Lionfan

I know that this topic is a bit old but I too have had this idea and started to create a program for this particular purpose. I started this process about a year ago in my spare time. My concept is a 3-axis lathe that uses a V570 with the EX-RC15. I am undecided on whether I will use additional snap in I/O or additional expansion at this time for the non PTO/PWM functions. The only hardware that I currently have is the V570. This has allowed me to at least debug what PLC and HMI programming I have completed to date without the need for external I/O. My lathe program is designed around common CNC programming using G and M codes. I have created a table that allows for 60 programs with 30 blocks, or steps, in each program. Each block can contain up to a 40 character string for commands (39 + null). To date from the HMI I am able to create/select a program name, fill the blocks for that program with data, insert or delete blocks and scroll through the blocks of data for a program being edited. There is still much to do to parse the data and perform calculations. To the original poster, I too am planning that in auto mode the data table program data codes will be parsed, calculations performed and the positional data be used by the EX-RC15. I just wanted to chime in here to say that I share in your idea.

Hi everyone, I was curious if the Ethernet IP communication protocol has ever been used or considered for the Vision series. As an example, there are a number of I/O blocks on the market that I am looking at that will support Ethernet IP as the communication with or without DLR. I am not very familiar with MODBUS TCP, but I think I can safely assume it does not work the same. This is based on limited information that I have. Thanks for your time and I look forward to any feedback you may have.

Joe is correct. If you do not have power applied to V1 and 0V of the snap in module, the relay outputs will not operate. I ran into a similar situation with a light stack I wanted to keep on when an E-stop was pressed. I used power being fed from the safety relay for V1. When the E-stop was pressed and V1 dropped out my light stack went dark. Changing the V1 power source to a constant uninterrupted source cured my issue. Jeremy

Hello everyone in Unitronics land. I am new to Unitronics and I wanted to share my experience with a project that I just completed. First a little back history. The company I work for sold a piece of test equipment that will be used in the Aviation industry. The project was pretty simple and it is something that we are looking to market. The equipment was to do these things: first, run a slide back and forth using an Allen-Bradley Powerflex 40P VFD, second, use a DRO with two scales to monitor the customer's workpiece location and last, the equipment was sold as a manually operated machine with no PLC control. Seems like a no brainer to me. However, after a meeting with our GM and the lead mechanical designer I was asked to eliminate the external DRO and put the scale readouts on an HMI screen. Just one problem. There wasn't any money in the budget, and I had to come up with a solution that would provide everything required to make the system operate and keep the cost impact to a minimum. So to the internet I went and what I stumbled across impressed me. A Unitronics HMI/PLC combination unit looked like it would do the trick, but I had never heard of them before. After a couple of phone calls I had a local vendor that was willing to come in and give me a demonstration. The demonstration sold me and I was confindent that this is what I'd be using. I could eliminate the DRO and the manual controls and do everything from the HMI screens. However, before even beginning to pick out a product or write code I did something that helped me out tremendously. I watched several of the webinars that are offered on this website. I also scoured the forums for any information I could get from others who had already done, or had previous questions on, some of the things I was looking to do. You can't imagine how resourceful that was. So after doing some research, I purchased a V570-57-T20B with a snap-in I/O module V200-18-E46B. This accomodated all the I/O points I would need and then some. I created my program to operate the VFD via the Modbus protocol. In addition I used two 14-bit analog inputs for the MTS scales to display the readings directly on the HMI as requested. I also used the built in alarm screens for my alarms and created my own screen saver. Programming was very straight forward and creating the screens were a snap. After some debug, which I can never seem to avoid, I had a working system and one that I'm sure the customer will be happy with. After completing this simple project I have to give Unitronics a huge thumbs up! For a first time user I had a great experience. I look forward to incorporating this brand of product on future jobs.