John_R

Hey All, thanks for everyone's input, after a week of banging my head against the wall, I finally did what I should have from the start. I took out the Schneider VFDs and put in Allen-Bradley VFDs, 3 simple parameter changes and I'm running Modbus........ regards JohnR

Gabriel, thanks again for the input, I previously was reading the speed feedback (3202), and fault register (3250) I changed from the fault to the status word (3201), and I get back 576 (dec) which converts to 1001000000 (bin) which I read as ; bit 6 - switch on disabled bit 9 - forced local mode (active at 0) What I'm working on is a small machine that our company acquired, it has 6 VFD's with little more than run logic and speed commands. The VFD's are currently being controlled via Modbus by a Schneider Twido PLC/Majelis HMI, which I have no documentation or software for..... So I am trying to replace the controls with a V570 to make it user friendly for me..... I can make the VFD's run from the Schneider controls so I know they work, perhaps I'm missing some command I need to make them run from my Unitronics platform. Again, I have very little experience with the Ativar VFD..... JohnR

that's kinda where I was at. 000F for run but I thought 0007 for the stop..... but I still can't get it to work...... communication seems okay, at least it appears to.... the status messages come back "0" I sequence through my modbus logic with an index that advances upon the completion of the previous call.... I've done identical logic (with the exception of different register address and cmd values) with A-B powerflex VFD's and it always works, something I'm missing, just not sure what..... JohnR

Gabriel, thanks for the link, thats more info than I had found.... still a bit confusing though, any chance you could provide an example of a simple run command, stop command? John

Hey All, I have a little retro project going on that involves Modbus control of some Schneider Altivar 312 VFD's. I have done a couple of projects using Modbus with A-B Powerflex VFD's and that all went well. I don't have a lot of experience with the Altivar 312 VFD's, and I'm not having much luck finding the info (I think) I need. The A-B user manual clearly states the register addresses and values for the different Modbus functions; Logic commands get written into "8192" speed commands get written into "8193" logic status is read from "8448" faults are read from "8449" But, I can't seem to find this same info for the Altivar VFD's, the user manual talks about Modbus control, but then directs you to a Modbus manual which gives info on RS485 connections and Comm settings. but I dont see just a simple list of register address and values.... Like I said, I have limited experience with it, but I was under the impression that Modbus was a universal thing, and had hoped that the register addressing was the same (aside from a register offset depending on whether a system is 0-based or 1-based). Can anyone confirm or deny my thinking? Can anyone point me to a list of register addresses and such for the Altivar VFD's? Regards, JohnR

Hmmmmm, well I have to revisit this, perhaps my comm lose glitch was something other than the name change (you know, you tend to question the last thing you changed when something glitches). We are using the Remote PLC DataCom FB for the server/client connection, which is UDP, and I think that just uses the IP's and not the PLC Names? I'll have to try to monitor this and prove myself right or wrong.......

The only caveat I've found so far, is that this PLC is a server with 3 remote V280's as clients, and they also have to talk to this PLC by the default name, so for that 1-minute window while the PLC has it's name changed from the default, the clients lose communication. I just noticed this yesterday when one of the operators called and said it lost communication (i have text that pops up for lost comms), but when I checked it everything was okay, then I looked at the clock, that 1-minute window had just finished, ah-haaa.....

Success..... attached is a screenshot of the logic if anyone is interested.......

Hey All, I'm sure this has been covered many times but I'll go ahead and ask..... How do I upload an image into a topic? I found a Help file on uploading to the gallery, but how do I attach an image in a reply to a topic? Regards, JohnR

Hmmm... Well the Time of Day for the reports is a function of the Site layout in DataXport, not anything controlled by the PLC program, and I would have to keep them in sync. Which gets me thinking... there is a checkbox in the Site layout to set a MB when the PLC is accessed, perhaps I can make a couple more sites that run a minute before I want to retrieve a report, the first Site would basicly just set a MB which changes the PLC name for the next Site to retrieve the report, and the Set MB of that Site would cause the PLC to change back to the base name for the remote access. I'll play around with that and see what happens....

Maybe it's just the IP that has to cycle to change, but I typically set my communication parameters including the PLC Name based on a First Scan bit. I guess I could try changing the Name based on time of day, making sure it has the right name at the right time for the right report........ and then I'd have to keep track of what time of day it is, and what name is being used should I want to Remote into the PLC. but it still seems to me that the "Powers That Be" could make DataXport a little more agile......

Flex727, interesting thought, but I'm pretty sure you have to cycle power on the PLC when you change it's name......

Alexander, thank you for your response, but I think you missed my point..... "Is there a reason the PLC names cannot be changed" As I said, I'm retrieving two different reports from the SAME PLC, and obviously I cannot give the PLC two different names...... "Currently the only solution would be to change the PLC name so that they are placed within separate folders" Currently, yes that is correct, but how about in the future? Can the program be updated to so the Site name can be different from the PLC name? In the Site setup you would specify the PLC that is to talk to, but be able to name the Site a unique name. Then in the Excel setup you could have it save to seperate folders based on the Site name instead of the PLC name. Regards, JohnR

Hey All, I currently use DataXport to get to retrieve data reports from 6 different PLCs. Under the Excel options there is a checkbox to save each PLC to a seperate folder, which so far has been what I want. Now, I have set up a completely different data table report on one of these PLCs, and I've found that I can set up two sites with the same PLC name within DataXport so each set of data can be retrieved at it's specified time, but the two different reports still get dumped into the same folder, and of course each report is looked at by different people, so they they have to sort through the files to find theirs...... Seems like it would work better if you could name the sites (instead of defaulting to PLC name) and have the checkbox allow you to save each SITE to a seperate folder.......... (you guys listening??) anyone have ideas on how to seperate these? Regards, JohnR

Yep, that did it....... BUT, why has it worked like that for 8+ years on a V280? why does it work properly on the debug display? JohnR

Hey All, I'm working on the conversion of an existing V280 project into a V560. The "Convert Project to Color" command worked well, leaving me with some expected cleanup to make the existing Displays look cleaner in color. I'm having an issue with one Display in particular, in the logic, I have a call to Load HMI Page to pop this Display up if a certain NC input is not made, along with two other NC contacts that inhibit the display for certain conditions. But the issue seems to be on the "real hardware" only, that is, it works as it should on the Remote Access screen in Debug, but on the V560 that I have connected on my test bench, the text of the display flickers in and out when the Display is first called, and after a bit the text is gone completely and only the Display backround color remains. I have tried different color combinations but get the same results. (Joe T, you should reconize this....) Thoughts Anyone? Regards JohnR