Cross-Platform C Code for Engine Control Firmware

The Customer

MAN Energy Solutions SE, headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, is a leading global supplier of large diesel and gas engines as well as turbomachinery. Its product portfolio includes two- and four-stroke engines for maritime and stationary applications, turbochargers and propellers, as well as gas and steam turbines, compressors and chemical reactors.

Initial Situation

The customer’s statecharts were becoming increasingly complex and were changing fundamentally several times during the development process. In order to meet these challenges, a tool was required that would enable rapid re-design of the corresponding component with relatively little effort.

Adoption of itemis CREATE

The free 30-day trial period of itemis CREATE available on the website allowed the customer to test the software extensively.

The creation of the first statecharts was very easy for the developers of MAN Energy Solutions. Even with little experience in the graphical creation of state machines, a quick start was directly possible. The online help and various tutorials provided the customer with an excellent and well-structured reference.

In addition, the itemis support team offered assistance even before the license was purchased.

Functionality, usability and customizability of the code generator tested in a pilot project convinced deciders.

Customer Benefit

itemis CREATE has been used since the beginning of 2019 for the development of state machines to generate cross-platform C code in a convenient and well-organized manner. The code finds application in engine control firmware, for visualizations on displays, and in shared libraries for various tools and interface products.

The developers describe the customizability of the code generator as excellent – “no wishes are left open.”

Even the visual representation of the statechart elements (text type, font size, colors, etc.) can be configured in the properties with ease.

itemis CREATE also offers the option to enter comments directly in the Object Properties. This is a very pragmatic solution for code documentation. It ensures a certain overview and explanation with visibly growing statecharts.

With itemis CREATE you can easily design, simulate and test complex systems graphically. Code generators translate your state machines into high-quality source code for the desired target platform.