Case Study: ABB achieves faster, lower-cost application control software development with MathWorks

ABB Accelerates Application Control Software Development for a Power Electronic Controller

ABB, a Switzerland-based leader in power electronics, needed a more efficient way to develop application control software for its new AC 800PEC power electronic controller because their traditional spec-to-code workflow was time-consuming, error-prone, and slowed time to market. To address this, ABB turned to MathWorks and its Model-Based Design tools—including MATLAB, Simulink, and Simulink Coder—along with Software Maintenance Service to streamline design, simulation, and verification.

MathWorks helped ABB implement a single-model workflow using Simulink, Simscape Electrical, Stateflow, and Simulink Coder to design, validate, and automatically generate ANSI C code deployed directly to the AC 800PEC (with interactive debugging via External Mode). The result: virtually 100% of the controller’s C code was auto-generated, eliminating a separate implementation phase, reducing development time and costs, improving process accuracy, and accelerating time to market.

ABB

Fritz Wittwer

Head of System Development, R&D Power Electronics