Gamble

I'm wondering how people mount plaques on enclosures or machines. I typically use engraved plastic plaques for things such as panel name, machine specs, etc... I've used adhesive plaques in the past, but I would like to move to something more secure (rivets?). Any suggestions?

Does anyone have suggestion for DIN rail cutters? http://www.dinrail.com/ This one is pretty nice, but you have to change dies for different sizes of rail. Also we use a lot of 15mm rail, and they don't have a die for that size. http://www.dinrailwiringduct.com/servlet/the-255/DIN,-rail,-cutter,-DIN/Detail This one is a nicer and still not crazy expensive. I wish the website had better pictures so you could really see the product. Iboco sells a cutter as well but it is priced around $1200.

What charts do you guys use to determine wire size in wire duct?

We use a handheld scissor type cutter (like was linking in that google search) for the duct, and a chop saw for the cover.

While, I agree this doesn't stop customers from demanding the stickers. It almost seems like you have to add a caveat to your labels that says: Arc Flash data is XXX For a load supply of XXX.

These are usually auxiliary contacts from your motor controlling device (motor starter, VFD, or softstart).

Hm I'm not too sure what these tools do. They don't give much explanation on the website. To be more clear tables like NEC 310.16 and 310.17 are for not more than three conductors in a raceway or conduit and a single conductor in free air respectively. The UL 508A table 29.1 is another list, but it strangely doesn't mention anything about grouping. I guess the UL table is the best choice, but it seems strange that I could put a bunch of power wire in one duct and not have to worry about heating (something that the NEC seems to pay close attention to). Seems like such a basic question, but I'm struggling to find a satisfying answer.

Frequently I we get called out to local factories to aid in troubleshooting or machine repairs. We are starting to get requests from some of our customers for our formal safety policy. In the past we have usually defaulted to the customer's policies, but I think that some of the new Arc Flash standards are causing people to reevaluate their safety policies in general. Does anybody care to share how they have handled these situations? I am not opposed to a formal policy, but considering the work I do varies from place to place I need something that can be useful in all situations. I think there is a fine balance between having a practical policy that allows you to get your work done safely, and a policy that is too vague and just becomes a piece of paper in a drawer.

I'm starting on a project that uses Honeywell XNX transmitters communicating via HART to a ProSoft PTQ_HART module in a Quantum PLC Rack (programmed with Concept 2.6). Has anybody done this before, or used any of these devices? I've not worked much with HART in the past so it is fairly new territory.

I've got a system that has several power meters connected to a MODGATE Ethernet Gateway over an ICOMM network. Then the gateway is connected to a NOE module on a Quantum rack. We are having some communication problems. I am looking at the PLC end while other are looking at the networking side. I would like to try to use a MSTR (MBP_MSTER?) block to grab the data I need, however I don't see how I can assign a unit id to the MSTR block. It seems that it just wants the IP address. Alternatively I've looked at the READ_REQ block in conjuction with the TCP_IP_ADDR block. This looks promising, but I wonder if what they are callling "Map_Idx" is what I am calling unit ID. (For example on address 10.11.12.13 there are four power meters with unit IDs 1, 2, 3, and 4.)

I can't figure out out to display elements of an struct/array in Concept's Data Reference Editor. Does anybody know how to do this?

In the past we have used several SOLA 480 3ph to 24 VDC power supplies. I have been having problems with these supplies failing in the field. We've had three 40 A supplies fail, and one 20 A supply. The first failure was 5 years ago, and then we have had the rest occur all under a year. SOLA claimed to fix the problem 5 years ago, and they are saying the same thing now. Now we are looking at some other options for our DC supplies. Does anybody else have a similar experience? Any suggestions on other power supplies? We are now looking at Carlo Gavazzi and Puls.

I believe about a year ago Sola and AB has a falling out, and now AB supplies are manufactured by some other entity. I think PULS used to do a lot of the rebranding stuff, but they are getting out of that business too.

I'm looking for a point of reference (preferable some established standard) to establish e-stop zones in a plant. One of the specific systems (which was installed and ran for 10 years or so with major e-stop gaps) has equipment that spans two floors. Some of the equipment in the basement is tied into other parts of the plant, such as some oil heaters and water pumps. It seems like it may be in appropriate that if someone upstairs hits and e-stop it has to shut down all the equipment in the basement. I know this is going to be very application specific, but like I said I'm just looking for a point of reference so that I can better work with the plant personnel to establish a solid e-stop scheme. I've tried searching OSHA, ANSI, NSA, and NFPA with no luck.

What I would like to do is display some data recorded by a PLC as a line graph on an HMI. I was planning on using some type of PanelView, but as I looked into how the trend object works I think I may have to go with something else. The main problem is that the trend object (and line graph on an EZPanel) are all made to display data in real time and record it. What I would like to do is take a previously recored data set and display it on demand on an HMI. My data set tracks two variables each with 230 data points over about 0.5s of time. There will be up to 15 sets of this data stored at one time, and it needs to be able to be recalled and displayed on demand by the operator. One possible solution to this is to "feed" the requested data to the HMI whenever it is requested. There by simulating data in real time. The problems with this however is the timing between update/refresh rates, the PLC logic to "feed" the data, and trying to keep it from taking 20 seconds to draw a graph. I have run some simulations trying to do this, and I get poor graphs with missing data points. I hope I was clear in explaining my situation. Any suggestions?

Ebay sale is about to end with no buyer :( Soon the link will no longer work, but the item will still be for sale if somebody wants to send me an offer. I will close or edit this thread once it is sold.

I'm selling an Allen Bradley fiber optic ControlNet repeater (1786-RPFM). The item is new out of box, and has never been used. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=110240076844

Item Sold

I'm selling a 230V 5HP Yaskawa Drive, $150. It is practically brand new. Model: CIMR-J7AM23P7 SPEC: 23P70 REF: JDA017 INPUT: AC3PH 200-230V 50/60Hz 24A OUTPUT: AC3PH 0-230V 0-400Hz 17.5A http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=110237942816

Hey, thanks Bud. I think that is exactly what I'm looking for.

I've seen some people use what I can best describe as a steel tack. I wasn't able to get a good look at it, but it had a rounded head and the person would just hammer them onto the machine. Anybody I have any idea what these might be?

Ok here goes, I've got a Modbus Plus network with about 8 nodes on it. The last node drops out all the time. It drops out at a high seemingly random frequency. I've gone over documentation several times, and I have done all the tests that I can think of several times. Here is a list of what I know. The total network cable length is <1000ft. The resistance betweens pins 2 and 3 of the drop cables is about 72 ohms. There is an open between 1 & 2 and 1 & 3 There is short between 1 and ground. The first node is terminated correctly. The last node is terminated correctly. No node in the middle of the network is terminated. The correct Belden cable is being used. Modicon Tee-Taps are being used as well as drop cables. All the Tee-Taps are in the correct direction. The Modbus indicator lights on all of the CRA modules are flashing correctly. The errorA light will come on intermittently between the modules (some modules may have it while others don't). I've looked at the signals with a scope, and it does not show qualites that I would associate with noise being induced onto the line. Does anybody have any ideas what could be going on? Does anybody know what the waveform is supposed to look like, or know any specifics of the signals (peak voltages, etc...)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We took the resistance reading at the node farthest from the "start" (the NOM module) of the network. All the nodes were disconnected. We have not used a TDR, nor do we have access to one. The drop cables from the TEE are all probably around 3 feet or less. They are all grounded. BTW there is also about 10ft of cable between each TEE. When I say last node I'm thinking of the network as starting at the NOM module in the PLC and ending at the farthest node. (I realize that in the truest sense this is probably not the best terminology.) By drops out: If I monitor normally on bits (NC switches and buttons) on the farthest node, they will flash on and off a few times a second. All the nodes are DIO and some AIO. We have no bridge devices. We have not monitored the system with MBP Stat. Some of the issues with doing this are as follows. We have two networks; one connects the plant PLCs together and then each PLC has a network for remote racks (mostly I/O). The only PC that can get on the network is the "programing terminal" which is connected on the PLC network. To get on the network in question we'd have to drag the PC out to the plant floor, create another drop for the PC, and hook it up. (While this is certainly an option, I don't know if the powers greater than myself will want that.) Also I've used MBP Stat to some extent, but I can't say that I really know how to use it. We have tried replacing the CRA module in the problem node. It did not change anything. I tend to thing that the programing technique is OK, because in the past there were two more nodes on this network (thus more data) and it, reportedly, worked fine.

I have a conveyor project in which we have some SICK ZIM-2 zone interface modules. I've never used these before. I've been reading over the manuals but they are not very clear. Does anybody have any experience using these guys?

I'm very new to Modicon and I'm working with a (pre-existing) program that uses a MBP_MSTR and I'm having trouble figuring out how to actually use this function block. All the boolean parameters are straight forward and make sense, but the words confuse me. The two words 'control' and 'databuf' seem like they should be inputs, but they are outputs. What exactly are they doing? And how do I go about configuring one of these blocks to work correctly?