How to Download and Install Schneider’s Machine Expert

Community How-to-Tutorials
#1

Schneider Electric's Machine Expert is a powerful software suite for programming and configuring programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and human-machine interfaces (HMIs). This comprehensive tool provides a user-friendly environment with graphical programming languages, device configuration utilities, and seamless integration with the EcoStruxure platform for industrial automation solutions. Machine Expert facilitates creating and managing automation projects, making it an essential tool for engineers and automation professionals working with Schneider PLCs and HMIs. Whether you are programming complex machine controllers or designing intuitive HMI interfaces, Machine Expert streamlines the process, enhancing efficiency in industrial automation workflows.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.solisplc.com/tutorials/how-to-download-and-install-schneiders-machine-expert
#2

I’ve been using SE’s Control Expert, which I assume is similar to the IDE presented here, for around a year now and coming from Step7 I find Schneider’s PLC IDE just awful. Ugly UI, no IntelliSense, bad UX, mediocre search functionality. The two “features” that kill my mood the most: (1) change to a single UDT’s structure forces to download the whole project and lose ALL online DB (“variable”) values, and (2) monitoring of the code doesn’t show values at the moment of code processing but the values at PLC cycle end, so I basically have no idea what’s happening in my code when I try to debug it.

Maybe they will do a few things better with that new Ecostruxure Automation Expert which focuses so much on IEC61499 event driven automation.