Flex727

I participated in yesterday's Webinar on intro to UniLogic software. Holy cow is that an improvement over VisiLogic! I understand that this programming software cannot be used for the Vision products, but I wonder if it really is that difficult to include a compiler for Vision products or is this a marketing decision to encourage adoption of the new product line? Our company has a solid platform using Vision and moving to the new line is probably not in the cards for now, but I sure would like to be programming in UniLogic. Anyway, I would like to congratulate you on the development of UniLogic. It really looks like you managed to incorporate most of your customer requests for updates to VisiLogic.

Thanks, Cara!

If the value is large, shouldn't you be using ML instead of MF?

Thanks, HighTech. I tried to upload an image, but this forum is restricting me to a max file size of 11.04KB. I shrunk it to near unrecognizable and it was still 43KB. Perhaps you can pass along a few general tips or maybe Cara can explain why there is such a small file size restriction.

This question was asked by someone in a different forum and needs to be answered - I thought it might be more appropriate here. With the advent of UniLogics, does that mean that software development has ended for the Vision products? Should we consider the possibility of a PLC simulator, online editing, upgrades to the VisiLogic software, and all the other requests and improvements suggested in this forum to be dead now? If development hasn't been totally ended, I presume the list is now very much shorter. Can you provide that short list?

I've never gotten an answer to the question as to why the Vision PLCs were limited to 4 simultaneous connection (4 available sockets). Is it hardware or software? And since it was so definitive with the Vision PLCs, why don't you have a definitive answer with the UniLogic PLCs?

Thank you!

I must have been thinking about the other direction. I don't think you can convert color to monochrome. Thanks for the correction, Joe.

There is no conversion program that I know of. All your ladder code can be copied directly into a new project for a V570, but, based on my experience, you will have to develop new HMI graphics for the color screen. Also, if you were using the keyboard pushbuttons on the V280 panel, you will have to update that logic and design the HMI user interface for input by touchscreen rather than the pushbuttons. I'm not sure, but you may have to make some modifications to the I/O. Good luck!

Thank you for the great response, Joe!

Can someone write a paragraph or two about UniLogics? What I primarily want to know (something press releases seem to never address) is why I would want to use this over the other Unitronics offerings. What are the advantages? Are there any disadvantages? Are there significant differences in the programming software? Any limitations we had before now being alleviated (for example, 4 sockets for IP communications, etc)? Another thing I'd like to know, have the problems associated with higher resolution screens been addressed? I've been working a lot recently with the V1210 and have been struggling with the extreme slowness of the Visilogic software when attempting to edit complex HMI screens and also the PLC itself exhibits obvious indications that the processor can't keep up with manipulating 480,000 pixels (slow response and slow screen updates).

You can Initialize & Reset from Visilogic if you are online with the PLC by going to Connection / Communication & OS / then 2nd tab over. Not sure about initialization, but you can reset the PLC with ladder logic by forcing SB300 high.

It's rare that you would need to program a loop on a PLC - the whole concept of the PLC operation is one big loop. Just put a contact in that indicates the condition you are looking for and it will activate when that condition is met. If you already know and understand this, then I apologize, but it's important to know the fundamental operation of the PLC, which is as follows: 1) Read the INPUTS. 2) Execute the ladder code. 3) Write the OUTPUTS. 4) Repeat until Heat Death of the Universe.

Visilogic is buggy when used with high resolution screens. I'm using a 2560x1440 monitor on my desktop and Visilogic does all kinds of strange things it doesn't do on my laptop (both use Win7-64 bit).

This happens even without spaces on the end. I also would like an answer to this, but haven't been able to find one. My workaround is to add spaces to the beginning of the string when inputting it.

Visilogic is overall probably the best PLC ladder logic editor that exists. I love using it and tear my hair out when I have to use software for another manufacturer's PLC. However, these are valid complaints. Another I notice is when performing the standard Windows "Save As" function, the file name space is blank. All other Windows programs helpfully fill in the current file name which can be edited before saving. This is useful for two reasons, if the file name is not edited, then Windows will ask if you're sure before saving. The other reason is so that the file name will more likely be the one you really want. I don't know how many times I have almost saved a file using the wrong name because I am usually working on several projects at once (or several different PLCs of the same project).

Thank you!

Anyone know what the "Fix" button does when in the Operand Mode section of Information Mode? I cannot find any documentation on this button. Also, If I need to get to, say, Memory Bit 7000, is there an easier way to get there other than pressing the down arrow 175 (!) times?

Inquiring minds want to know - what was the cause of the problem?

Thanks, Alexander. I had no idea that the V1210 utilized the same processor as the V570. The V570 barely has the horsepower to handle its 76,800 pixels. That processor in the V1210 simply cannot handle 480,000 pixels. A full screen change can take nearly a full second. One frame per second is not reasonable for any kind of animation.

Am I doing something wrong, or is it just not possible to get the same kind of smooth animation on a V1210 as on a V570? I recognize there are many more pixels on a V1210, but surely Unitronics is using a processor that is designed to handle the extra pixels.

Thanks!

Very nice! Can you post some of the code?

Ofir, I'm sure your question is directed to the original post, but in my case I am using regular Download. I don't burn until the project is finalized. In my case, a complex program might be downloaded to the PLC dozens (or perhaps hundreds) of times before I'm done (this is one reason why I've been begging for online editing capability). The image corruption is rare, but it has happened to me several times over the last few years. It seems to me that the problem is worse with the V1210 than the V570, but I don't have hard data to support that. I am currently using Visilogic 9.4.0 on a Win 7-64 bit machine. By the way, I don't consider this a serious problem. As far as I can tell, it affects program development only. Once the PLC is in the field it doesn't occur.

linxchas has the correct answer for you, Count, but you expressed confusion about the behavior of the different kinds of coils in Visilogic. Here is a quick summary: Direct coil: A -| |--( )- When A is TRUE, the coil will be ON and when A is FALSE, the coil will be OFF Set coil: A -| |--(S)- When A is TRUE, the coil will be ON and when A is FALSE, the state of the coil will be unchanged (if it was ON, it will remain ON, if it was OFF, it will remain OFF). Reset coil: A -| |--®- When A is TRUE, the coil will be OFF and when A is FALSE, the state of the coil will be unchanged (if it was ON, it will remain ON, if it was OFF, it will remain OFF). Toggle coil: A -|P|--(X)- Each time A transitions to TRUE, the coil will change its state (if it was OFF, it will turn ON, if it was ON, it will turn OFF).