College grad project help

[anas]

Hello!
I am a senior at UNew Haven in CT, currently building a machine that should mix gravel and water. I am a mechanical engineer so I have no idea what to do or where to begin! I am using the Unitronics tutorials but they are long and my time is limited

We are using a VFD and V570 with PLC and HMI.

I need the PLC to:
1. Move a linear actuator up and down
2. Using the VFD, to control the speed of the mixer
3. Control the duration of mixing (Created a preset keypad timer but not sure how to make number buttons and how to embed them to the keypad.)

Any help or guidance would be very much appreciated

Best

[ORSO2001]

dear anas,

sorry and forgive me if I am brutal but if really you don't have time maybe is better if you "pay" someone to do the program...otherwise, if you will find the needed time, you will appreciate the Unistream world (software, forum and devices).

Said this...about your questions....1->A bit to define the up/down direction and a bit for enable or disable the action; 2->has to be a settable speed but fixed or has to be reuglated by some "logic" like PID ?...both has to refer at the previously two bits. 3-> in the HMI page you can add some elements, one of these is to insert number; this element has to be linked at a tag; also for each element you can decide/set some characteristics...like...only read or read and write; min and max value that you can digit; visibility and touchable property etc...if you enable the "writable" option when you will push the element in the touch screen a keypad will appear to let you insert the value.

About the point 2...which VDF?...unitronics or other branch?...if you will decide unitronics the Unilogic program, when you will add the VDF element, will create a specific struct (assemble of tags) to let you manage this and have information from this...and the PLC<->VDF connection will do by a bus line.

other suggestion is, before start with the program, check how many and which tyoe of input/output that you need to buy the right hardware...for example the actuator has move between a safety min or max switchs?...the mixer has to have a "sensor" to check the rotation of the shaft? also...have you to check the safety cut off of the mixer motor/actuator? etc etc. and these are NO or NC? etc etc

[Joe Tauser]

This is for a V570 - moved to the correct forum.

Understand we are volunteer users here.  Not Unitronics employees.  

As for your problem with familiarization, find out where they bought the PLC and see if there is a friendly distributor that can help teach you the basics.  At the engineering school in Missouri (M S&T) they actually have a PLC programming class in the EE department - do you have that there and do you have a EE friend that can help?

If you have none of these resources, search this forum for my posts on "State Machine", which will help you define the process so a PLC can be easily implemented.  There are other students who have come looking for help, and help is given if they put in the effort to write a program.

Here is your assignment:

1. Do a more thorough job of defining the all the electrical pieces parts.  A detailed schematic would be an excellent thing to post.

2. Define the exact sequence they need to operate in. 

3. Read my State Machine stuff and look at the example I posted. 

4.  Do your best and write a crappy program with some displays.  Post it here.

Then we will help.

Joe T.