An invitation to suggest ideas for new UDFB's

[Shaun]

I really love the unitronics plc. My only issue is that I am unable to use it for many applications as there is no facility to do an online edit. 

An example is a project I did a while back where I did conveyor line control for a bottling company. A lot of the changes were done live as it just isn’t practical to stop a 20000 bottle an hour filler/blower to make a small update on a conveyor. 

This may be off subject but a good time to put it out there. 

[Flex727]

Most minor changes do not require the PLC to stop and the software will warn you if it needs to.

[stressed.dave]

I have used the message box function to confirm/cancel a button action and this works well.

I think that a useful feature would be the ability to trigger a similar looking pop-up  message box to be displayed on the current HMI screen from the PLC ladder code in order to ask an operator to confirm/cancel an action or answer a yes/no question thereby setting bits for the ladder code to act on as part of the machine control process sequence.

[Cara Bereck Levy]

On 7/13/2019 at 8:18 PM, stressed.dave said:

I have used the message box function to confirm/cancel a button action and this works well.

I think that a useful feature would be the ability to trigger a similar looking pop-up  message box to be displayed on the current HMI screen from the PLC ladder code in order to ask an operator to confirm/cancel an action or answer a yes/no question thereby setting bits for the ladder code to act on as part of the machine control process sequence.

Hi!
We have added your request to the list.

For now, we suggest that you can prepare "your own message box" using Custom controls,  or a rectangle with a text and 2 buttons; then assign a visibility bit to these elements and when you wish to pop up the message, you can set the visibility bit on.

[Jordy]

Hi,

i'm struggeling to have a UDFB to store the PLC timestamp in a string with the following format: YYYY-MM-DD  HH:MM:SS

This is highly needed to insert timestamp values in SQL tables with the datatime field or timestamp field.

I tried to use the RTC to ASCII UDFB but this format is not possible, also not when combining strings.   A  simple UDFB should do wonders here

 

[GonzaloRoldan_]

Hi! I would really like to be able to sort data tables! That will be an excellent upgrade.

As @JPowell said:

On 5/20/2016 at 9:47 AM, JPowell said:

Being able to run a Min/Max sort on a column so the data table can be organized based on a column sort would provide more capabilities with data tables.

Another great thing, is to have the possiblity to change Web Server language and also the language of the UniApps in the HMI.

Thanks!

[Cara Bereck Levy]

Hi @Nanashi

I did some checking :-)

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1.     For the HMI trends to be able to choose whether to hide the buttons "Run", "Next Curve", especially "History" and "Take screen shot", just like some of those options exist in the HE:Trend - > FIFO style.

In the wish list. In general as a quick workaround you can use flat button to cover all buttons that you wish to hide.
 

Quote

2.  For the XY trend to have the "View Data Point" as well, and also to be able to choose whether to show or hide it, here and on the other kind of trends.

In the wish list.

Quote

3. A way to Safely Remove USB/DOK just like File Browser has. For example, there could be such an HE element called "Safe removal of DOK", or some ladder element for this option.

This can done via Project-level Actions, scroll down to the DOK actions:

 

4. A way to be able to change the black background of the Trends, or just enable the user to choose between white and black, eventually with the white to have a black default border to divide it from the surrounding buttons and labels.

Already available in latest version:

 

 

Quote

5.   Somewhere in the help file (for example, at the explanation of the timers, or at "downloading/uploading a project") to be written how the main screen is loaded upon power up or change of project, and that on downloading an update of the project will first load the last screen and then the main one. I, as a newbie with UniLogic and UniStream, have lost so much time thinking that my splash screen logic was faulty, or that there is a bug (cause I didn't have such problems with Visilogic). If there is such an explanation in the help file, I would be grateful if someone could point it up to me.

 

It wasn't - but it is now, in the Download/UpLoad topic 

Thanks for taking the time to contact us--it does sometimes take us time to respond, but we try 

 

[sasdiscos]

Not sure if this is part of what your asking for. But one thing i would like to see is the scroll time input with the option of a key pad as well. The scroll is nice for looks but practically it needs to be a keypad.

 

Also, is it possible to put a date and time  function in as per visilogic, drag and drop and then select days of week etc. The new way seems long winded to me.

 

Thanks, Steve

[schmorrison]

I would be interested in seeing a Kalman filter element. I use the PID loop pretty religiously when I can, but there are lots of times where I could use more than 1 input control. I am not familiar with the inner workings of the maths, but from what I've read about it, the value seems pretty obvious to me.

[pm123]

I have only built a couple of projects so am still a relative 'Newbie' in using Unilogic but am very pleased with it so far. If possible I would like to see an array of strings, at the moment I think the only way to achieve this is to create a data table though in may just be my lack of knowledge. The other thing I have found awkward is using the vertical slider bar on the data table widget and especially the alarm status/summary viewers where we found you keep tripping the alarm actions or info button as you operate the slider. We have calibrated the screen and done our best to optimize the screen sensitivity. The final issue is a hardware issue so maybe not for this forum, but we have found the terminal cover catches on the din rail modules that clip on the back of the Unistream modules can be incredibly hard to open.

[Pierro]

I have an idea about the visibility tag for a HMI element.

With this tag, we can allow displaying of the element and this is very useful.

However, why not create an option to reverse this function. Which mean, the element is always displayed but when we SET the visibility tag it's disapear.

It's just a reverse. We can compare this to NO and NC contact.

 

[Rivka]

On 7/25/2014 at 12:21 AM, Greg Smith said:

In the Rockwell Logix 5000 world... the UDFB is called an AOI or Add On Instruction... Programmers love to reuse good simple working code, therefore UDFB and AOI's are great tools to have available.  The only hang-up I noticed so far with Unilogic is lack of online status when opening a specific instance.  Say I use one UDFB nine different times in the control program... I can not open and "troubleshoot" like a normal ladder function.  In the Rockwell Logix world I can chose to look at the source code without actual data In/Out or I can select the specific instance and then see all of the In/out parameters and logic power flow for troubleshooting within the AOI.  

 

Thanks,

Greg

Hi @Greg Smith 

A long time passed since you wrote that, but for whoever reads that today, we do have such a thing now.

When UniLogic is Online, right clicking on the main function suggest to "monitor" that function.

Then, you can monitor again an inner function, and then a more inner function and so on.

[Rivka]

On 10/4/2017 at 9:43 PM, Swervomotor said:

A way to duplicate elements within a STRUCT.  Example: Keyence IV-500CA Ethernet/IP T2O assembly is 196 Word long mostly repetitive UINT16 elements that could just be duplicated.

A way to export/import STRUCTS into projects from the Library. Example: If you use the above camera and/or similar components frequently being able to just load in the STRUCTS and TAGS without all the other project baggage would be nice. 

Hi @Swervomotor

A long time passed since then and you may have noticed that both requests had been implemented.

The import/export structs is not done through library, but you export to a file, then you can choose to place it wherever you want and use it again

Hope this helps

[Rivka]

On 7/21/2020 at 11:50 AM, Pierro said:

I have an idea about the visibility tag for a HMI element.

With this tag, we can allow displaying of the element and this is very useful.

However, why not create an option to reverse this function. Which mean, the element is always displayed but when we SET the visibility tag it's disapear.

It's just a reverse. We can compare this to NO and NC contact.

Hi @Pierro

This can be done so easily from ladder that it is probably not worth charging HMI element properties with that.

[Rivka]

On 4/1/2015 at 1:01 PM, Hannari said:

Perhaps a tool that would automatically IO-map PDOs and SDOs from the EDS. This is a very handy and time saving fetcher that I miss from Codesys.

Hi @Hannari,

A long time passed since then, but I just wanted to inform that we do have such a tool now.

Check the EDS tool in CANOpen and you'll find there nice features, including automatic PDO structs creation and automatic PDO mapping.

Hope that helps, even years later!

[curtharrington1]

Allow functions to output a struct or add a IN_OUT parameter similar to structured text.  I want to pass a data structure into a generic function for processing and have that struct's members get updated without creating a function output for every single member. 

[ORSO2001]

hi curtharrington1,

in the UDFB arrays and struct are passed as reference...so, also if on the left side, the singles variables of these will be modified if inside the UDFB you will manage it.

 

•  

[curtharrington1]

Thank you, I didn't realize function IN arguments can also update. 

[curtharrington1]

1) It would be great if we could select the IO configuration from ladder.  Most of my applications cover multiple machine sizes which have similar but different IO configurations.  I don't want my end users going into UniApps to change the config, I want to change the config when the machine size is selected in the user app.

 

 

[ORSO2001]

hi curtharrington1

I don't know if the others PLC brands let you dinamically configure the hardware  installed on the system...but honestly I think not.

i have had the same "problem" that you have in one of my project...at the time I just set up the "bigger/complete" installation of the I/O modules and added in the project some BIT to enable the checks of the high or low status of the I/O and also to enable or not the alarm report about the module (my own alarm manager)...this works but I don't know if this is a real good practice...at the moment are some years that works without problem... 

[benS]

On 8/19/2014 at 11:36 PM, Saragani said:

You can create a struct that contains the information structure that you want to pass to the UDFB.

It is more logical to pass a struct with 50 members other than passing 50 inputs.

 

Think of how the ladder element that accepts the 50 inputs will look like. it will start at the benining of the screen, and you would have to scroll few pages down in order to see its end.

Nested structures have been one of my most desired features in this software for years. I mostly am in the OOP world and my brain generally will automatically group things into structures - on the days I do work on PLCs, not being able to then group those related things together is a huge pain. 

This is an industry standard feature and it suprises me that Unistream doesn't allow you to do this. 

[curtharrington1]

My wish list:

1. It would be great to improve the help files.  For example the string functions are not well documented in the help files.  I don't use them often enough to remember exactly how they work so it would be nice to access the documentation of those functions in the help files.
2. link every function to the help file location, this can save development time and training time.
3. It would also be great to be able to trend/trace boolean tags without having to convert a boolean to an integer.
4. Add logic functions (AND, OR, XOR) that use boolean tags instead integer tags.
5. The Bottom Window system is infuriating: If the bottom window is on Auto-Hide, I have to mouse over the tab to show the window I want to see like Watch or IO.  The window will change if I mouse over a different tab while mousing up to the window I intended to interact with.  It would be better if I had to right-click to select the tab rather than mouse over.  Again, if the bottom window is on Auto-Hide and I want to dock it while the desired tab is displayed, docking the window changes the displayed tab to something else with no rhyme or reason.  The window should continue to display the Watch Window when I click to dock the bottom window instead changing to the IO tab.
6. Display the IP address of the plc I am connected to while online with the plc.  I work with systems that use multiple UniStream PLCs connected to a switch, it would be helpful to see which one I am connected to.  For further reference, I remote into customer sites and I may not have a set of eyes in the PLC screens to use the locator tool.  I have attached two conceptual pictures for USB and ethernet connections in online mode

 

[MELDAW]

Hello, there is something I am really waiting from unitronics, is to make the X axis(Time) of trend is variable, so the users can easily change it easily from the HMI.

[David_2019]

I suggest adding an in HMI attribute for each Layers Tag: Visibility
This will make it easier to draw different screens by selecting only the "Layer Tag Visibility" parameter.
If the parameter is not entered, Layer is active, and the "Tag Visibility" parameter of each element takes effect - this will maintain compatibility with all previously written applications.

[Adcontrols]

On 9/16/2022 at 5:25 AM, ORSO2001 said:

hi curtharrington1

I don't know if the others PLC brands let you dinamically configure the hardware  installed on the system...but honestly I think not.

i have had the same "problem" that you have in one of my project...at the time I just set up the "bigger/complete" installation of the I/O modules and added in the project some BIT to enable the checks of the high or low status of the I/O and also to enable or not the alarm report about the module (my own alarm manager)...this works but I don't know if this is a real good practice...at the moment are some years that works without problem... 

B&R's Automation Studio allows you to configure IO modules as "Required" or "Optional".  Required modules throw faults when not installed while optional modules leave it up to the application to handle if they are installed or not.

Not necessarily dynamically selecting hardware configurations but it allows more robust IO configurations.