The ABB Crealizer™ open software platform empowers businesses to create, validate and realize powerful, real-time applications directly within ABB drives. From predictive maintenance to vibration damping, Crealizer unlocks next-level efficiency, transforming industrial operations.

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_{Daniel Wyss, ABB Motion High Power, Turgi, Switzerland, daniel.wyss@ch.abb.com

Ryan Koorts, ABB Motion High Power, Turgi, Switzerland, ryan.koorts@ch.abb.com}

ABB electric motors and drives lie at the heart of innumerable industrial applications. Ranging from small devices such as the ACS150 micro drive right up to beefier medium-voltage products such as the ACS8080, drives enhance customer operations with precision and efficiency. Designed for easy integration and reliable performance, ABB drives offer unmatched flexibility and performance in a compact form.

To allow users to customize drives to the specific needs of their business, ABB has long provided facilities such as adaptive programming − an easy-to-use block programming approach that allows flexible, minor adjustments to be made to the drive software − and IEC programming, in which users construct their own applications using the ABB Drive Application Builder tool. This latter tool can also take advantage of various segment-specific prebuilt applications that ABB offers.

A new era in drive intelligence

However, in today’s fast-changing world, businesses must adapt even more swiftly to evolving market and technology conditions, all while reducing risk, minimizing system costs and shortening the time to market. At the same time, assets and operations must be safeguarded by robust cyber security.

To help businesses accomplish these goals, ABB has introduced ABB Crealizer.

ABB Crealizer is an open software platform integrated directly into the operating system of ABB’s drives. Developed to address the increasing demand for customization and rapid development, ABB Crealizer empowers users to create advanced control and analytics applications. Whether working independently or collaborating with ABB or ecosystem partners, developers can utilize familiar programming tools such as Python, Simulink and C++ to build applications that function directly within the drive system. This flexibility enables users to treat the drive as both a controller and a sensor, capturing high-resolution data from the drive and acting on it in real-time. Whether reducing vibration, detecting cooling anomalies, or optimizing energy efficiency, ABB Crealizer provides users with control capabilities and immediate, accurate data analytics through customized control and analytical applications.

Simplified development in few steps

ABB Crealizer is built on the principle of an intuitive yet powerful development cycle: create − validate − realize. Within this structure, users move through familiar steps:

Code: Develop or co-create applications with the help of the Crealizer software development kit in tools such as Simulink or any C++ coding environment (eg, MS Visual Studio). Note that Crealizer only works with Universal Control Unit (UCU) -based products
Compile: Generate a package compatible with ABB’s UCU by simply clicking the “Build for UCU” button in the Simulink software development kit »02.
Simulate: Validate performance in the virtual world or in a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environment to achieve complete optimization for real hardware conditions.
Deploy: Use ABB’s Drive Composer to load applications directly onto the drive »03.
Enable, run and maintain: Activate the application without altering the drive’s firmware and modify or iterate applications with minimal downtime »04.

This method ensures developers can move quickly from concept to live deployment, dramatically accelerating time-to-value. The process also bypasses traditional firmware dependencies, facilitating real-time iteration and offering unmatched speed from concept to field deployment.

A flexible and secure development ecosystem

ABB Crealizer offers several modes of development:

Self-service development: The user builds the application independently using ABB’s software development kit and performs validation and deployment themselves. Application management is conducted locally.
Self-service with ABB support: As above, but with the additional benefit of support from an ABB expert during the process. Application management is handled locally or within an encrypted ABB repository.
Co-creation workshops: Collaborate with ABB experts to jointly develop and validate innovative solutions.
Prebuilt apps marketplace: Select from a collection of ready-to-use applications provided by ABB and its partners.

All applications are encrypted and signed to ensure the security and protection of intellectual property.

The system’s technical capacity is robust; it can run multiple applications per controller, with application sizes of up to 6 MB and cycle times as fast as 125/250 μs – crucial for advanced real-time tasks such as vibration damping or anomaly detection.

ABB Crealizer’s transformative potential is best showcased by examining several compelling use cases.

Smart applications in action: adaptive vibration control

Drive systems often have critical resonance frequencies that should be avoided. These “forbidden frequencies” limit the operational range and the associated vibrations create a risk of damage and early failure. In the past, this problem was addressed by quickly passing through certain speeds or modifying the mechanical design, both of which limited the powertrain’s usability.

As a solution for a specific use case involving such a vibration scenario, ABB created an application that uses the drive itself as a “sensor” and calculates and applies counter-torque in real time to dampen vibrations actively. ABB Crealizer enabled the team to explore, iterate and implement the solution within just a few weeks. Alternative solutions, such as programmable logic controller (PLC) modifications or mechanical adjustments, are either too slow for a closed-loop interaction with relatively fast vibrations or less cost-efficient due to the need for additional equipment or changes in the machine mounting. These approaches also take significantly longer to realize than a development using ABB Crealizer.

Thanks to the reduced vibration levels achieved through the application developed with assistance from ABB Crealizer and integrated into the drive, the system’s lifetime has been extended, wear has been reduced and noise levels have decreased. Furthermore, the user can now utilize the full operational range of the powertrain.

Smart applications in action: no-load detection for conveyors

Empty runs on conveyors result in unnecessary energy consumption and cause material flow disruption, leading to bottlenecks and delays in, for example, a mining process. Continuous operation without a load also accelerates conveyor wear, thereby reducing their lifespan. Here, ABB Crealizer was used to:

Implement a monitoring solution directly within the existing controller to detect empty runs in real-time.
Develop algorithms to analyze sensor data and identify patterns of empty runs.
Configure the unit controller to automatically adjust conveyor operations based on detection results when empty runs are identified.

This approach reduces energy consumption, lowers costs and improves throughput. Alternative strategies, such as manual monitoring or fixed scheduling, lack precision and efficiency, making the ABB solution very compelling.

Further use cases resolved by ABB Crealizer include the detection of cooling anomalies that can lead to unexpected drive failures and additional maintenance. In this case, an AI-based monitoring application developed in ABB Crealizer learns normal cooling behavior and flags anomalies in real time, which enables predictive maintenance, thereby reducing downtime and unnecessary service. Unlike visual inspections or scheduled maintenance, this approach is proactive and more cost-effective.

Similarly, ABB Crealizer has been utilized to conduct Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) signal analysis directly within a drive. Diagnosing system performance through frequency-domain analysis (ie, FFT) is traditionally slow and resource-intensive. However, by integrating FFT analysis into the drive, ABB Crealizer enables high-frequency sampling without external equipment, uncovering insights that were previously hidden due to technical limitations. This feature transforms the drive into a built-in oscilloscope and analysis tool, reducing costs and complexity.

These use cases indicate that as digitalization reshapes industries, platforms like ABB Crealizer become key enablers that bridge the gap between advanced analytics and actionable industrial control »05.

The digital enabler

In a digital age where speed and customization are paramount, ABB Crealizer revolutionizes drive technology. This open software platform empowers customers to create, validate and realize tailored solutions within the drive itself, specific to their business needs. It also protects assets and operations with robust cyber security. ABB Crealizer monitors powertrains in real time, providing customers with immediate, accurate and genuinely customizable data analytics through individually built or co-created control and analytic applications.

ABB Crealizer accelerates ABB’s customers’ drive toward digitalization by providing flexible programming, straightforward testing and prototyping, and fast, uncomplicated deployment. One of ABB Crealizer’s unique advantages is the ability to co-create with other domain experts to tackle challenging system-level problems.

ABB Crealizer unlocks next-level efficiency by transforming industrial operations through intelligent, faster and more adaptive control. This product enables users to design smarter systems, respond more quickly to changes and optimize operations with precision. In the race to digitalize, ABB Crealizer puts the user in the driver’s seat.

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