Ausman

What model, I/Os etc?

And another PS on the SI30-38. You can use the SIs directly, but I do some operations on them, to change them to numbers that are much easier to use when viewing things in Excel. Simpler to do it in the record itself, than mucking about with Excel. See the screenshots and it might explain it better. The MIs are derived from the various SIs. The trigger is when the seconds in the RTC roll over to 1, and in this case it enables the writing of 2 logs. cheers, Aus and the table that results is:

Hi T. I'd think along the lines of using a data table that initially only resides in the plc memory. You would write all your "failure" parameters into the dedicated table on a row designated by a counter that increases each time the table write is initiated. You would have the MB activation initiate the write before doing the shutdown processes later in the ladder. For ease of getting this onto the SD have a look at the post linked below, with a screenshot of how a daily write to SD works. Help shows data table creation and and how to use them very well. Alternatively, you could have a manual activation of the same SD write, so that you could do the write whenever you want. But note that the method in the link relies on it only happening once a day so that file names are not the same. I have large logging tables that I routinely use the shown method for, and I then periodically download the tables for storage and delete the old ones, never allowing the 64 limit to be reached. Hopefully I've given you enough outline to have a go yourself. If you are having trouble interpreting the flow of the link, it is triggered at 23:57 each day, and the trigger effectively latches and only functions once for the minute. edit PS.......you can break the SI30-38 up into various separate entities if you want, that are then recorded as MIs into the table. cheers, Aus http://forum.unitronics.com/topic/3460-write-table-to-sd-with-date-stamp/?do=findComment&comment=12633

A quick look and I'd check whether it's relevant that your gateway is not in the same net. !! cheers, Aus

Cam and Flex both have the first things to look at. Other things if they don't work. Initialise and reset. If you are using the latest Visilogic to do things, in theory your older code has been updated by using it. You should have encountered a screen that said your code was done in an older version and changes would be made to the original, with the original saved as a backup in the same folder using the same name but with numbers as the extension . Note whilst you are on this screen that it lists the Visilogic Version it was originally done in/will work with without modifications. If all else fails use the specific copy of Visilogic mentioned, change the hardware etc and see how it goes. I don't know your actual "in production timing overlap", so hopefully the TR20 will be shown in the hardware list of the Visi copy you need. If it isn't then use the latest version. Bearing in mind the previous point, note that in the latest Visilogic version the R2 is still shown in HW config. It should transition you to the TR20 ok. If you go online to the TR20 whilst running, what is the actual reading shown for the input in question? It should be somewhere between 0-1024, depending on what type of input it is. If it is 0 or 1024, you need to read with a meter (that can read such transducer etc outputs) what the input is without it being connected to the plc, simply to check that it is still functioning ok. cheers, Aus

Hi Steve, seeing that it looks like you have 9.8.90 in use, the old chestnut question: Did you install use right click/run as admin? And then set the .exe to run as admin as well? It is all meant to happen automatically but sometimes go astray. Not having it like this can lead to odd things happening. cheers, Aus

OK on the 16 comm ports. I have never scrolled down that far in the port list to discover that 16 is the limit in the connection settings. This limit appears to be right across the Vision system. I have always kept my Unitronics serial connections on Com 1, regardless of what PC/laptop I'm using. Mostly I only need serial for initial setting up or O/S updating. Learn something new every day, even though you've used it for ages. However, I've now had time to play with it all a bit more, and I am a little confused by your issue. If I am using Designer to build the file, and select the tickbox to force the comms settings, the settings box comes up and I can choose whatever connection I want. It defaults to the last one used anywhere, in the shown case Com 16 as I changed that as I built a test file. I then went ahead and built the .UDC and ran it, but without anything connected. At the very top the com port is clearly visible. So I'm wondering whether you could do a variation of my suggestion, which perhaps you misunderstood anyway. I was meaning that it wouldn't be hard for your external operators to implement a specific layout and connection for doing any Unitronics serial work and set that as a specific port number. Keeping in mind my comment, always make the downloader's port 16 and tell everyone to use device manager to set their "Unitronics only" port as 16. They initially run Downloader without a connection present to check that the port is specified as 16, close, hook things up and go again. I must be missing something here because to me this seems a straightforward thing to do. cheers, Aus

HI Bisku and Karl, I had some "fun" today looking into your issue, so haven't even got to play with UniDownLoader. But one thing that immediately comes to mind is to think outside logical progression of com port naming. If you get anyone who uses the program to use device manager and change the particular com port that they will use all the time to a number quite high, like perhaps 50, then this should get around things being varied across PCs and users etc. I have a host of visible and hidden com ports, but I've never got anywhere near as high as 50. Regarding FTDI changing numbers depending on what it is plugged into, years ago when "everything" routinely changed numbers around all the time, I used to get around this by a simple dot of whiteout/nailpolish etc on a particular port, which essentially meant "Use this one at all times for that adapter, stoopid". That way things were always consistent without needing to look up a file etc. cheers, Aus

@Cara Bereck Levy @Saragani Hello all, just a headsup that today in installing UniDownLoader to observe Bisku and Karl's issue, I found that it corrupted the use of the .evb file across everything that uses it. I had to do the deletion/auto remake/manual refill method on the .evb file to cure the problem. I could still open Communication-PC Settings, but any connection attempt using a variety of programs brought up the "No PLC is currently selected" error. I had no problems with connections AT ALL before installing UniDown. So it would appear that it may have some detrimental impact on the use of the evb. As a side note on the evb, I have noticed that some of the ancillary programs do NOT reference it...they seem to go on their own list which is held within the particular program itself. This can be annoying when you think the evb is the basis for all comms but you find a change or addition needs to be done again. SD card explorer is one such thing. cheers, Aus

I assume this was meant to be "transitions"! Further to Joe's comment about keeping your bits straight, any use of a transitional contact to set and reset coils is a tenuous thing. This is due to the fact that the transition occurs on only ONE scan. If you have anything out of sequence in your ladder the transitions will not work like you expect. It can be made to work, but may require lots of trouble shooting and rearranging elements as it is very easy to lose the plot of what is happening when doing something complex. Simply swapping one transition rung's position for another above or below it can often have profound changes. As well, If something else goes astray with the ladder, your entire sequence of transitions might lose complete track of where they are up to. I always try to use other methods of screen control, that end up far easier to track what is going on, and also keep things on track. cheers, Aus

Reading everything you have said, it looks like there will be a maximum of 11 items in the entire "delay" sequence. I suggested the interrupt because 1.25ms can give fairly tight timing control with little effort. For me I'd be avoiding the use of a table. 1 Use the method of moving bits along in a vector, triggered to do a single move every 50ms. You can find various ways to do this in Help under Store functions. You would then use the relevant bit status as your primary trigger and relate it to the later one. As the smallest easily done system timer you could use for this is 100ms, I would again be looking at using the interrupt as the timer basis. 2 If it is indeed only 10 or 11 items b/n the start and the blowoff, you could use a FIFO system of TE timers set at 500ms. If timer is on and second trigger is on, action happens. Timer could be set to start by either an actual physical read of the item initially, or the assumed arrival on the belt. This is a classic case of there really are multitude ways of doing this....each programmer has their own preference. Sometimes something "clunky" is actually easiest to work with, as you can see what is going on very easily. The fantastically miniscule program that does it all exquisitely with very few rungs may not be that easy to use for troubleshooting! cheers, Aus

PS, a note to all. When referring to "vision systems" I initially thought you were talking another "Vision" PLC to the Samba. It can get confusing on the forum with more and more optical vision systems becoming available! 🧐 cheers, Aus

Hi Logan, I think you might find the solution I have in the link below a useful thing to play with. Perhaps read the entire topic to get background. I feel sure that using the interrupt will be an easy method to solve your issue. Also take note of the seemingly odd way the interrupt is implemented. cheers, Aus http://forum.unitronics.com/topic/4599-totalizer-to-gpm/?do=findComment&comment=17077

True enough, Joe. It all depends on what t0r3 actually needs to do. Because he asked, I have perhaps incorrectly assumed he realised his switching rates weren't suitable for a relay. Warning...digression. If it were only us oldies in the 90s, I'd say do all the hacks I did back then by opening things up, finding the electronics that drove the relays in the first place, and direct coupling into that to avoid mechanical restrictions. I had to do it a few times because of hardware restrictions on what was available then. But of course I'm not suggesting that now! I had an LG system that was still working umpteen years after I did this, until some goose remounted the enclosure and filled it with swarf that trickled down b/n the pcb and case. "It's stopped working, Aus". But at least that wasn't as bad as the "maintenance guys" who attached something onto a big aluminium heatsink in a loco that had printing all over it saying "Do Not Drill or Mount Anything on this". Hundreds of thousands of dollars later it eventually got going again. This is not a fib, it was in a government run workshop I was working near at the time. 🐒 's. Sorry...most monkeys are pretty smart. Digression end. Maybe we should start something in the lounge along the lines of the most astoundingly stupid truly happened control things people have seen. cheers, Aus

Sadly, as Flex has already said, what you need is not available on your hardware. You need to go to https://unitronicsplc.com/io-expansion-modules/ and scroll down a bit to find I/O Expansion Modules for Vision, peruse what is available and what suits best that has solid state outputs. In doing this you also need to check the specifications for the various modules, making sure that they are capable of what you want to do. You do this by going here: https://unitronicsplc.com/support-technical-library/ Some have higher switching rates than others. For instance the I/O TO16 which might be the cheapest way to get it has a max frequency of 20Hz on resistive. But if you go to an EXF-RC15 which links via UniCAN you can get 5Hz -200kHz. It all comes down to careful consideration of the most practical and cost effective way of achieving everything needed. In doing this, I always keep potential future replacement costs in mind as well. If you have expansion and physical rack space, a few separate modules doing the same thing as one more complex module are often a better way to go. You could also consider a snap-in, but I haven't really offered that up as I think it will be cost prohibitive in your scheme of things. cheers, Aus

Just for interest's sake some thoughts on relays. I have copied in here some specs for a common relay Unitronics use. Mechanical 50,000,000 operations min. (at 18,000 operations/hr) Electrical 100,000 operation min. (at 1,800 operations/hr under rated load) Note the large difference between what the relay mechanicals are capable of vs what the electrical contacts are capable of. MTBF is something that designers often (inadvertently) overlook. I find it amazing that a relay maker will say their unit is OK to do "1800 operations/hr under rated load", when clearly if you run the relay at this allowed rate your possible (not guaranteed, look at MTBF definitions) run time for your machine is a whole 55 hours! No-one in their right mind wants to build a machine for a client that will only run that short time before needing the relays changed. Of course the relay maker would love you to be changing their product so frequently, but it's all a bit silly. Relays are absolutely perfect for some operations, but durability is important. Some of my machines over 25 years old have had one relay set change in their entire 24/7 life because they only switch tiny currents once or twice a day. Also look carefully at VA ratings vs other power specs of the relay you are looking at using. I've mentioned this before on the forum. You will often get "conflicting" info and it is a trap I fell into many moons ago by simply going on the amp rating , only to find units failing early because the actual VA rating is miniscule. eg rated voltage 240V ac, Amps 2A, VA 10W. Also don't forget resistive vs inductive differences. Tread carefully, Young Skywalker. Advice seek and specifications all look you must. cheers, Aus

OK on all of that AlexV. You might want to also have a look at this entire thread, just for some other tips and ideas that you might find useful. cheers, Aus

Others have mentioned the issue, but I would be particularly careful trying to run an SSR with relays in a PWM. The relays won't like it and you'll likely do damage if the stream is fast. Even just for experimentation you may have a problem. cheers, Aus

Further to Kratmel's great answer which I would pursue first, what brand is your USB to Serial adapter? There are many out there that use fake chips, and they do not work properly. This has been discussed at length on the forum if you have a hunt around. Until you first encounter the issues they create you haven't experienced the joy of banging your head against a brick wall, trying to figure out why the &*!## connection still doesn't work. ⛔! cheers, Aus

EDIT Ignore this one....Flex's next answer alerted me that I had missed the length of vector, even though I looked carefully!) Please explain MI 2507 in rung 6. Should this perhaps be 2506? But do answer this one......How are you transitioning all your calls? cheers, Aus

Yes Kratmel, there was an unfortunate problem with it, but however you look at it, it was pretty unique! cheers, Aus

Did anyone else note the absolutely amazing thing that happened at ⅓ of a minute into forty to nine pm, nine days before the end of February? 🧐 You'll never see it again! And yes....it did take me a while to make this question as circuitous as possible. cheers, Aus

That pdf really doesn't say much. What you need to do is contact Schleuniger direct and ask them the question of what is available and how the unit handles those possibilities. Further to my interpretation of that brochure about what the stripper does, what is it that you are actually wanting to do involving the plc? To me it looks like if you introduced a wire to the stripper correctly in a mechanical sense, the stripper would then do it's job without any further intervention. A simple time delay on the mechanical presentation by the plc would be all that is required. Present it, wait a moment, take it away. But maybe that's not what you are wanting to do. cheers, Aus

Assafloz, it appears to me that this statement should read "new to plc programming and how PLCs work in the first place". All of the questions you are asking a simple basics, and are easily found yourself by consulting Visilogic's HELP files that have an abundance of information. This forum is mainly made up of volunteers who are quite happy to share advice/experience with difficult or peculiar issues they may encounter during constructing a program. We are not really wanting to give up our precious time to teach people the very basics of how to do things. To this end I strongly suggest that you look in the Help files and have a good read though all of the things found under "Getting Started". Once that intrigues you enough, you might even like to look at some of the Examples to see how things have been done. Imagine how you would feel if your phone was constantly rung by people you don't know asking how to unscrew the cap off a bottle of soft drink. That's essentially what you are doing. This might sound harsh, but that's the reality of the situation so please take this constructively. Cheers, Aus

OK Matt. We've all been there at some stage. I suggest that you learn a little about "bootlace pins" and their proper crimpers. cheers, Aus