Prerequisites As a prerequisite for creating an OPC UA connection, an OPC UA server must be configured on your controller and must be started.   For a description of the procedure required for starting the emulation of Schneider Electric controllers from EcoStruxure Machine Expert, refer to the How to Emulate User Guide in the EcoStruxure Machine Expert online help. For information about starting an OPC UA server on a PacDrive LMC controller, refer to the OPC UA Server Configuration in the LMC Device Objects and Parameters part of the EcoStruxure Machine Expert online help. For information about starting an OPC UA server on a Modicon M262 Logic/Motion Controller, refer to the OPC UA Server Configuration in the M262 Logic/Motion Controller - Programming Guide in the EcoStruxure Machine Expert online help.   Creating an OPC UA Connection To create an OPC UA connection, proceed as follows: Step Action 1 In the Connections view, right-click inside the table and run the command OPC UA Client from the contextual menu. Result: A new row is added to the table with Protocol = OPC UA. 2 Select this row and configure the connection in the Properties view. 3 In the Communication section, edit the OPC Server Address parameter to enter the IP address and the port of the controller you want to connect to. Use the following format as an example, using the default port 4840: opc.tcp://127.0.0.0:4840 4 In the Connections view, right-click the row you created for the OPC UA connection and run the Connect command from the contextual menu. 5 Enter the Username and Password in the OPC UA Credentials dialog box. NOTE: If anonymous login is allowed by the OPC UA server, select the check box "Anonymous login" in the "Properties view"  to avoid this dialog box for future logins. Result: The message Untrusted Certificate is displayed. 6 Verify that you are about to connect to the correct URL and you trust the certificate. Click Yes to proceed or No to cancel. Result: After the connection to the controller is established, you can see Status = Connected displayed in the row of the selected connection. The available tags are read from the OPC UA server, as indicated in the Logs view by the messages Started reading tags and Finished reading tags. The controller variables can be selected within Experior 7.   OPC UA-Specific Settings in the Properties View The following settings of the Properties view are specific to OPC UA connections: Parameter Description Communication Auto Re-Connect Select this option to perform automatic reconnection attempts when the OPC UA connection is interrupted. Auto Re-Connect Delay Enter a delay for starting the first reconnection attempt after the connection has been interrupted and between the individual reconnection attempts. Default value: 5000 ms Infinite Re-Connect attempts Select this option for an unlimited number of reconnection attempts. The waiting time between each attempt is defined by the Auto Re-Connect Delay parameter. Auto Re-Connect Max. attempts Enter a maximum number of reconnection attempts. The waiting time between each attempt is defined by the Auto Re-Connect Delay parameter. Default value: 5 Anonymous Login If anonymous login is allowed in the OPC UA server (for details, refer to the description of the Disable anonymous login parameter in the OPC UA Server Configuration in the M262 Logic/Motion Controller - Programming Guide in the EcoStruxure Machine Expert online help) select this check box to avoid entering credentials. Communication Interval Enter the minimum delay (in ms) that must elapse between the OPC UA client data requests sent to the OPC UA server. Default value: 16 ms NOTE: Consider the impact this polling frequency can have on the performance of the OPC UA server when reducing the value. If you transfer a large amount of data using an OPC UA connection, consider increasing the polling frequency to avoid slowing down the performance of the OPC UA server. OPC Server Address Enter the IP address and the port of the controller you want to connect to. Use the following format as an example, using the default port 4840: opc.tcp://127.0.0.0:4840 Use Publish-Subscribe Select this check box to activate the publish/subscribe data exchange between the OPC UA client and server.

The web license file (with the extension: .key) have to be located in the Experior installation folder (which is usually C:\Xcelgo\Xcelgo Experior…).   When Experior is started, it contacts the Xcelgo web license server to investigate whether the license is valid and whether a license seat is available. If the investigation is successful, a seat checkout is performed and the usage of Experior is granted.    When Experior is closed: Depending on the customer and license setup, Experior might give the user the option to contact the Xcelgo web license server for a check in of the license seat – or to keep it reserved for the user for later use. If checking in the license seat, the seat is available for checkout for other users with access to the same license.   The communication between Experior and the Xcelgo web license server is a bit different depending on the Experior version:   • Experior 5.x, Experior 6.0 and Experior 6.1 (prior to and including release Experior 6.1.19245) need access to port 8080 at ‘license.xcelgo.com’. They use a proprietary protocol for the license server communication.   • Experior 6.1 (from and including release Experior 6.1.19246) as well as Experior 7 need access to port 443 at ‘https://licenseapi.xcelgo.com’ for license server communication. They use a TCP protocol for the license server communication.   So: in order to check out or check in an Experior web license seat, access to and communication with the Xcelgo web license server is required. If this access is unavailable due to personal or company network restrictions and the access cannot be provided, then it is recommended to use a USB dongle licence instead.

When you have downloaded the desired version of Experior, run the .exe.    Before you install, please take the time to read the license agreement. When you have read it, choose I agree to continue: Experior is as default installed as ‘C:\Xcelgo\Xcelgo Experior 7’. If you want a custom installation directory click the Options button. Otherwise click the Install button. The program will now install. If a User Account Control window appears click YES to allow the .exe to install Experior in the defined install directory.   Once the installation is complete, click CLOSE to finish. Using a web license To use Experior with a web license you must place the license key file in the Experior installation folder. As default this is: C:\Xcelgo\Xcelgo Experior 7   The License key file name has the following signature: license.(LicenseID).(LicenseType).key   Minimum PC Requirements CPU – Quad Core CPU with 8MB Cache and DDR3 Graphics card – Nvidia Gt 710 2GDH3 or equivalent Memory – 8GB Ram Disk Space – 900MB Operating System – Windows 10 Recommended PC Requirements CPU – Hexa Core CPU with 12MB Cache and DDR4 Graphics Card – Nvidia Gtx 1070 8GB or equivalent Memory – 16GB Ram Disk Space – 900 MB Operating System – Windows 10/11  

Due to our move from a self hosted webpage to the following community structure, the API documentation is now available as static html files you need to download attached file, unzip and then open any one of the html files in the folder.

If a public class that extends the Core.Motor.Electric class exists in a catalog or plug-in then Experior will pick it up and make it visible from the Assembly context menu.   This means that you can put your own motor onto a conveyor or use it anywhere else.   To control the type that has to be listed in the context menu you can use the Menu.Motors.Add method.   The standard motors in Experior (Surface, Vector, Eccentric and Rotation) are only listed in the context menu if you explicit asks for it by calling:   Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Surface));   Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Vector));   Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Eccentric));   Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Rotation));   If your motor is derived from the Core.Motors.Surface class then by adding Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Surface)) all surface motors and all derived motor type will listed in the context menu.   If your assembly accepts all motors then just put in: Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Electric));   But remember this not includes the standard motors (Surface, Vector, Eccentric and Rotation).   In the example we have two motors that are derived directly from Core.Motors.Electric. To list the standard surface motor and at the same time accept motors derived from Core.Motors.Electric the two line below has to be added to your assembly: Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Surface)); Menu.Motors.Add(typeof(Core.Motors.Electric));   When the user then creates a new motor by clicking on the New menu item the InsertMotor method is called on the selected assembly. The only argument in the InsertMotor method is an instance of the motor just created.   Note: It makes no sense to have the motors listed in the context menu unless InsertMotor is overridden (Experior will not list the motors unless the assembly is overriding the InsertMotor method).  

Download the required version of Experior Go to the Release folder, open the folder containing needed Experior version and download the setup file. Double click the Experior install file. On the License Agreement screen, select I Agree.   If you want a custom installation path click the Options button. Otherwise click the Install button.   The program will now install, if a User Account Control window appears click YES. Once the installation is complete, click CLOSE to finish.

Minimum PC Requirements:   CPU – Intel Core i7-37xx Quad, 2.5GHz or AMD equivalent   Graphics card – DirectX 9.0c compatible Nvidia Cuda compatible graphics card, minimum 2048MB (GTX 6xx, Quadro) (NVIDIA CUDA is used by the graphics card to accelerate the physics calculations. “Rigid” bodies are not supported at this time, but having a CUDA enabled graphics card is recommended. CUDA is a very common technology and supported by the majority of NVIDIA graphics cards, however, if the device being used is not CUDA compatible it’s ok as there is little to no difference compared to other graphics cards.) https://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/what_is_cuda_new_uk.html   Memory – 8GB RAM (32 bit: 3GB RAM)   Disk space – 900MB   Operating System – Windows 7/8/10/11 (32 or 64 bit) Administrative user rights on PC/operation system is preferred. The user should be familiar with normal PC and Windows functionality

The control panel allows you to insert controls for communicating with the PLC. By right clicking on an empty square of the control panel you will open a control menu, from which you can choose different types of controls:   The only difference between the first six controls is variation in design. The buttons work when you press them while the lamps light up when a specific PLC signal is sent. The knob button allows you to switch between many different values, which you can choose in the properties window. The gauge will show values sent from the PLC. ‘Switches’ allows you to choose between two state and three state switches:     When you have chosen a control, you can see its properties in the ‘Properties’ window. You will also be able to change its name and color here as well as changing different other values for the control:   If you right click the button you can either delete it or copy it to get another button with the exact same attributes.   If you right click on the ‘controls’ tabs at the top of the control panel you will see a menu allowing you to make changes to the tab:     RIGHT: Allows you to move the controls tab right to change the order of the tabs. NEW CONTROL PANEL: Create a new control panel DELETE (Tab name): Delete the tab with the corresponding name DELETE ALL: Delete every controls tab UNDOCK: Move the controls tab around to another position in the Experior window ALIGNMENT: Choose where in the control panel the controls tabs are situated  

Overview This document explains how to enable OpenID Connect (OIDC) authentication for Experior and the Experior Remote Viewer. Once configured, users can authenticate via an external Identity Provider (IdP) instead of using local credentials. This setup supports standard OIDC-compatible identity providers (e.g., Azure AD, Keycloak, Auth0, Okta, or similar platforms).   Prerequisites Before starting, ensure the following: Experior is installed and runnable Experior Remote Viewer is available Access to an Identity Provider (IdP) that supports OpenID Connect Ability to register a client/application in the IdP   1. Experior Configuration Runtime Requirements Experior must be started using one of the following modes: -graphicsserver -headless These modes enable the web interface and API required for authentication.   Web API Configuration Update the WebApiSettings.json file to include identity provider settings. Option A – Direct OIDC Configuration Provide explicit configuration values: 1 "IdentityProvider": { 2 "Authority": "https://<idp-domain>/", 3 "Issuer": "https://<idp-domain>/", 4 "Audience": "account", 5 "ClientId": "experior-remote-viewer", 6 "UserIdField": "", 7 "RedirectUri": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/callback", 8 "EndSessionRedirectUri": "http://localhost:8080/", 9 "AuthorizationScope": "openid", 10 "Prompt": "login" 11 }   Option B – Dynamic Configuration via External API Alternatively, configuration can be retrieved from an external service: 1 "ExternalApi": { 2 "BaseUrl": "http://localhost:5050/api", 3 "IdpEndpoint": "/idp" 4 }, 5 "IdentityProvider": { 6 "Authority": "", 7 "Issuer": "", 8 "Audience": "", 9 "ClientId": "", 10 "UserIdField": "", 11 "RedirectUri": "", 12 "EndSessionRedirectUri": "", 13 "AuthorizationScope": "", 14 "Prompt": "login" 15 } In this scenario, Experior will query the external API to retrieve the required IdP configuration. Other Relevant Settings Ensure the following sections are configured as needed: WebUi.Enabled = true CorsConfiguration.AllowAll = true (or restrict appropriately for production) CertificateConfiguration.AllowInsecureCertificate should be false in production   2. Identity Provider Setup Your Identity Provider must be configured with a client application for Experior Remote Viewer. Required Configuration Create a client with the following characteristics: Client ID: experior-remote-viewer (or match your configuration) Protocol: OpenID Connect Redirect URI: Must match RedirectUri in WebApiSettings.json Scopes: At minimum openid Optional but recommended: Enable refresh tokens Configure logout redirect URI Add additional scopes such as profile or email Supported Identity Providers Any OIDC-compliant provider can be used, for example: Azure Active Directory Keycloak Auth0 Okta   3. Remote Viewer Setup The Remote Viewer uses the configured Identity Provider via Experior's API. Ensure: Remote Viewer can reach the Experior Web API Redirect URI configured in the IdP matches the viewer callback endpoint Network configuration allows communication between viewer, Experior, and the IdP   4. Login Flow The authentication flow works as follows: User opens the Remote Viewer User is redirected to the Identity Provider login page User authenticates with the IdP IdP redirects back to the Remote Viewer using the configured callback URL Experior validates the token Access is granted   5. Best Practices Always use HTTPS in production environments Do not allow insecure certificates outside of development Restrict CORS settings to known origins Keep client secrets and configuration secure Align redirect URIs exactly between configuration and IdP   Summary By configuring Experior with an OpenID Connect-compatible Identity Provider, you enable secure, centralized authentication for both Experior and the Remote Viewer. This allows integration with enterprise identity systems and improves security and user management.

Introduction The current implementation of the Physics Engine in Experior 7 presents difficulties in accurately simulating the dynamics of loads under certain scenarios commonly found in conveying system applications. This may partially or entirely alter the results of simulation and emulation models, requiring workarounds to overcome these issues.   To address these challenges, a new implementation called Advanced Dynamics has been developed to provide a generic solution that covers a broad spectrum of complex dynamics scenarios presented in case conveying and pallet conveying systems, with respect to the motion of loads produced by forces exerted by conveyors. However, it is not within the scope of this new implementation to provide a solution that represents a 1:1 version of real physics (e.g., material deformation), considering the computational limitations of real-time simulations.   Development The following section describes the main points that have been reworked to significantly impact the overall physics engine.   Load transition Problem The displacement of the load is affected, either partially or totally, by the collision between the load and the belt that occurs during the transition in merge and divert sections. Flawless transitions depend on the geometry and dimensions of the load. Load orientation (Yaw) is affected during the transition, regardless of whether the configuration is straight-straight or straight-curve sections. Merge configuration old    Orthogonal configuration old   Cylinder transition old   Small Box transition old   Curve-Straight configuration old   Solution Whenever there is a collision between dynamic actors (i.e. loads) and static actors (i.e. belts), PhysX generates contact points that the contact solver uses to determine the velocity and position of the load. However, before the contact solver is applied, the properties of these contact points, such as the vector orientation, are modified to ensure a smooth transition, regardless of the geometry or dimensions of the load. The primary purpose of contact modification is to enable seamless transitions between conveyors, without requiring the use of ramps.   Orthogonal Configuration    Parallel Configuration   Inline-Decline   Contact Points Problem   Loads can exhibit unrealistic behaviors in certain scenarios where they come into contact with more than one surface simultaneously. This is because only the greatest velocity is applied. The current implementation lacks the capability to retrieve information about the contact points generated by the surfaces and the load.   Parallel Configuration old   Orthogonal Configuration old   Solution   PhysX filter allows retrieval of information related to contact points generated by collisions between dynamic and static actors. This makes possible to develop proper mathematics which considers the distance between the load’s center of mass and the position of each contact point to apply forces and torques correctly.   Parallel Configuration New    Orthogonal Configuration New   Friction Specifically, this refers to the friction force a conveyor surface applies to a load. Experior 7 calculates this friction force when the speed of the surface motor on a belt is different from zero. When the speed of the surface is zero, the PhysX engine from Nvidia will take over these calculations. Note: Patch and Two directional refer to the two friction modes from Nvidia PhysX supported in Experior 7. This only affects the friction force when it is being handled by the PhysX engine (i.e.: surface speed is zero). The key differences are: Two-directional combines the load and the surface friction coefficients for the force calculations, whereas Patch gives priority to the surface friction coefficients. According to the Nvidia PhysX documentation, Patch mode has better performance. Two-directional mode is more realistic, especially with static friction, as patch mode has unrealistically strong static friction. This behavior is most noticeable when a load is touching surfaces with non-zero velocity and zero velocity simultaneously. In Experior 7, the friction mode can be set through the command line arguments (patch is the default value). Experior 6 only supports the Two-directional mode.   Problem   The friction force calculations made by Experior 7 and the PhysX engine are inconsistent. An acceleration-deacceleration test showed this, where a load starts from rest on a conveyor. Afterward, the motor is turned on with a speed of 1.5 m/s and then is turned off (motor acceleration and deceleration are disabled). The following images show the load speed plotted against time. As the same physical phenomenon (dynamic and static friction) is responsible for the acceleration and deceleration of the load, we would expect the plotted curves to have a symmetrical behaviour. However, It is noticeable that the load behaves differently when accelerating and decelerating. This shows the inconsistencies between the force calculated by Experior 7 and the PhysX engine.   Solution   According to the Nvidia PhysX documentation, the friction force is calculated using the Coulomb friction model. To make the calculations from Experior 7 more consistent, we are now calculating friction force based on the Coulomb friction model. The following images show the results of the acceleration-deceleration test with the new friction calculations. Due to the symmetry in the curves, we can see that the friction force of the conveyors is now consistent when the motors are on and off.   Load Trajectory Problem   When the surface in contact uses sticky friction, Experior directly defines the load’s LinearVelocity property. However, this approach is inconsistent with PhysX, which computes all the forces exerted on a dynamic actor to determine its velocity and position. Furthermore, when the friction is not sticky, forces and torques are applied without regard of the surface’s orientation.   Incline-Decline old   Curve configuration old   Solution   Forces and torques are calculated based on the alignment of the surface and the information extracted from the contact points. During transitions from straight to curve and from curve to straight, forces and torques are applied independently to each surface. This is determined by the position of the center of the load. Remove the ramps from the conveyors. Incline-Decline new   Curve Configuration new   Stacks Problem The current physics engine configuration does not allow for stable stacking or displacement due to the default collision detection system (Permanent Contact Manifold). PCM is a distance-based collision detection system that can generate fewer contacts, potentially reducing the stability of tall stacks when simulating with insufficient solver iterations. Stacks old   Solver iterations refer to the minimum number of position and velocity iterations used by the contact solver behind the scenes to determine the velocity and position of a load.    Solution The physics engine configuration now includes a new feature called “Average Point”. This feature generates additional contacts per manifold to represent the average point in a manifold. It can stabilize a stacking effect when only a small number of solver iterations are used. The following videos demonstrate the difference when increasing the number of solver iterations from P:4,V:1 to P:20,V:5. Stacks 4 1 new   Stacks 20 5 new   Thanks to the new implementation, stacking and destacking processes no longer require additional functionalities or logic to achieve the correct behavior of the stack (e.g., the use of Group() and Ungroup() from the Load class). However, limitations from PhysX are still present when using a stack with a significant number of loads. The next two videos demonstrate the stacking and destacking processes, where the sensor between the forks only attaches to the load making contact.   Stacking new   Destacking new     Sleep Threshold Problem The PhysX solver continues to execute even when the load is not moving, resulting in unnecessary consumption of computational resources. In the video, it is evident that the arrow of each load which represents the linear velocity, keeps moving around continuously, even though the loads are completely static. Sleep Old   Solution Each dynamic actor contains a property called SleepThreshold, which sets the mass-normalized kinetic energy threshold below which an actor may go to sleep. Once an actor goes to sleep, PhysX will not report or notify it.   If a load on top of a conveyor is in a sleeping state, it will automatically awaken once the motor starts (CurrentSpeed != 0f). This is due to the notification from the motor to the PhysX engine through the method BeginStart(). However, it will take one more frame for the physics engine to move the load. It’s important to note that any motor developed using inheritance from the Electric class must use the method BeginStart when starting the motor.   Sleep new   Sleep Conveyor new   Risks / Side Effects To address the issues that were disclosed, it was necessary to implement new functionalities, which may have some unintended consequences. The following section outlines the potential risks associated with each of the proposed solutions. Performance     Performance decreased 18% Processor: i7-9750H CPU 2.60 GHz Ram: 16 GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070   A test was conducted to compare the performance of Advanced Dynamics with the current implementation, Classic Dynamics, which was considered a benchmark due to its efficiency. As shown in the image, Classic Dynamics is capable of handling 850 loads without exceeding the 16 millisecond threshold (the threshold is determined by the cycle task frequency of 60Hz), whereas Advanced Dynamics surpasses it. Based on the results of this specific test, Experior’s performance decreases by approximately 18%. It is important to note that performance can vary due to hardware specifications, as well as the size of the model and assemblies contained within it.   Precision to represent reality In some specific cases, uncertainties about the real-life dynamics of the load may arise due to the broad spectrum of complex scenarios and the lack of physical facilities to test them. Therefore, we are open to discussing and improving based on your feedback.   Although the mathematics defining the dynamics of the load and configuration of the PhysX engine have been reworked, computational limitations still persist due to the contact solver capacity. This is particularly evident when implementing tall stacks (more than 15 loads) or handling loads with very small dimensions. This limitations are expected to improve after updating the PhysX engine version in the near future. Dynamic 1    Dynamic 2   False Expectations Users should not expect to obtain the same results when using Advanced Dynamics as when using Classic Dynamics with regards to load dynamics, particularly when modifying the friction coefficients. The old implementation was developed in a specific way to overcome problems resulting from the lack of information and default configuration of PhysX, such as very high and low coefficient values. As shown in the following video, using the smooth friction type from Classic Dynamics will not produce the same results in Advanced Dynamics.   Expectations   Implementation To fully take advantage of the advanced dynamics, it is strongly suggested to remove the ramps of the belts used in your catalog. A new query property Experior.Core.Environment.Engine.AdvanceDynamics has been introduced, so that developers can handle the proper removal of ramps based on the physics engine dynamics. Users have the option to select the Physics engine dynamics type through the CLA (Command Line Argument) -physicsenginedynamics “advanced”. By default, Experior 7 will use “classic”. This parameter can be set from the cmd or the shortcut configuration as the following images show.     MinPositionIterations and MinVelocityIterations properties have been added to the class Load.  Global SleepThreshold property set automatically to 5e-5 if advanced dynamics is used. Nevertheless, the property SleepThreshold is available from the class Load. Visualization of contact points are displayed in debug visualization mode when using advanced dynamics. New friction coefficient values have been defined. Experior will automatically set the appropriate friction coefficient based on the selected physics engine dynamics. The following image displays the friction coefficient values defined for advanced dynamics mode.

Before you start, make sure you have the Universal Robots Experior catalogs: • Experior.Catalog.UniversalRobots.dll • UniversalRobotsCommunication.dll   Afterward, follow these steps   Robot controller connection The following steps will connect the Experior URX assembly to the robot controller in URSim.   1. Place the Experior UR catalog (.dll) files in the Experior 6 installation folder (usually C:\Xcelgo\Xcelgo Experior 6).   2. Download and unpack/install the following: a. UR Non-Linux Offline simulator virtual machine (URSim):  b. VMware Workstation Player    3. Open VMware Workstation. Open the URSim virtual machine (Player-File-Open, then browse the file explorer to where you unpacked the files from 2.a., then select the .vmx file).    4. When the virtual machine is running, open the file with the name of the robot that you want to simulate. Then, turn the virtual robot on using the button on the bottom left. Then click ON and START.   5. Open Experior 6.0. Make sure the UniversalRobots catalog is selected in the catalog selector. Drag and drop the desired robot from the Catalogs panel to the model.   6. Go to URSim and open the robot settings.   In the settings menu, select System-Network. Note the URSim IP address.   7. Connect URSim to Experior. Do this by going to your Experior model, selecting the robot, and writing the URSim IP address in the IP Address field, under Robot connection. 7.1 Afterward, right-click on the robot and select Connect to robot controller. After this, the robot in Experior will snap into the position of the robot in URSim.       After this, the robot in Experior will replicate the trajectory of the robot in URSim.   Connecting robot I/O through Modbus TCP The following steps show how to connect the robot I/O through the URSim Modbus server and the Experior Modbus client.   1. In URSim, go to Installation- Fieldbus- Modbus- Add a new signal. (Initially, the variable list will be empty) In the dropdown menu, select the variable type: Digital Input/Output, Register (byte) Input/Output. Rename the variable (this is the name that will be used in the UR programming interface)   2. Assign the memory address for the variable. For this, you need to take into account that all the addresses have specific uses (see here).   3. In Experior, add the Modbus client by right-clicking the Communication panel, and selecting Modbus.     4. Select the Modbus client, and in the Properties panel, write the URSim IP address in the IP Address field, under Communication.     5. Assign Input/Output variables to the desired components. To do this, first set the Connection id to the id corresponding to the Modbus client. Then, assign the memory address of the Modbus server (assigned in step 2) in the Address field for the specific Input/Output. Modify the Register value, depending on the variable type defined in step 2. For Register Inputs/Outputs, Modify the Size value to UInt16 (WORD).   6. After all the memory addresses have been set in Experior, right-click on the Modbus client and click connect. While the connection is active, you won´t be able to modify the associated I/O in Experior.     After this, the variable values will be represented in the Experior model.   (This example was made with the Display assembly, found in the Advanced catalog)   

The Catalogs window contains the developed assemblies that you can use to to build a layout/model    

The Control Panel is only available in Physics mode.   Buttons and switches, used to control elements within the working area, can be added.   To add a control, right click and select the desired item from the pop-out menu.   The alignment of the Control Panels can now be set to Top, Right or Left. Right click on the tabs and go down to Alignment. In the pop out menu Top, Right or Left can be selected.     Depending on the alignment of the tabs they can either be moved left to right or up and down.   To do this, right click on the Control Panel tab and select the option as shown below.   The Control Panels can be copied by right clicking on the appropriate tab and selecting the Copy command.   

This article outlines how to import and read Excel files contents using a custom plugin.   1. First, create a new project using the Plugin template available HERE. If you already have a plugin project, skip this step.   2. It is necessary to install two NuGet packages. Therefore, in the solution explorer of visual studio, use right click on the Dependencies section, and select the option Manage NuGet Packages. Browse and install the following NuGet packages     3. Opening and reading a file with the recently added library can be performed as follows:   /// <summary> /// Class <c>Excel</c> provides methods to read the content of an Excel file. /// </summary> internal static class Reader { /// <summary> /// Opens and reads the content of an Excel file /// </summary> /// <param name="filePath"></param> /// <returns>A collection of Content type which contains the content of each Sheet</returns> public static List<Content> Open(string filePath) { try { using (var stream = File.Open(filePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)) { // Auto-detect format, supports: // - Binary Excel files (2.0-2003 format; *.xls) // - OpenXml Excel files (2007 format; *.xlsx, *.xlsb) DataSet result; using (var reader = ExcelReaderFactory.CreateReader(stream)) { result = reader.AsDataSet(); } var content = new List<Content>(); foreach (var table in result.Tables) { var tableInfo = new List<List<string>>(); if (!(table is DataTable sheet)) { continue; } for (var i = 0; i <= sheet.Rows.Count - 1; i++) { var rowInfo = new List<string>(); for (var j = 0; j <= sheet.Columns.Count - 1; j++) { var value = sheet.Rows[i][j] == null ? string.Empty : sheet.Rows[i][j]; rowInfo.Add(value.ToString()); } tableInfo.Add(rowInfo); } content.Add(new Content(sheet.TableName, tableInfo)); } return content; } } catch (Exception e) { Log.Write($"An error has occured during the reading process of the Excel file {filePath}. Please, see Debug.log"); Log.Debug.Write(e); return null; } }   The Excel file’s content is returned through the variable “content,” which provides a list of items. Each item corresponds to a sheet and its content/data. Notably, the content read from the Excel file is of type string. Developers must perform any necessary type conversions for specific data types.   You can download the attached plugin project, which contains a blue print to implement Excel reading files logic.

With a developer license for Experior 7 it is possible to create custom catalogs, controllers, plugins and more in your Experior model. We have three different templates packaged in a .vsix (Visual Studio Integration Extension) file that you can download and run, as long as you have Experior 7 and Visual Studio installed. This .vsix is attached in this article in a zip file - Simply download and extract to run the installer.   To avoid confusion, we recommend removing the old Catalog, Controller and Plugin templates before installing the new ones. Removing old templates   To remove the old Visual Studio templates:   Close Visual Studio   Navigate to the C# visual studio template folder. The standard path for this is: C:\Users\ your username \Documents\Visual Studio 20XX\Templates\ProjectTemplates\(Visual) C#   Delete the zip files named: “Experior-7.0-Catalog-Template.zip”, “Experior-7.0-Plugin-Template.zip” and “Experior-7.0-Controller-Template.zip”.   If you get an error dialog saying: “This extension is already installed to all applicable products” You can navigate to: c:\users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\17.0[hashid]\Extensions\   If any of the folders here contain Experior template files. Delete the folder. Then try running the VSIX installer again.   Output path   By default, the output path of the templates is set to the default installation location of the Experior executable.   This is defined by the environment variable: “EXPERIOR7_BIN” which is created when you install Experior 7 - by default: (C:\Xcelgo\Xcelgo Experior 7).   This means that when you build your project, the project output (*.dll) is created in that folder.   Make sure “Copy local” is set to “false” for Experior specific dll’s.   You can change this output path through the project properties. But in order for Experior to load it, you need to provide an External Libraries location.   This can be done in several ways: – Through the catalog selector’s External Libraries dropdown when Experior is started with “-config” – Through using a Startup Configuration file when Experior is started with “-startupconfiguration <file>” – Through an External Libraries path when Experior is started with “-libs <path>”   You can also manually drag and drop the dll from the folder you build to, into the Experior installation folder.   Warning:  When using an External Library folder, any dll that is present in both the External Library folder and the Experior installation folder causes errors.  

The following section shows how to use the Siemens Fetch and Write protocol to program and run the basic psychics model example.   Click on the Communications tab on the right of the Experior window, just below the Catalogs tab Now right click on the first line and select Siemens and then click Fetch   Next, on the second line down, do the same again only this time select Write   Now it is time to configure the two communications devices Select the Fetch device first and fill out the Properties like so   Next select the Write device and configure the Properties like so   Now to setup the I/O for the devices that require it. For the moment just the addresses will be used The I/O is laid out below along with the associated items: INPUTS 1.1 Motor Control “Switch” 1.2 Feed Load “Button” & Feed Load “Sensor” (2nd Sensor in system) 1.3 Load In System “Sensor” (1st Sensor in system) OUTPUTS 1.1 Motor Drive Control 1.2 Feeder “Feed Load” Control 1.3 Load In System “Lamp” Let’s set up the Inputs first Select the switch called Motor Control in the Control Panel In the Properties panel, below PLC Input expand the properties by clicking the arrow to the left of where it says On/Off    Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. as 1 Now select the push button Feed Load In the Properties scroll down to PLC Input and expand the section by clicking the arrow to the left of where it says Pushed   Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. as 2 Now select the second sensor that was added to the model earlier In the Properties scroll down to PLC Input and expand the section by clicking the arrow to the left of where it says Blocked   Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. as 2 Now select the first sensor that was added to the model As before scroll down to PLC Input in the Properties and expand the section called Blocked by clicking on the arrow   Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. as 3 Now, if the Inputs tab at the bottom of the screen is selected, the list of the inputs in the model can be viewed   Now to add the Outputs to the system Select the Motor by clicking any of the red arrows in the model In the Properties scroll down to where it says Operations and expand the section for Forward (Output) by clicking on the arrow to the left of it   Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. As 1 Now select the Feeder, that is the triangle/arrow located on the first straight that was added to the model Scroll down the Properties to the section PLC Output and expand the section for Feed by clicking on the arrow to the left of it   Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. As 2 Lastly select the Lamp in the Control Panel In the Properties scroll down to PLC Output and expand the properties under Lighting by clicking the arrow to the left of it   Enter the Byte No. as 1 and the Bit No. As 3 Now if the Outputs tab at the bottom of the screen is selected the list of the outputs in the model can be viewed  

Step 1:   Make a C# project where the main class extends the Experior.Core.Controller or Experior.Core.Logic class. Experior.Core.Controller is for making controllers that interacts with a model running in the discrete event engine and Experior.Core.Logic is for controllers interacting with a model running in the physics engine.     Step 2:   To start Experior directly within Visual Studio set Start external program. Then you can insert break points in the controller code and debug the source code.     Step 3:   Make sure the output path is the same as Experior     Step 4:     Now build the model you want to control and link the compiled controller with the model.   You can add multiple controllers disable/enable a linked controller or unload an existing controller.  

With a developer license for Experior 6 it is possible to create custom components, catalog, controllers, plugins and more in your Experior model. We have three different templates you can download and use, as long as you have Experior 6 installed.   You can download the templates attached in this article.   Setting up templates for use in visual studio To set up the templates you first need to copy the template in the C# visual studio template folder. The standard path for this is: C:\Users\ your username \Documents\Visual Studio 20XX\Templates\ProjectTemplates\Visual C# Sometimes you can experience problems with Visual Studios cache, that will fail to refresh the templates and display them in the browser, it is necessary to open the Visual Studio command prompt, which is located in following folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Visual Studio 20XX\Visual Studio Tools Run the ‘Developer Command  Prompt for VS 20XX’ as administrator and write: devenv /installvstemplates   Please note Due to changes in the Experior API will the plugins not compile without a reference to Experior.Common.dll. Setting this reference is done by right clicking ‘References’ in the Visual Studio solution explorer, pressing ‘add reference’ and choosing Experior.Common.dll from the list. If the  dll is not found on the list, press browse and choose the dll from the Experior install directory.  

The Communications window is located in the same area as the Catalogs pane but on a different tab.   PLC controls and Communications protocols can be added – for instance to connect to Siemens S7 series or Beckhoff PLCs.  

To support various Continous Integration (CI) setups, from Experior version 7.0.23105 onwards, you can now load unsigned catalogs and plug-ins – if using a Developer license.   The feature is two-folded. Part one is the skipping of signing the catalogs and plug-ins – this can be done in one of two ways.   Remove the Experior.Build UsingTask in the csproj – either by removing it entirely or adding a Conditional attribute. Or by configuring the Experior.Build by setting the new attribute ‘Skip=”true”‘.Example: <Experior.Build AssemblyFileLocation=”$(OutputPath)$(TargetFileName)” Debug=”true” Skip=”true”></Experior.Build> Now you are compiling/building the catalog or plug-in without signing it. Previously you would not be able to load the catalog or plug-in in Experior, but with the new version you are able to load them if you are using a valid Developer license.   A usescase could be to save time in CI pipelines. Visual Studio solutions with many plug-ins could use a substantial time just doing the signing process. These steps can now be avoided.   Note:   If you are using a non-developer license, catalog and plug-in checking is done as usual (catalogs and plug-ins must be signed) – meaning checksum and Key checking etc. will be performed as expected.   If you are using a Developer license and a valid ‘Tail’ / signing is found, then it also will be checked as usual. So the new feature is that Experior will allow catalogs and plug-ins without a tail.