Home

Welcome to Proview – Open Source Process Control
Proview is probably the first Open Source system for process control and automation in the world. Originally developed in Sweden by Mandator and SSAB Oxelösund as a process control system based on standard computers, the system has become a fully-fledged, integrated and low-cost solution that is running on standard PC’s with Linux as operating system.

Proview is Open Source and the license is GNU/GPL. You can download Proview, use it, modify it and redistribute it as much as you like as long as you follow the license terms.

Applications:
Steel Manufacturing SSAB Oxelösund
The largest Proview installation is in SSAB Oxelösund where the entire production line from raw materials to rolled plate are controlled and supervised by over 400 Proview systems.

A quenching line in Mobile, Alabama with ~50 Proview systems is also under construction.

SSAB Oxelösund is a world leader manufacturer of quenched and tempered steels.

About Proview:
General
Proview is an Open Source Process Control System. It is modern, powerful and general and contains all functions normally required for successful sequential control, adjustment, data acquisition, communication, supervision, etc.

The configuration of a Proview system is done graphically, making the application adaptation simple, reliable, and flexible. Proview is a distributed system, which means that the system can consist of several computers, connected via a network, preferably ethernet. A typical Proview system consists of one process control system and one or more operator stations. It is easy to configure one operating station to become the HMI-system of several control systems.

Programming is possible both with a graphical PLC-editor and with high level programming languages (such as C, Java or FORTRAN). The concept of Proview is based on a soft-PLC solution which runs on standard computers with Linux as operating system.

License
Proview is OpenSource and the license is GNU/GPL. If you want to distribute, copy or modify Proview, you are welcome to do so under the terms of the GNU General Public License. If you are unfamiliar with this license, you might want to read ‘How To Apply These Terms To Your Program’ and the ‘GNU General Public License FAQ’.

Performance
The great advantage of using standard hardware and soft-PLC is that system size, properties and performance is mainly limited by the hosting operating system and its hardware. In Proview there are no limits in number of I/O, PID loops, PLC programs, counters etc. The minimum cycle time for a PLC loop is 5 ms.

Communication
Proview can communicate with other computers both via ethernet network (ip) and via serial mechanisms. Proview supports several different protocols, such as UDP or TCP sockets via ethernet and Siemens 3964R on serial links.

I/O system
The most common I/O system used in Proview is a QBUS based system with I/O cards developed at SSAB Oxelösund which interacts with the system through a PCI/QBUS bridge. This I/O system can also be used as remote I/O via an ethernet network. As a complement, it is also possible to use Profibus/DP as field bus. Furthermore, since Proview is based on Linux and high level languages, it is easy to use other systems with available drivers or develop new ones.