Contact:
Alicia Bowers
GE Fanuc Automation North America
410-242-0300, alicia.bowers@gefanuc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2002

GE Fanuc Introduces CIMPLICITY^® Machine Edition
Integrated machine-based HMI,motion and control

 technology for real-time collaborative manufacturing

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.¾Further enhancing its line of manufacturing enterprise-wide software, GE Fanuc Automation introduces CIMPLICITY® Machine Edition—an open, integrated development environment for machine-level programming, monitoring and data acquisition, and troubleshooting.

“GE Fanuc’s CIMPLICITY Machine Edition is an automation software break-through deploying HMI, motion, and multi-target control in a unified working environment that saves users time and reduces training requirements,” said Kevin O’Connor, vice president at GE Fanuc. “Developed as part of our digitization initiative for delivering information over the Web, this powerful package provides the automation software components users need for machine-level applications that leverage global data sharing capabilities.”

Employing an object-oriented, ActiveX “shell,” CIMPLICITY Machine Edition provides a common user interface to host multiple software applications.  Whether the software components include control, machine-level graphics, motion, or system management, CIMPLICITY Machine Edition offers the tools for fast, powerful programming; including the ability to share information between the various components through a common database.

ARC Director of Discrete Automation Research Sal Spada said, "This product has leveraged the underlying benefits of PC-based software technology for machine control application development. Rarely does the market find such a comprehensive set of development tools that span the HMI, logic control, and motion control domains. The domain barriers are finally being dismantled, and machine builders will be the ultimate beneficiaries as their time to market is radically reduced."

CIMPLICITY Machine Edition is comprised of three interoperable components:  View, Logic Developer, and Motion Developer.

·         View is an intuitive, machine-level graphical interface for shop-floor devices, including PLCs, CNCs, motion controllers, marquees, serial devices, and other machine-level components, with an all-inclusive graphics tool that allows the user to create objects within the common object repository, or “Toolchest.” Many parts of the programming environment are supported by the Toolchest, including alarm groups, logging groups, scripts, graphical objects, panels, motion blocks, ladder-logic instructions, charts, variables, and custom objects.  View also offers Web-publishing technology, allowing devices to post data and graphical panels on the Web for real-time decision-making.

• Logic Developer is a common development environment for programming, monitoring, and troubleshooting PLC and PC Control applications.  Logic Developer supports GE Fanuc’s full PLC line, including Series 90™ Micro, VersaMax™, VersaMax Nano/Micro, Series 90-30, and Series 90-70 as well as a complete PC Control offering which includes Windows NT/2000, Embedded NT, Hard Real-Time NT, and Windows CE.   
• Motion Developer is used to develop motion-control programs for GE Fanuc’s S2K series motion controllers. Once created, motion blocks can be saved in the Toolchest for use in the program, the current project, or other projects.

An optional component, CIMPLICITY Manager, is a system-management tool for Machine Edition applications in which all projects are maintained on a server to provide central storage, version control and access control capability.  Using the compare utility, various versions of a project can be compared to identify differences.

About GE Fanuc Automation
GE Fanuc Automation is a leading global supplier of industrial control systems and is a joint venture between GE and FANUC, Ltd. of Japan. GE Fanuc products and services include CIMPLICITY® manufacturing enterprise-wide software, nano to high-end PLCs, a wide range of CNCs, motion control systems, operator interfaces, industrial computers, CO2 and YAG lasers, and a wide range of integration and customer support services. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., GE Fanuc is part of GE Industrial Systems.

About GE Industrial Systems
GE Industrial Systems is a $6 billion global leader in manufacturing products used to distribute, protect and control electrical power and equipment, and supplying product and service solutions for commercial, industrial, residential and utility applications. GE Industrial Systems is one of GE's major businesses.

For more information, visit http://www.gefanuc.com or contact:  GE Fanuc Information Center, P.O. Box 229, Whitehall, PA 18052, Phone: (800) 648-2001, Fax: (610) 437-5212, e-mail: gefanuc@gefanuc.com.

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Series 90 and VersaMax are trademarks, and CIMPLICITY is a registered trademark of GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.