John_R
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Posts posted by John_R
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On 4/1/2023 at 6:44 PM, Fernando Castro said:
I was curious about, but to be honest I don't really care. However I will give you some advise I felt like you already burned some bridges here with all the other topics and I doubt that at this point someone will really wants to invest their own time on explaining everything.
Following Fernando's lead, not sure what version you are working in, but I can't open it either.
Hmmm (and with Joe's permission), it seems perhaps you are really overthinking this, of course I can only speculate what you are trying to accomplish.
Are you trying to "equalize" the run time of each pump by tracking total run time compared to each pumps run time???
And, "Hobbs Run Time" ? , I believe this is an aviation term regarding time logging in Hours & Tenths??
Please, if you want help, you need to be specific about what you are trying to accomplish.
Many of us old codgers here have answers, but you gotta ask in a way that makes sense to us (just sayin').
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4 hours ago, Flex727 said:
If it takes him more than 2 minutes, get another programmer
Oh be nice Barry, we've all pounded our heads on the wall on this one at one time or another..🤪
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RickL
Not to sound like an old grouch here, but it the past couple weeks you have posted a myriad of questions covering many common aspects of typical PLC programming.
As though you have decided to jump headstrong into PLC's without taking the time to learn the fundamentals of how they work. The questions you ask lead us to believe that you have some concept of the things you are trying to create, but perhaps just not in the PLC world.
You would do well to take the time to study basic PLC topology, that way you can answer a lot of your own questions instead of posting here every time you get stumped.
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59 minutes ago, RickL said:
guess what I'm trying to convey about myself, is that I normally function "out on the edge" of design, thinking, etc.
Back in my youth, I had that "if you're not out on the edge, then you're just in the middle taking up space" mentality...
And that was all well and good back in the day, we all did a lot of designs that seemed perfectly acceptable at the time.
But "The times they are a changin'", I look back at stuff I did 30 years ago that was very acceptable then, that would never meet the safety standards of the present.
And it's my "accumulated knowledge base" that drives me not to take on foolish challenges.
Just sayin'....
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20 hours ago, RickL said:
Basically, remove their proprietary CPU board controller, and install our own PLC.
And as Joe is pointing out, you are removing the liability from that proprietary CPU manufacturer and putting on your shoulders...
Can it be done? Sure... But the old saying is;
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
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Well, here's a little something for ya'll to ponder...
The other day I bought a Laminator off the clearance rack at a discount store (it was cheap enough, and I was hoping to use it to replace my failing 30 year old Laminator I use for PCB Transfer Paper).
The transfer process is naturally a temp/time thing, and unfortunately this Laminator runs way too fast (and the temp not adjustable). So I figure I can change the speed somehow.
So I pop it open and find this little gearmotor (Kaili TY-50BF), a little web research shows it's a synchronous motor.
Since the speed of a synchronous motor is dependent on frequency rather that voltage, a typical "triac motor controller" wont work, so I'm thinking about some little MOSFET inverter circuit that pumps out 120vac with an adjustable frequency, and I've found examples on the web using different means of digital timing.
Now, I have an old V120-22-T1 sitting in my shop, and was thinking I could write some little PWM code to flip-flop the drive to a couple MOSFETs and set the frequency I want?
Anybody done something like this who can provide some guidance?
BTW, was going to add a couple pics, but I cant seem to capture a .png that meets the 14kB requirement???
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Aside from the Safety factors that Kratmel pointed out (to which you responded that you do indeed have hard E-Stops), that sometimes this type of change should be "blessed" by the OEM, and of course, all changes well documented.
I believe this to be an efficient modification to the original design, I have done similar designs while updating older Push-Button-Relay machines to PLC Control, and using single push/push Touchscreen buttons (I.E., a single button that changes color, Green - ready/push to start, Red - running/push to stop). Also I agree with the start delay feature (along with a buzzer that warns others that the machine is starting).
Are the Red/Green LED's separate devices, or polarity change dictates color?
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5 hours ago, Fernando Castro said:
I always wondered if at the end it compiles everything to a pseudo structured text code, why it doesn't allow us to work directly on structured text, you could copy and paste and compare programs or work outside of the visilogic environment.
Something I always wondered when I was working with other PLC environments, seems there should be some easy method of cross-platform programming.
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Well, that is pretty interesting, and maybe this is the wave of the future, who knows? I'm old and retired, and it probably won't benefit me, but it may be good for future generations who don't fully understand the transference of old-school relay logic into PLC -land?
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Hey All,
After just surpassing my two year mark into retirement, I've been recently re-organizing my home workshop.
Those of you who have been involved with designing/building things for sometime, know the amount of "stuff" that can accumulate in the dark-seldom-explored-corners of your workshop (me, almost 50yrs, and yes, I've come across stuff from the mid-70's).Yesterday, I was looking for something-I-know-is-there-but-can't-find-it, and of course, I didn't find it, but I did come across lots of stuff that I-saved-because-I-know-someday-I-will-use-it, and have decided that I'll never use some of this stuff, so I have put some things on ebay (fun-money/beer-money is better than stuff I will never use)...
Anyway, one of the things I stumbled upon was a bag with 10-12 of the Unitronics programming cables (RS232-CBL), and it seems to be a common thing here that some newbie asks what they need to connect their newly found Uni-PLC to their PC, so I figured I could list them on ebay for a few dollars (yes, I know, they came free with the PLC's, and when I retired I had a box of 50+ of these on the shelf at work).
I'm not looking to make a big profit on these, just thought there would be a market. Heck, if someone here needs one, just pay the shipping and I'll send it...
I went on ebay and did a search for "Unitronics RS232-CBL", and was surprised what value this "free" commodity could fetch....
This one is from Australia (may be a good resource for you Aus 😉);
Just Had to Share That... Things that make me laugh..
JohnR
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Well, a few years back I had the (dis)pleasure of dealing with a project that was done with Siemens/TIAPortal.
And it was one of the most unpleasant projects I've had to deal with...
I really don't believe you will have any success trying any kind of direct conversion, but more likely you will spend a lot of time re-writing your "nice" Unitronics code into Siemens-land.But, I gotta wonder why anyone would want to cross that line into Siemens if you already have a "nice" project in Unitronics??
"Just Saying"...
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And following Joe's recommendation to use a "regular encoder"...
You can use an encoder with a 1-ppr "Z-pulse" to do your count reset in your code.I have used this bit of logic successfully on machines that run as fast as 80 strokes per minute.
Note that the encoder is configured as "X4", in my example I use a 600-ppr encoder which gives me 2400 counts per revolution.
I typically use the raw 2400 counts in my logic, and scale that for displays or such where I want to see the 360 count.
The One Count Compare logic on MI 17 proved to be more stable that just trying to reset the encoder count directly from the Z pulse, and eliminates count errors.
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Back in the early 90's, I had some DOS programs made by ICOM for SLC500 and PLC5 (I think they were also licensed to provide programming software for several other manufactures).
And I would print the ladders out for each of the 60+ panels for reference, and stash in the panel document slot of each (yes, dot matrix on fan-fold paper, made it easy to read in a contiguous fashion, rather than flipping individual pages).
Of course I also had printed ladders for some old TI-101's, and TI-505's (as well as some Mitsubishi stuff), where you had to use the old keypad programmers to step through the logic.
A far cry from our ability to connect a laptop these days and simply scroll through the logic real-time.
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Well, I'm using type T thermocouples out in my home workshop for climate control, as well as one outside so I can check the outdoor temp from in the house (via Remote Access).
I seem to have a problem with accuracy on the outdoor T/C though, mostly because at times it is influenced by the position of the sun.
Perhaps if I mount the T/C on the blade of a little windmill, that drives an encoder, then I can synchronize the read of the T/C with the point of rotation that the T/C is blocked from direct sun by the other blades.
Now, do I put the T/C on the HSC inputs and the Encoder on the T/C input, or vice-versa? 🌞
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Flex, you're reading frequency with a thermocouple?
I've never tried that...😁
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2 hours ago, Ausman said:
It's always someone else's fault, no matter how stupid the thing they're doing is.
And it's amazing, all the stupid things I did as a young man, and it was no ones fault but mine, never had an inkling to blame anyone else.
It was just learning experiences for me....
Like I always say, "I'm Autodidact, from SOHK" (self taught, school of hard knocks). 🧐
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Oh my, the link certainly proved entertaining, amazing what was considered safe for children back in those days.
I remember a caustic burn I got on my hand from a chemistry set back in the 60's, taught me not to repeat that experiment.
That would invoke a major lawsuit in this day and age. 😁
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That is a very inclusive glossary, more than just general descriptions. 👍
JohnR
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Again, a good reason to properly secure the Snap I/O to the PLC, as I've mentioned many times in the past.
Unitronics provided screw bosses on the PLC's a few years back, but never provided screw holes in the Snap I/O modules...
Do yourself a favor and make the needed holes to screw it down, or use gaffers tape , or zip ties..
something to hold the module firmly in place...
Note the totally unintentional reference to Joe T in the picture...😉
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Interesting illustrations, but sadly, no fuse overrides.😁
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We all know that any predefined Data Tables are not downloaded with the program, but rather dumped into the plc/program afterwards.
and so far as Data Tables that are filled in from the program, I am not aware of where they reside in the plc memory, or how to actually clear them.
But always assumed that the Data Table F/B "Clear Data Table" did just that?
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I've had odd things happen like this from a dirty touch screen, a funny spot in the touch screen right where the HMI button is...
Also, I use to leave the factory film on the screen, thinking it was good protection, but also found this can cause strange touch screen issues.
Just food for thought...🤔
JohnR
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2 hours ago, Ausman said:
I enlarged the snapin image and it's hard to tell, but make sure the 0V & V1 connections are in the end of the connector, not 1 location inwards. The alignment in the photo shows 5N1 and BP1 into 0V & V2 looking correct, but the same lines into 0V & V1 look the same visual alignment but this means that they are one terminal upwards. If you could redo pics of the an input and an outputs from the side which will show the exact cable insertions that might help checking. I'm assuming 5N1 is 0V.
It also appears that you're running them from separate supplies. This can cause issues.
On Gabriel's suggestion, there are many references on the forum to snap-in tricks and fixes. The main one being that they have little room for error in mounting, and need to be fully in and retained that way. Some people add screws where you can, I use gaffer tape.
cheers, Aus
Looks offset to me also.... perhaps a simple wiring error....
I'm one of those people who have added screws to hold the snap-I/O in place, Unitronics added screw bosses to the PLC's years back, but the never did include screw holes in the snap-I/O modules. I made up a drill template to accurately place four holes in the corners of the snap-I/O modules, which resolved loose module issues in our high vibration machines.
JohnR
PLC Self-Extrication Mode
in Vision & Samba PLC + HMI Controllers & VisiLogic Software
Posted
Oh My...
And I know this is gonna send me to "forum purgatory", but WTF are you talking about?
You keep delving into control logic that is outside the realm of typical PLC control.
This is why elevator manufacturers have dedicated (certified) controllers for these applications.
And why hack programmers (with any common sense) should steer clear of these projects (unless they have a big pocketbook to back up the liabilities involved).
👿