Field device integration

Today, the large number of different device types and suppliers within a control system project makes the configuration task difficult and time-consuming. Different tools must be mastered and data must be exchanged between these tools. In the end the consistency of data, documentation and configurations can only be guaranteed by an intensive system test requiring detailed specialist knowledge. A solution can be achieved by standardizing suitable interfaces. For the computable description of device parameters the so called electronic device description language (EDDL) is specified. The electronic device description is used for the configuration and the operational behavior of a device. Furthermore, the field device tool (FDT) concept defines the interfaces between device-specific software components (device type manager-DTM) provided by the device supplier and the engineering tool of the control system manufacturer. A DTM can easily be developed using existing EDD files as shown in this article. So EDD and FDT are not contradictory technologies, but complement each other