Jeff164

I just now discovered this. I'm scratching my head as to why.... but if this is the case it answers my question. i had included an SB-8 bit to trigger an alarm to notify the customer's staff to replace the battery. In testing the system - the alarm functioned but I could not get it to reset without a power cycle. I do a final burn on of the code all my machines prior to shipment, but as I undersand it this should save the code and graphics but any parameters that the end user may have set up will be lost without the battery. Is there a way we can enquire to Unitronics why we need a power cycle to reset SB-8? thanks Flex !

Thanks Joe - I thought I should be able to do that. There are a couple items on this job that push the boundraries of what I've done before but I thought it should be workable. The state Machine concept you showed me a couple years ago has simplified allot of what I'm doing, both in the Unitroincs realm and other systems as well.

Hello I have a new project that will undoubtably be my most challenging to date. The valve automation & other parametr control will be simple enough, but I will need to provide the end user the ability to enter production plant Operator User Names and then give those operators the ability to enter a unique password when they tell the system to reset an alarm etc. Local Managment at my customer's faclity will need a seperate ADMIN login to edit the Operator Names and assign the passwords. I've used basic numeric passwords before, that was fairly simple; however they have all been static with no ability to have the end user to edit same from the HMI. I'm thinking that I should be able to accomplish this with using the ASCII string &/or password string function to store these Alphanumeric values from an admin setup screen, and then the users will need to enter their password in the appropriate boxes and have a comparison function block to evaulate if the entered value is correct. I would be using a Vision series PLC. Probaby Vision 700 or Vision 1210. I have not done any development as yet, still waiting on a PO - but this is the main thing on this project that gives me pause and I wanted to see if I was on the right path or not. thank you Jeff

Hi - Not trying to dredge up an old topic but this was a relevant thread I found in my search for a solution to this issue. I'm working with Samba PLC's. I have successfully set up the Remote Operator and can successfully interface with the PLC when on the same LAN, but when off network I'm not able to get in. I had my IT contractor set up port forwarding and have tried accessing using the new external IP address provided but thus far no comms when off network, IE through my cell phone's data connection. Are there other port settings that need to modified or where else should I be looking? thanks

Thanks - I had overlooked that. There allot more System Bits than I was aware of, I hadn't scrolled that far into the list.

Hello I have a Samba PLC application, and have for the first time connected remotely to a Unitronics PLC via Remote Operator to demonstrate the functionality. I received a request to have a status flag or icon of some sort on the HMI screen to notify the local machine operator that there was an active Remote Operator connection. I looked in the System Bits but didn't seen anything that directly addressed this; similarly didn't see anything in the help files unless I'm just looking in the wrong spot because I don't know what to call it. thank you, Jeff

This may not be exactly what you are looking for but for when I install HMI's outdoors we always protect them with a UV / Glare sheild such as these: https://shadeaide.com/ They keep the sun off and block the UV, which really kills outdoor HMI's after a few years of direct sun. They also shield the unit from harsh wind / rain / ice etc. Jeff

Yes - Joe & Flex have both helped me in the past, and I should do better in acknowledging them with follow -ups here. I'm trying to learn PLC programming on simultaneously on 3 different platforms, but Unitronics has certainly been the easiest; and I've been able to apply concepts learned here into machines from other mfg. thanks guys ! Jeff

Thanks here also ! So far I've been managing but I have had instances where I wanted a larger font.

Thanks to all. I will certainly read into Data Tables, I can certainly see use for this on other applications, this one not so much. If the implementation of what I have written so far does not go smoothly I'll probably go that route. Jeff

Thanks Joe, I do appreciate the response. I've already got a fair amount of code written with the Load Indirect, I'll probably see if I can make this work. With allot of this stuff ( PLC work in general ) I have an idea of what I need the outcome to be but I dont know what tools within the software to select to make it happen. Will post back either way. Jeff

Hello I've got a new twist to an older project. I have a sampling system that I'm looking to automate so that instead of sampling A & B sides on a switch-over process, it will sample an entire batch of samples; one at a time in sequence. The user will select how many samples they will need to run at the start of the routine. The sample results will be displayed on the HMI as Red / Green radio buttons, one for each sample station; on a final results page at the end of the batch. I may have as many as 30 sample stations on the system active in the batch, and I didn't want to have to run through sets of sampling routine, rather have the same sample loop repeat itself until the sample counter clicked off. I was thinking that the Load Indirect (MI) would enable me to load the results from each test into a new MI location. A snip of code is attached. MI-15 will be my Go/No Go sample results integer, that value will be loaded into a MI location assigned by the STI dialog box in Rung 27. Am I on the right track &/or is there a better way to do this? thanks, Jeff

Using a Samba 7 PLC, SM70-J-RA22, with the snap in Ethernet module installed. Unable to establish communication with the unit. Have verified the IP address, Subnet Mask & Gateway assigned is the same in both the communication setup FB's as well as the remote PC's communication window. Below is the lines of ladder logic that initialize the Ethernet module, let me know if you see something obvious here. IT is not my specialty, so this is a bit more challenging for me... everyday is a learning experience Thanks ! Jeff

Hi Guys, Just wanted to follow up with a note of thanks for pointing me down the road of the "State Machine". It took me a little while to get this resolved as it was a fundamental change in how the program works and not just a set of pointers to drive the HMI. Once I got it, its great. My program is functional. Its a bit big to load the file here but a snapshot of my implemented code using the function blocks to drive the decision making logic. Thanks again, Jeff

Working on that today. Part of my problem is I've got too many things going on and I wear many hats here. I get sidelined with field repairs on a constant basis and then it takes me time to get my head back into the groove of this. I don't do programming full time. Let me play with what I've got in my head and I'll post an update at the end of the day. Again I do appreciate your help.

Thanks for your speedy reply. Tommorow I'll have to delve into this and play around with the comparison functions and perhaps some conditional math to make it work. Cant do anything now, all my computers at home are Mac...I only use windows for work.

Hello Gentlemen, thank you for your pointers thus far. I've been sidelined with other work and now I'm needing to return to this project. I reviewed the state machine example, Thank you @Flex727 for the Link, I could never have found it without that. I can more or less follow the logic of the comparison blocks but I'm trying to wrap my head around how I apply that to what I'm trying to do. One particular question: In many of the Comparison "Equals" blocks it is a Comparison between "A" and "B". The A parameter will be some MI value, and the B parameter will be a (D# x) where the x is some numeric value. I saw some at 10 and some at 20. What is meant by the D# ? Joe - you mentioned tying the step pointer to the text display, I guess I need to see how to set up this Step Pointer. (Walk before you run, Jeff) I took the code I have written thus far and stripped it of company information. Posting it here for you to review if you are so inclined. As I mentioned before, this is loosely based on an application written for a different PLC package but we were not using an HMI, and also not using an analog input, I had a sensor with a relay out. That application was functional & successful, but I need to condense it into this package. This project involves allot of firsts for me, IE first time setting up an Analog Input of my own and first HMI job from scratch. And a new software package to make things interesting. The full system will have an A and a B side. I've only written the A side as I wanted to get it functional first and then duplicate it for the B side. thank you both

No offense taken. the application is fairly involved and probably not the best to learn on but its what I need to build. I've got multiple projects going on but tomorrow I will need to carve out some time on this. thanks for your input Jeff

Not an HOA switch. My use of selector was a poor choice of words. A synopsis: my routine is a sampling application: first it does a "pre-check" to see if the sample line is good. If the sample line is good, then it prompts the operator to open the line to the vessel being analyzed and advance the routine to check the product sample. If the sample line test fails, then it prompts the operator to check their connections and re-run the line check. I've got a display set up that uses the binary text boxes for 'pass' or 'fail' indicators, but I'm looking to have more options than just a two state display. I set up a list of texts by pointer, but I'm trying to sort out how to make the system "select" the correct MI . I suppose I can do this with MB contacts and the status of the analytical module, but each screen is going to have multiple windows, was looking for a clean / neat solution, IE trying to not over-complicate this. I've built this application successfully already last year using a Click PLC and pilot lights, but we wanted to explore the Unitronics as its at a lower price point than a Click and and its accompanying AD HMI. I did find some examples of the store function on the help menu...I was looking for these on the Unitronics website, not in the program itself. I should add that I was not looking for you or others to solve it for me, but looking at similar sets of code to see how something is accomplished is helpful.

Thanks, I found the Store Direct function under the Store drop down menu, this seems to be whatever comes in gets written to the output. Is there a way to make this a selector? I was looking at the Logic operands, an OR could be used, but I still need some boolean logic to bring the signal logic in. Also dont see how to have more than one input on an OR. I can make an boolean OR using MB contacts easy enough....not sure if I'm barking up the wrong tree on that one. I've got some reading to do. Spending my lunch in the help files

Hello, Noob at programming here, especially HMI's. I've done some amount of Ladder logic but this is my first ever building an application with an HMI; and also my first Unitronics experience. I'm trying to have a field on the HMI screen be a status box with variable text messages displayed. I was able to do this successfully using the Binary Text / Switch function, but I need more than two states or messages, probably 3 or 4, and the program will select the correct message depending on what step in the program the system is in and the status of some of the inputs. I'm guessing what i need to use is the "List of texts by Pointer" box, and have looked at the help menu for that, and it more or less makes sense, I will need to write the text in the boxes with the line numbers and have a Memory Integer bit (MI) that will call up the various messages based on the value of the MI. So how do I cause the MI to have these values? I searched on MI and not finding much there, other than a brief description of what the Memory Integer is. Was hoping to find some sample programs that I could look at the code and figure it out from there but haven't fount as yet, maybe I'm not looking in the right place. thanks much, Jeff