.

    Wizard3iot

Step 5: Choose Tasks and Converters#

Select one or more Task Packages that will be available during workflow design.

Important Notes

  • The Core Tasks package is required and cannot be unselected
  • Additional packages can be added later during editing, but packages selected here cannot be removed

The tasks loaded by the Automation Controller are set in metadata through a ControllerEngineFilter structure, making the packages and tasks visible and/or selected and mandatory according to the loaded information. These filters can indicate mandatory and or dependency status and there are several rules that dictate the proper functioning:

  • If a package matches the mandatory filters, it will be selected in the package list and cannot be unselected. All others will be unselected;
  • If a tasks package is listed with a dependency and doesn't match the filter, it should appear as disabled in the list of packages available for selection. Specific tasks follow the same rules, meaning that the system can have a configured package with some tasks that only work along with specific drivers and scopes;

  • The GUI sorts the available package in the list by the following order:

    • Mandatory (and selected)
    • Available for selection
    • Disabled

  • Depending on the scope, one or more Automation Tasks Libraries will be displayed and available for selection (or mandatory when defined) in this section.

  • If the Scope is Connect IoT, only the Core tasks package will be automatically selected and cannot be unselected.
  • If the Scope is Enterprise Integration the same packages as Factory Automation are available.
  • If the Scope is Factory Automation, along with the Core tasks package, the Factory Automation tasks package will be automatically selected and cannot be unselected.

Finally, select the Create button to complete the operation and create the Automation Controller.

Screenshot showing a UI with options for choosing tasks and converters, as part of creating a new automation controller.

Step 6: Setup Initial Workflow#

  1. After creation, the workflow designer opens automatically with two task blocks pre-configured based on your selected scope:

    • On Equipment Setup
    • Equipment Setup Result
    • On Job Start
    • Job End
    • On Job Start
    • Job End

  2. Customize the workflow according to your specific automation requirements. For detailed workflow design guidance, see the Workflow Designer documentation.

  3. The Automation Controller status is now Created and ready for workflow configuration.

Entity