How many messages can I run simultaneously in a ControlLogix?

2010-07-29T17:59:15Z

Is there a guideline to go by when messaging? I have over 100 message read instructions. Can I execute them all at once? Should I stagger them? What is the deciding factor to consider?

Simple wireless file transfer?

2009-12-09T21:31:39Z

I'm looking for a way to wirelessly transfer files a short distance without putting the computer 'on a network.' We have industrial computers (Windows) inside air-purged boxes for operation in a potentially explosive environment. We have found 'intrinsically safe' keyboards to mount outside the box to allow the computer to be controlled, with monitor visible through a window.

The only piece missing now is a way to copy files to and from the system.

I see two possibilities:

1) Some kind of intrinsically safe USB connection on the outside of the box. I haven't found this and don't think it could exist simply because when you're plugging in your flash drive, there is an exposed electrical connection which could cause a spark.

2) Some kind of wireless solution. Ideally we just run a network cable out of the box, but a further restriction is that these computers can not be on a network for security reasons. Is there a bluetooth or irDA flash drive of some sort?

Ideally I'd like to walk up to the box with a flash drive in my pocket, or held up to the window. Have it automatically or manually mount as a drive, then drag files to/from the computer.

IL on GE 90-30 PLC

2010-07-28T06:26:34Z

I'm working on a project with a GE 90-30 series PLC using Proficy.

When programming in instruction list, is it possible to not power math elements?

For example, right now I may want to add two numbers together based on whether a contact is open or closed. The only way I've found to do this is by using JMPC statements, which are messy.

In ladder logic I would just no power the rung. How can I do this with instruction list?

Thanks.

Concept - Ethernet - MB+

2010-07-26T20:41:15Z

Scenario:

Computer has Ethernet connection going to first PLC (Momentum Ethernet) with MB+ adapter which connects to second PLC (Momentum MB+).

Computer doesn’t have MB+ adapter. We can connect to first PLC with Ethernet.

Goal:

Connect the Computer (Ethernet) to second PLC (MB+) using Concept V2.6. We have an MEB.

I’ve been told that it is possible and I have tried different things, but never got it to work.

Has anybody done this? Any ideas?

Tablet Thin Client

2010-07-22T20:35:16Z

I am looking for a thin client tablet for use in a wireless network. Has anyone seen a tablet with resolution of 1920 x 1200 with a touch screen?

FactoryTalk View ME Station: "Unable to load the application"

2010-07-28T23:24:42Z

FactoryTalk was working fine until today. After making some minor changes ( marked the audio bit on a few alarms ) any new application runtimes will not load under Station.

What makes this so strange is that the same runtimes work on my PanelView 1500's and under test mode in ME Studio.

I even went so far as to recover the project using the last known 'loadable' runtime, but I receive the same "unable to load the application" message.

I'm beginning to think that this might have to do with FactoryTalk Directory, but resetting the directory had no effect.

Gas Meter & Ethernet/IP Counter Module.

2010-07-27T12:14:11Z

I'm looking to monitor a pulse output from a plant's main gas flowmeter, and would rather not have to wire it back to a counter card on an unrelated PLC. The goal is to get flow logged in the plant's InSQL server, and the meter is close enough to a network connection, so I'm thinking about using and Ethernet I/O module like ADAM6000. Has anybody used something like this? Does anybody know if the WonderWare Archestra device integration toolkit contains something that will let me connect to this I/O.

IDEC SmartRelay and Loop Detection Logic

2010-01-21T21:21:42Z

This is my first time programming a PLC or Smart Relay and normally I am an embedded systems programmer.

I am trying to build the circuit using WindLGC to determine direction. I have six photobeams.

If Photobeam 1 is ON, then I open the gate and start a timer. If photobeam 2 is ON, photobeam 1 is OFF, then I reset timer for closing since I know that someone is coming through. However, the difficulty is for back-outs. If photobeam 1 is off, photobeam 2 is on, then photobeam 1 is on and then off, then I close the gate (as long as no one is on safety beam). The problem is determining direction using the circuit. How do I do this?

Do I use a counter to increment and decrement ? Should I rely on the timer so that when it hits the timer it closes rather than immediately on back-out? It seems it should be closed immediately on back-out.

I know how to do this in code, but circuits are new to me. The logic on paper makes sense but designing the circuit in the program is a little difficult.

Any help anyone can provide would be really appreciated.

Grind wheel motor, use a servo or VFD?

2010-02-24T02:15:34Z

My client has a CNC turn grind machine that has a servo for the grind wheel motor (rotary axis constant speed). The servo operating mode is position. I would like to change the servo mode to velocity mode or better yet replace the servo with a VFD. Is the use of a VFD for this application a viable option? Is changing the servo mode to velocity an ok option?

RSLogix 5000 project conversion error

2010-05-27T09:55:22Z

Hi,

I'm having a problem with converting an RSLogix 5000 project from version 15.2 to 16.1. During the conversion 2 errors are reported:

Error: G232_04_TCR: Feature not available.

Error: Line 839: Feature not available.

The offending line in the L5K file defines a module for a "1734-232ASC/C". The Rockwell knowledgebase has an article "38272 - 1734-232ASC: Failed to instantiate Module Profile. InitExisting Failed. Feature not available.", but I cannot view it as I do not have a techconnect contract.

I have two questions:

Does anyone know how to resolve the problem described?
I have contacted Rockwell and I am unable to get a straight answer as to whether the Econnect techconnect contract will give me access to ALL the Rockwell knowledgebase articles. Does anyone know whether this level of techconnect contract will allow me to view ALL the restricted articles or only a subset of them?

Troubleshooting by stepping through logic rung by rung in Control Logix

2010-04-07T20:32:54Z

Is there a method to halt the program scan and step through ladder logic rung by rung using Control Logix for troubleshooting purposes?

FactoryTalk Import/Export Error: "Problem Launching 'TagSvrTC - TagDBImpExp'"

2010-06-18T14:20:51Z

Problem Launching 'TagSvrTC - TagDBImpExp'

An error occurred during the import/export. Tag Import/Export Wizard require the VStudio application to be open.

I'm trying to import a list of tags into FactoryTalk, but it fails. It is not an issue with formatting in the import file as trying to export and import the existing tag database fails with the same error message.

I seriously doubt I need Visual Studio running to import tags...

What software/cabling is required to get online with an Eberle 511 PLC?

2010-07-14T14:51:40Z

I have a customer that is looking for assistance with a faulted processor, but I am not familiar with the Eberle PLC. Anyone out there know where I can get the software/cabling/dongles/manual?

Visual Basic Express 2008 ethernet comms

2010-04-09T15:27:17Z

I have to communicate to a stepper motor controller and I'm using VB 2008 Express. I had thought the interface was going to be USB but the one that showed up has an ethernet interface. I have done some research and found that Winsock is not really used any more for this, with the TCPClient class in System.Net.Sockets being preferred. The example from the stepper OEM uses an outdated Winsock type of dll. Most of my experience is in VB6 and VBA, so can anyone give advice or sample code that would point me in the right direction on how to use TCPClient. Is it better to create a separate class or use it in a module? The functionality is to send short ascii commands to an IP address/port and receive back short ascii responses. I have a working program otherwise that also does serial comms and just need to get this going. Thanks.

Using an AB 1734-ADN Point I/O DeviceNET head module with non-AB DeviceNET master?

2010-06-09T12:43:40Z

I'm trying to get an Allen-Bradley Point I/O DeviceNet adapter to work with a non-AB DeviceNET master. It says I need RSNetWorx for DeviceNET to configure the PointBus (the I/O modules in the Point I/O rack). I can't connect RSNetWorx to it without some kind of Allen-Bradley DeviceNET master. Can this work?

What's the difference between Siemens S7-400 "RAM" and "SRAM" cards

2010-06-11T16:03:29Z

I have some S7-400 memory cards: some are RAM and some are flash. However, some of the RAM cards are marked "RAM" and some are marked "SRAM", although they have the same part numbers. I've searched various sections of Siemens's website and it isn't at all enlightening.

Does anyone know if there is any difference between these cards?

Factory Talk View ME Downgrade

2010-05-05T20:42:07Z

I know there is a procedure to downgrade a FactoryTalk View ME application (V3.1 to v3.0 for example) but I can't seem to find it. Would anyone happen to have this procedure?

Import symbols into a PLC program in CX-Programmer?

2009-12-10T14:59:45Z

Is there an easy way to import a list of symbols and addresses (from Excel for instance) into CX-Programmer?

Thoughts about OPC-UA

2009-12-18T03:11:37Z

OPC has been a standard for a long time when reading from a PLC I was wondering what others thought of the newer OPC-UA specification? Is it a natural progression or will the industry stay with the current OPC standard?

WW Window Maker/Viewer GUI Launch Failure

2010-04-22T16:49:29Z

WW Intouch opens, but not WindowViewer or WindowMaker.

When trying to open Viewer or Maker, you would see the hour glass, but nothing would happen afterwards. When looking at the Task Manager, the file will be running in the background (In this case wm.exe or view.exe), but the GUI will not launch.

Looking for a CNC MTB board And Handwheel To Connect to a PLC

2010-02-16T01:11:50Z

I have a CNC machine that I am going to upgrade to an AB ControlLogix platform. Operators are used to the MTB panel interface, so I would like to include this on the machine. Has anyone heard of an interface resembling an MTB board that I could network to a ControlLogix? I could replicate the functionality on a Panelview, but the operators like the touch and feel of the panel.

I was going to hardwire the handwheel to an encoder card, that seems straightforward, but would really like to purchase a pre-made device for the mtb panel that I could network in.

Any ideas?

RSLogix Emulate 5 Crashing When Trying To Open A file

2010-03-30T17:58:45Z

I am trying to use RSLogix Emulate 5 to test a PLC5 program. When I open the emulator and try to open the .RSP file, it crashes the emulator. Any idea how to get this to work?

How do I install Step 7 in windows 7?

2010-04-03T17:23:20Z

I installed Windows 7 but when I tried to run Siemens Step 7 it doesn't work. Is there a solution?

Connect Red Lion/Fuji HMI to PLC-5 over Ethernet through ENI module?

2010-02-11T22:36:54Z

I'm writing a driver for Turck Programmable gateways to be able to communicate with Allen Bradley Processors using various DF1 over Ethernet protocols. I have an ENI module so I can talk to my AB PLC's through ethernet, and have successfully written them for the SLC and MLX, however when I try it for the PLC5 it pukes. I'm using a Red Lion G310 as my template, and I can't get that to transfer data either. I have a PLC 5/20 and a PLC 5/20C...has anybody done this?

What alternatives are there instead of OPC for pulling data from a PLC?

2009-12-07T18:02:40Z

I'm already aware of OPC for pulling data from a PLC, but I wanted to know what other alternatives existed that didn't require an OPC server in the middle. Assume we're trying to pull the data into a database server (like SQL) or into a PC application.

In CX-Programmer: Disable duplicate output warning for SET and RSET instructions only?

2009-12-30T20:53:56Z

I like the feature of CX-Programmer that automatically checks for duplicate outputs when you compile, but I find it annoying when using SET or RSET instructions because you obviously need to use the same output bit in more than one instruction. Is there a way to disable this compiler warning, and if so, only for SET and RSET instructions?

Siemens S7-300 CP343 OBs Required?

2010-01-04T14:24:29Z

Are there specific OBs REQUIRED when installing a CP343-1(Lean)? i.e. if the OBs do not exist and a fault occurs on the CP, does the processor go to a faulted state?

How do I upgrade the firmware on a SLC 5/03 or 5/04 processor?

2010-03-08T16:25:45Z

How do I upgrade the firware on a SLC 5/03 or 5/04 processor since they do not have Ethernet connectivity, which ControlFlash needs?

Motoman Robot Encoder Losing Position

2010-03-10T10:18:57Z

We have a problem with the robot encoder position. When I move the robot axis, the encoder data is displayed. If I cycle power to the robot, the current position is lost. I have already set the robot to home position before making programming changes. It still can't keep the last data. Can you help solve this problem?

CompactLogix Power-up Fault type 01 code 01 when power restored?

2010-03-07T20:18:44Z

Every time the CompactLogix processor I'm working with loses power and comes back, the processor has a major fault (type 01, code 01). The fault description is "Power lost and restored in RUN mode". How can I disable this fault? The processor should just return to run mode.

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