FluidSIM 3 - Version history

Version 3.6i from August 31, 2006

Bugfix. Grouped objects could not be moved correctly in some cases.
Bugfix. File copy operations within overview windows sometimes did not handle user inputs correctly.
New component. Magnetic actuated pneumatic proximity switch according to ISO 1219.

Version 3.6h from June 25, 2004

Bugfix. Circuit diagrams as a part of presentations were sometimes not simulated completely.

Version 3.6g from April 7, 2004

Bugfix. When moving lines (fluidic, electrical), segments were sometimes merged in an unintentional way. Now, a merging of segments happens not until the mouse button is released.
Bugfix. Copying selected groups to the clipboard now includes the connecting lines between the included components.
Bugfix. Corrects a redraw bug during the update of menu entries.

Version 3.6f from January 15, 2004

Bugfix. Avoid crashes when attempting to print out circuits although neither a printer is connected locally nor a network printer is available.
Bugfix. “Snap into place” of distance rules near cylinders does now again work correctly.
New Feature. Labels and positions of distance rules are now displayed in a separate pop-up window just like other component parameters.
New Feature. The digital levels of FluidSIM Input and Output components are now highlighted by color.
New Feature. FluidSIM can now handle multiple Input components with the same “Server” and “Item” setting.

Version 3.6e from November 7, 2003

Bugfix. When copying digital modules, the components inside a module where not always redrawn.
Bugfix. In rare cases, the circuit properties were not saved correctly.
Bugfix. The FluidSIM-IN component, which connects to the OPC interface, did not work properly for the input value FF (hex).
New Feature. Push buttons or spring-returned valves could be set into a locked state by means of a Shift-Mouse-Click. In this way, the components kept switched without holding the left mouse button. Note that to release several locked components each of them had be clicked a second time.
To overcome this cumbersome handling, the Shift-Mouse-Click operation has been extended with respect to the following functionality. Components are now set into their locked state by a Control-Mouse-Click. The major difference to the handling before is that the locked state is sustained only while the Control-Key is pressed. If it is released, FluidSIM puts all components into their initial position.
New Feature. When pasting a symbol via the insert menu, the symbol is shown directly at the mouse cursor until it is dropped by a left mouse click.
New Feature. During move operations in the drawing area, symbols and lines are permanently shown.
New Feature. During a simulation the thickness of the electrical lines indicate the actual current values.
New Feature. The physical models of the proximity switches and the pneumatic-electric-converter behave more realistic.
New Feature. For legibility reasons, the current path numbering is not shown anymore in the circuit diagram previews.
New Feature. The response time when using the OPC-interface has been reduced.

Version 3.6d from July 17, 2003

Bugfix. Sometimes the borders of a drawing were clipped when FluidSIM objects were pasted into another application via the clipboard. The calculation of the drawing’s extensions is more reliable now.
Bugfix. Circuit files and symbols that are write protected cannot be overwritten unintentionally anymore.

Version 3.6c from July 11, 2003

Bugfix. The display of connection descriptions did not work properly with some components.
Bugfix. Current path numbering and switching elements tables were not copied into the clipboard correctly.
Bugfix. Error handling in connection with FluidSIM’s OPC interface has been improved.
New Feature. The adjusted parameters of OPC and DDE components are now displayed inside the circuit symbols.
New Feature. The minimum values of the hydraulic cylinder’s ring and piston areas are now 0.1 and 0.05 qcm (instead of 1 and 0.5).

Version 3.6b from May 21, 2003

Bugfix. Repairs a rare system crash in connection with the new automated current path numbering.

Version 3.6 from April 15, 2003

Bugfix. Repairs a rare system crash that occurred when using two displays.
Bugfix. Very long path names could produce a system crash.
Bugfix. Sometimes, printing of a circuit with the margin correction feature led to a rendering error.
Bugfix. After several line deletion operations, the “Undo”-function could cause a crash.
New Feature. When inserting drawings into the clipboard, the frame size may be adapted. This feature helps to avoid truncated margins when inserting a drawing into another application. In this connection, a scale factor can be predefined in the “festo.ini” file: [FL_SIM_P3_D] CLIPBOARD_BORDER=”0”00 (depending on the domain and the language, the name of the “festo.ini” section may vary slightly.)
New Feature. FluidSIM now provides a library with components from the field of digital technology.
New Feature. Aside from the established DDE communication protocol FluidSIM now also allows a connection to other applications via the OPC communication protocol.
New Feature. The current paths in electrical circuit can be numbered automatically. Moreover, tables with the corresponding switching components can be set up automatically.
New Feature. The electrical connections can now be labeled.
New Feature. Preset parameter values are displayed in a separate pop-up window.
New Feature. The pneumatic component library now contains a common throttle valve.
New Feature. The cylinder load (Force) can be chosen from the interval [-1000, 1000] N.
New Feature. At the counting and delay devices the current value of the counter and the delay time respectively may be displayed.
New Feature. Various circuits have been extended and improved.

Version 3.5k from September 26, 2002

Bugfix. Sometimes the extended circuit check mistakenly reported “Lines trough connections”.
Bugfix. With some components the drawing of curves in the state diagrams did not work correctly.
New Feature. The behavior of several new component types can now be recorded by state diagrams.

Version 3.5j from August 23, 2002

Bugfix. The circuit’s bounding is now calculated correctly when copying diagrams to the clipboard.
New Feature. FluidSIM detects more drawing errors. Moreover, the marking of the corresponding objects is more clearly.

Version 3.5i from June 27, 2002

Bugfix. The key-shortcut for the arrangement of the windows works properly.
New Feature. Optionally, label identifiers can be treated case sensitively now. Case sensitivity can be enabled for both display purposes and a more strict label identity checking.

Version 3.5h from June 14, 2002

Bugfix. Drag&Drop-operations between different circuit windows now allows the overlapping placement of objects.
Bugfix. Repairs an alignment error when drawing orthogonal lines.
New Feature. When attempting to open an already opened file, the respective circuit window is moved in the foreground. Previous versions opened a dialog box asking the user whether to save the open file.

Version 3.5g from May 6, 2002

Bugfix. The simulation of the pneumatic semi-rotary cylinder was not correct in some cases.
Bugfix. The reset positions of mechanically actuated valves were not represented correctly in special combinations.
Bugfix. In rare cases, the simulation could crash due to numerical rounding errors.
Bugfix. The size of FluidSIM’s INI file could increase unnecessarily.
Bugfix. No rubberband operation could be performed if there was an object on a locked layer underneath the mouse cursor.
Bugfix. The printing of circuits with the “mirror” option will now lead to better results.
New Feature. The orthogonal linking of connections with lines is made easier now.
Internal. Some internal processings have been improved.

Version 3.5f from March 22, 2002

Bugfix. Repairs an incompatibility in connection with the network installation (green license connector) under Windows NT.
Bugfix. In very rare cases, FluidSIM could not be quit at all.
Bugfix. With some objects, the “Undo”-function caused a crash sometimes.
New Feature. Menu entries in the context menu that are related to didactics are now also available in Simulation Mode.
Internal. Several adaptations with respect to the play-back of educational films in networks have been made.

Version 3.5e from February 4, 2002

Bugfix. The window’s content was sometimes not copied to the clipboard correctly.
Bugfix. Some undo operations could lead to a crash.
Bugfix. Simulation of the hydraulic double-acting multiple position cylinder could cause a numerical divergence.

Version 3.5d from January 24, 2002

Bugfix. When modifying components, the size of the grouping box was not always adapted properly.
Bugfix. After Undo operations line elements were sometimes not removed completely.
Bugfix. Repairs an incompatibility that could prevent the program start under Windows XP.
New Feature. To prevent mistakenly opened property dialog boxes, the double mouse click for components is disabled in Simulation Mode.

Version 3.5c from December 12, 2001

Bugfix. The file path of the educational films could sometimes not be found.

Version 3.5b from November 28, 2001

Bugfix. The DXF export of circuits with particular ladder diagram symbols caused an error message in some cases.
Bugfix. When selecting a different measurement unit system, the flow values were not converted properly in rare cases.
Bugfix. The extended presentations of the hydraulic version of FluidSIM could sometimes not be started.
Bugfix. The property dialog of imported DXF symbols was not opened properly sometimes.
Bugfix. The status line of a circuit library preview now shows the date of the last modification instead of the creation date.
Bugfix. When doing a rotate operation and a flip operation for printing at the same time a conversion error occurred.
Bugfix. The name of a newly created library was not always adopted.
New Feature. The generic switches for opening, closing, and switching over can now be displayed as limit role and reed contact. Before, they were restricted to the limit switch appearance.
New Feature. The drawing format can now be specified within in non-metric units. Moreover, the maximum drawing size has been extended up to DIN A0.
Internal. Several internal adaptations and improvements have been made with respect to the Windows XP operating system.

Version 3.5 from October 11, 2001

Comprehensive redesign of all kernel modules with respect to most modern software requirements
Optimized for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Simulation improved wrt accuracy and speed
New printing functionality with various customization possibilities
Revised circuit library and didactics material
Support of non-SI units of measure (lbf, psi, gal)
Extended simulation ranges for state variables in the hydraulic version (pressure: 0..350 bar) (force: -20,000..+20,000 N)

Version 3.1j from February 23, 2001

Bugfix. Solves a rare simulation error.

Version 3.1i from December 11, 2000

Bugfix. Three messages were not language-dependent (but always displayed in German).
New Feature. Improvements with respect to foreign language support.
New Feature. Integration of concepts for the play-back of educational films in the Video-CD-Format.

Version 3.1h from November 20, 2000

New Feature. The representation of state diagrams has been improved. Especially, the switching positions of valves are now drawn from top to bottom.

Version 3.1g from November 8, 2000

New Feature. The rendering of circuits that are pasted via the clipboard into other applications has been improved.

Version 3.1f from October 30, 2000

New Feature. Educational films that are stored in the Video-CD format can be played back. Moreover, the new FluidSIM CDs are produced as Video-CDs, which noticeably improves the quality of the films. The new FluidSIM CDs can be played back by means of both a PC and a standard DVD player.
Bugfix. Solves a rare file save error when closing a newly created file.
New Feature. Going forward (backward) through a presentation can now be realized by the “+”-key or the space bar (and the “-“-key respectively).

Version 3.1e from September 8, 2000

Bugfix. Files that have been opened from a floppy disk device are not shown anymore in the list of recently opened files (file menu).
Bugfix. The selection of objects did not work if they were superimposed by text elements placed on a locked drawing layer.
Bugfix. Solves a drawing error from version 3.1d that occurred when operating FluidSIM-2 valves.
New Feature. The readability of the state values at the components’ gates has been improved.

Version 3.1d from August 28, 2000

Bugfix. Enlarges the picking radius of the mouse when selecting lines via the context menu or the right mouse button.
Bugfix. In rare cases, the presentations dialog caused a system crash.
Bugfix. Solves an incompatibility of the DDE-control when working with Microsoft Excel.
Bugfix. In rare cases, the printing of dashed lines (typically control lines) did not work.
Bugfix. FluidSIM crashed in rare cases when importing a DXF file.
New Feature. Avoid unnecessary messages respecting duplicate identifiers. Now a text will be interpreted as identifier only, if the text either belongs to no group or to the group of its associated component.

Version 3.1 from July 5, 2000

Bugfix. In rare cases, the simulation stood still without reacting on an input until the circuit became reseted or the simulation was aborted.
Bugfix. The y-axis of the state diagram is now scaled correctly if the cylinder piston stroke became modified in the course of a simulation.
Bugfix. The arrangement of grouped components is preserved after a rotation operation.
Bugfix. In rare cases, the saving of a layer name caused an error.
New Feature. Improved rescaling behavior of the state diagram after a manual resize.
New Feature. Components now can be selected from the libraries by means of a powerful keyword search.
New Feature. The pressure values can be displayed in “Bar” as well as in “MPa”.
New Feature. The state values’ units can be displayed optionally.
New Feature. The automatic routing feature of FluidSIM has been improved: the position of the connections at the component is considered.
New Feature. The update of parts lists and state diagrams has been improved.

Version 3.0g from May 19, 2000

Bugfix. FluidSIM crashed in rare cases when having saved the settings of particular component photos.
Bugfix. Circuits that are started from within a presentation can now be simulated in every mode (continuously, single step, and til
state change).
Bugfix. When saving the settings some didactics options were not considered.
Internal. The update of menu entries in connection with the window handling is faster now.

Version 3.0f from April 20, 2000

Bugfix. Files accessed via a Samba file server could be deleted. Samba realizes the coupling of the Windows file system and a Unix file system. Newer versions of Samba (2.x) do not cause this error anymore. For versions before 2.x, FluidSIM contains functions to circumvent the problem in most cases.
Bugfix. FluidSIM does not crash anymore when opening files with long and deeply nested path and file names.
Bugfix. Positions of windows displaying component photos are remembered now.
Bugfix. Sorting of the circuit preview windows did not work in rare cases.
Bugfix. Backup files (extension .bak) were not saved under their long file name in rare cases.
Bugfix. If the creation of a new library is aborted, the related directory, which is not used anymore, is deleted now.
Bugfix. Within special component combinations the check valve with pilot control could lead to an inconsistent simulation.
New Feature. Long file names are displayed now when deleting files via the menu “File/Delete” under Win32.
New Feature. For the indicator light component, the light color can be chosen from 16 standard colors.
New Feature. In rare situations incompatibilities of graphic device drivers occur when displaying off-screen bitmaps. In such a case a compatibility mode can be activated now by entering “OFFSCREEN_BITMAPS=0” under the category [FL_SIM_P3_D_M] (or [FL_SIM_P3_D_W] or [FSP3_STUD_D_S]) in the “festo.ini” file.

Version 3.0e from January 21, 2000

First, official release of FluidSIM Version 3.

Known Problems

Some graphic drivers are not capable of correctly rendering the component animations because they provide no support for RLE4-compressed bitmaps.
The Postscript printer driver of Windows 95 crashes, if a window containing circuit previews shall be printed. Presumably some bitmap API functions are flawy implemented .