See how Zendal overcame multiple challenges of cybersecurity, incompatible equipment, lockdown, logistics, and remote teams.

During the year 2020, dozens of companies worldwide worked to develop vaccines for the pandemic-causing virus COVID-19. Biofabri, a subsidiary of Spanish international biopharmaceutical group Zendal, became responsible for industrial production of the antigen vaccine for most of Europe.

Their task was daunting. Somehow they would have to construct and automate a new fill-and-finish facility during a worldwide pandemic, in a country with one of the strictest lockdowns. Logistics were soon in chaos, with even basic supplies unavailable. Zendal had a variety of older equipment in place with incompatible controllers and individual HMIs. They also had no control over the make or model of PLCs that package suppliers would provide with new equipment. 

And towering over all other problems were issues of cybersecurity. 

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Opto 22 headquarters welcomed a new group of groov EPIC students to kick off 2024 training.

The value of in-person, instructor-led training at the Opto 22 factory and headquarters is evident after working with another great class of Opto students this week—all eager to become groov EPIC experts. And kudos, once again, to the team of Opto trainers who devote their time to developing a class curriculum that is beneficial for all levels of engineering and types of applications.

This month, students made the trip to California from Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Massachusetts, and parts of central California to attend and spend 4 days immersed in the groov EPIC system—learning all its features, capabilities, and programming options.

If you haven’t attended training yet, we hope you can join us at one of our upcoming classes.

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These website tools make it easy to design your automation systems and choose the parts you need.

Hey Opto crew! Today, I want to walk you through something pretty cool and super useful – our System Configurators at Opto 22. These tools are all about making your life easier when it comes to picking the right automation gear. No fluff, just the good stuff, including all the specs for the parts you’ll need, and you can access them all from the Products section of our website.

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Choose the OptoPartner you need from Opto 22’s growing network of system integrators.

The newest members of the OptoPartner program come from all around the world. Take a look at the descriptions below and see if one might be a fit for your next project.

In projects verified by our engineers, these new partners have proven their engineering expertise and in-depth understanding of Opto 22 products, including groov EPIC and RIO.

We asked our new members to provide an overview of their companies, and here’s what they had to say.

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New features and improved performance are available on groov I/O modules with the click of a button.

A well-known electric car company is somewhat famous for its ability to add features and fix bugs with over-the-air updates to millions of cars. Of course, they are not the only ones with this feature. Many companies have been updating their hardware with firmware updates for decades, but it really captures the imagination when the hardware is something you drive.

Closer to our hearts and minds, Opto 22 has been adding features and squishing bugs on our controllers for more years than most of us can recall (it’s our 50th year in 2024!). There are a few SNAP I/O modules that can have their firmware updated via our PAC Manager program—the serial data ones for example—but now with groov EPIC and RIO, ALL our modules can have new features and refined performance added at the click of a button.

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Get free online instruction for using the CODESYS runtime engine on groov RIO in the new training series.

A customer favorite in 2023 was the groov RIO 3.5 firmware release. With this release, you could use the groov RIO edge I/O module as a controller with the CODESYS runtime engine onboard.

This was a game changer for many of our customers. Our Director of Technical Marketing, Dan White, even shared one of the first applications taking advantage of the new RIO 3.5 features in this CODESYS Tech Talk with Costa Farms.  It illustrated how the addition of CODESYS has transformed groov RIO into a full-fledged Edge PLC, opening up a world of possibilities for automation and control.

Now you can get a better understanding of how this new feature can work in your application by following along with some brand-new lessons on OptoU—Opto 22’s free online training site. 

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Preventing spills and improving operational efficiency using Opto 22’s groov RIO.

Texas-based Point Energy Partners (PEP) specializes in acquiring and developing onshore U.S. oil and gas properties with extensive experience working in major basins across the nation. PEP owns and operates the majority of the gathering and midstream assets for its operations, including its very large water recycling program, which showcases their commitment to sustainable and efficient resource management.

In an industry where every spill carries a hefty price tag, PEP found that the manual and low-tech systems at their water sites were a significant problem. These sites did not have a big budget for upgrades, so most control solutions on the market just wouldn’t fit the bill.

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Did you watch all of the 10 most popular videos on the Opto 22 YouTube channel in 2023?

If you’re one of the over 27,000 subscribers who follow the OptoVideo channel on YouTube, you have first access to all the new video content we produce. Whether it’s a new Node-RED developer video, product overview, or a technical how-to workshop, you get it all.

So what topics proved most useful (and popular) with our viewers last year? Let’s review Opto 22’s Top 10 Videos of 2023.

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A year in review of the most popular topics and discussions on the OptoForums.

Let’s talk for a moment about our fantastic Opto 22 forum fans. The OptoForums host an amazing community.

It seems that only a very small number of industrial automation manufacturers run their own public forums. Some community-supported efforts have sprung up to backfill the need for a place where like-minded folks can gather, but there is something special about having a place that is, well, for lack of a better term, “factory supported.”

Why is that a big deal?

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Sending Season’s Greetings and keeping you informed of our year-end holiday schedule.

Did you get in on the holiday fun earlier this month and get your groov EPIC holiday ornament? There’s still time to watch Opto 22’s holiday video and see how you can score your own mini 3D EPIC.

It’s been a treat to hear how everyone is utilizing all the features the groov EPIC system has to offer. 

The Opto 22 team would once again like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season, as well as keep you informed of this month’s holiday schedule.

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