User settings lost: (default) control loop gains, alarm limit values, segment routine (steps)... also no feedback signal display readings from Servo drive

[MeriCummins]

I have a condtion where the Visilogic program appears intact with various MI values still intact however; there are other settings (ie Control loop gain settings, alarm limits) which have been “saved” and ALWAYS reloaded as defaults settings upon re-boot.

Just recently these user variable values have been reset to 0. Additionally, we no longer are reading some sensor signals on the Visilogic HMI screen which are being supplied by an external PID controller via networking (Delta RMC 150 motion controller).

Separate channels Emerson / Control techniques Control loop gains which have now been “lost” or cleared are not channels which the Motion controller is even being used for-so things like alarms for other channels also having been reset or cleared seems to indicate that it isn’t just information associated or used by the Delta controller. The delta servo controller is being communicated with through LAN network switch to the Visilogic 1040  HIM/PLC is 7.0.1 (vlp file last saved date 2/20/2013)

 

Current Vision PLC config: O/S: 3.6 (03) Boot: 2.2 (07) BinLib: 0-3.10 (02) Factory Boot: 1.3 (06)

These “other” cleared PID gain control loop setting are used for additional (multiple) separate Emerson/Control Techniques Freq. drive units and are being communicated with the Unilogic PLC via canbus.)

I have a copy of the original VLP and also was able to export the operands directly from the PLC a year ago however, upon opening this prior saved operand file-it looks like there are no actual variables (ie numeric settings) stored associated to the operands.

1. Shouldn’t  the operand file exported using the Remote utility contain these user input (default) setting values that can be re-loaded.
2. It appears I can try to use the visilogic Remote utility to check the communications with the Delta motion controller real-time to determine if the reason I am not longer seeing these certain signals is due to a communication problem. It looks like the comm settings in the PLC for the motion controller are intact but I do not know what they were originally (if they have been changed) and whether they have been reset as well potentially.

 

Thanks for any assistance!

 

It appears as though there is communication happening via  between the PLC and the Motion controller via network indicator lights but just a cyclic watchdog interval blink-not fast as if data is being tx/rx’d

[MeriCummins]

Additional info. ...further investigation reveals that the Delta Servo drive controller is set to Master in the PLC logic. Additionally there are various subroutines which are labeled such things as PID gains, Alarm limits, segments etc. These look to be just discrete items which are strictly a name. Though a single string is exists which includes the four channels for the delta controller-there does not seem to be any data tables either where these values might otherwise reside.

Also, I do not see the operands values that are missing as populated with load on start-up option checked. These are leading me towards thinking the PLC is calling sub routines from the delta controller and potentially is where these default values reside stored in registers...Since they also are not stored in the operand file which was U/L from the PLC a year ago...Just theorizing...??

[MeriCummins]

It seems that the back-up battery went dead on the PLC. I tried to U/L an original copy of the project in hopes that operand settings/values would be included. It appears that is not the case. In addition, I also had exported the existing operand file from this project however, received an error when attempting to write them to the PLC using the Remote utility. It did populate the remote utility as can be seen however generated the error. See screenshots below

It appears as though it may be writing the operand descriptions. I did save BOTH separately for the operand DESCRIPTIONS as well as the operands themselves back when I exported them for future reference. It is rather unclear as to saving a project file includes the operands as well as the data within. Additionally, by writing the operands to the PLC-does this embed them within the vlp file? It appears though they are dealt with completely independently afa storing within a project file. The battery backup is what seems to store these values during power down soley in RAM; which I find is very strange-if true.

[Gabriel Franco]

Operand values are battery backed-up and are not downloaded to PLC within application.

For a complete backup, its recommended to export PLC operands to text/binary file and keep the file together with VLP file. I also include OS files.