Services - Programming

As the world becomes more and more computerized, it's hard to find a controls application that doesn't require some level of programming. Because of this, programming has become Hallfield's core competency. Whether we are programming a system we have designed or helping a customer with theirs, we've been involved with more programming applications than we can count. The bulk of our applications are PLC-based programs, but we also work on a few PC-based solutions or the occasional embedded processor project each year.

Industrial automation and related markets have provided Hallfield with extensive PLC programming experience. We routinely work with most major brands, and to date have licenses with Allen Bradley, GE, Siemens, Horner and Automation Direct. Customers familiar with PLC software costs understand that we need to be seriously involved with most major brands in order to support our PLC programs. We've developed programs from the ground up as well as helped with tweaks to customer's existing programs. For older systems, we've helped customers upload programs from failing PLCs or upgrade older PLC model programs to the latest generation of hardware. For OEM and integration houses, we've converted programs from one PLC brand to another when their customers have strict hardware requirements outside their standard product offering. From a scope standpoint, we've worked on applications with a handful of points in a small PLC or programmable relay all the way up to systems with a few hundred points with multiple PLCs and a distributed network.

Our experience in test and measurement and medical markets has given us experience developing PC-based applications using Visual Studio C# and VB.net. These applications differ from PLC-based applications by the higher requirements and flexibility needed for data collection and storage in CSV or XML files and SQL databases. We've also used PC-based applications for high speed data collection using hardware products like those from National Instruments. Although our employees are experienced with LabView implementations, the bulk of our requests to date are for Visual Studio implementations.

On the few occasions where an application is outside the PLC or PC realm, Hallfield has helped develop programs for embedded applications. These projects include standard embedded environments like Windows Embedded and Windows CE as well as custom hardware platforms like STW Technic's ESX series and Rabbit Semiconductors RCM series product lines. These platforms typically have custom BIOS and IDEs programmed using the C language.