panic mode

Crossbow is right, I just looked part numbers we used and it was MFS series of motors. I wasn't aware that MF and MFS are different series. Also 75P2 is two axis controller, 75P1 should be single axis (and 75P3 should be three axis). I've been using A1SD75P2-S3 with MR-J2S-60A (note "A" on the end of the part number). If you choose MR-J2SxxB amplifier (note "B" on the end of part number) then you will have to change controller as well (to 75M1 for example). If you go for MR-J2S-xxA, you can keep A1SD75P1-S3 controller. number after J2S is indicating drive size.

i have the starter kit which came with cable. i didn't check it out but by the looks of it, it's just a 4-wire cable with some tiny connector going into Zelio controller.

first scan bit is your friend but if you are using coils, they are cleared on powerup (try simple seal in circuit). this is why you have to use latches or XOR function to retain machine settings.

You can use 485 network, it's multidrop and can be very long. FX2N has 485 port, this is why they sell you SC09 cable. I would leave main port free for troubleshooting and fit each FX2N with 485 board (mounts on front of the unit) since these things are cheap (some $50-60 or so).

MEDOC is PLC programming software, it should support this CPU but I cannot verify it since I don't use it. F900 series products are HMI. Some of them are available as pendant versions. They need GOT900 developer or GT Works2 or GT Designer. You should be able to download time limited demo version from www.meau.com. A1SD75P1-S3 is motion controller and spports up to 3-axis. we used it last time some 4-5 years ago. nowdays we use SSCNET for any servo application. This requires B version of servo amplifers and motion card with "M" instead of "P" in part number. MR-J2 servo amplifiers are pretty old, i'm not sure if they still sell them since they have been replaced with MR-J2S. HC-MF_K motor series is standard product and we used it on few jobs. You didn't fill in your location but just about all Mitsubishi products sold here come from Chicago with lead time of about 1-2weeks for regular delivery or 2-3 days if you pay few bucks extra. I'm not sure about particular size you have but it look like you could use bigger one or have someone take a look at motor shaft stress, maybe this application is not mechanically sound.

Chapter4 of SH_NA_080006-J.pdf but it seam you already found that you need 4C format 5.

as for frame setup, see Chapter4 (settings and procedures prior to operation), see page 4-16 ([97 of 366])

Peter, I understand your frustration and I feel your pain but... I must admit it's always fun to see someone else struggle a bit with Mitsubishi, so please forgive me for this smile... Ok, back to the problem, I never used BIDIN or BIDOUT instructions and according to manual they have some limitations (like only apply to bidirectional protocols). TO and FROM are old way of doing things and shouldn't bother you. They are older and hence compatible with every Mitsubishi PLC. Lot's of new instructions/features doesn't apply to older families. I could see myself try using MOVs and BMOVs to create 4C frame as seen in 5.1.4 if nothing else than for testing although there are BIDIN examples in the manual (like 7.1.3).

usually you can see the version if you choode Help menu and choose About.

one good thing about Dell is cheap power supplies ($50) so I can five spare ones (one in a glove box in my car, one in the office, one in my suitcase... ). I'll never have to worry about forgetting to bring it with me. Also I remember times when for replacement PSU for one of my older machine I had to pay almost $400.

yep, you may have version issue. Current version is 7, sometime about version 5.3 or so (don't remember exactly) they dropped support for Win9x. But also check your RSLinx version. You can download Lite version for free...

Yes, every Latitude has real com port. Note that Dell Inspirons are 'consumer grade' laptops just like any other model you can find in places like BestBuy, TigerDirect etc. don't go for those if you need RS232.

sell your laptop, bucket and all converters and buy Dell Latitude

i didn't see many A's with Ethernet lately and I don't have one here to try it out so I'm not 100% sure. If my memory is good on QnA and Q I was able to simply plug the card, and assign address and that was enough to go online and read/write plc memory with a VB program using MX-Components.

Hi everyone, I was looking for CAD files for download from Advantech website to no avail. Sure I can place a block instead of actual product but it sure look nicer if you have the real thing (and I'm too short with time to do fancy looking drawings for every component). What I was looking for are just common products like ADAM4000 series and the PCs or screens like FPM-3150TVE-T... Would anyone happen to have anything of this kind...? Maybe it's not bad idea to post links to CAD file resources like Allen Bradley Omron Rittal etc.

actually there is very little to be changed in PLC if you are adding ethernet cards.(no PLC logic is needed unless you want PLC to initiate connections).

the 8.3 naming format is supposed to be long obsolete and not an issue in modern day 32 or 64 bit OS. but same nudget who wrote DOS software made sure that all system directories even today (even in WinXP) don't exceed 8 character limit (windows =7, system32 = 8, etc.). ever wonder why? then the same guy(s) force-feed users with paths like: C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\My Documents\My Received Files or C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Desktop... or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\RSView Enterprise\ME\HMI projects etc... And where the heck are all those email archives. Right, they are in different place for different email client version and different OS version and in different format. How convenint...

what is the problem? controlling LPT using C++? check this out, it may give you some ideas: http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/parallel_output.html

I'm not sure i can help you since all i ever used to communicate PC<>MitsPLC was MX Components. Also I've seen bunch of old FX controllers but never needed to work on them. There was some sample code in download section for QBasic. it should be simple enough to convert to VB.

Why not setup one screen with bunch of indicators (maybe 10 or 20 or whatever number) that look into range of registers. Let's call this range "display buffer". Also add two push buttons (Previous, Next) to allow scrolling. Let PLC copy different range of PLC registers from the record list to display buffer depending on user input (Previous and Next buttons). That's it..

if you know what is on a network and what i/o range is assigned to each node you can make file yourself...

you need to understand how mitsubishi special cards work. plc has some memory and every special card has some of own memory. (special = everything other than simple digital I/O) part of special card memory that can be accessed by plc program is called buffer. each special card also has some i/o that are mapped to plc i/o range (I/O signals). in example above, eth card was using I/O range 0x0160-017F (most special cards use 32 point I/O). I/O signals are used for quick access to important (more frequently used) functions such as init request, error, send trigger, send complete etc. buffers are used to cover the rest. accessing buffers is slower and it should be kept to a minimum to keep low plc scan time. in example above whole message was arranged in plc memory and then with single instruction transfered to eth. card buffer. you can use I/O as much as you want since it's much faster than buffer access. once the buffer has everything, one simply triggers matching I/O to send it (Y0 or in this case Y160 because cards base address was 0x0160). in case message was not received or connection was lost etc. one or more of inputs in I/O range will change state. for example X18 (or for above example that would be X178) is "open end" error. send complete is X0 (or X160 in my case) and send error is X1 (or X161). Channel Open is X10 (X170), etc.

Peter you can use TO and FROM. this is compatible with ALL mitsubishi plcs. i prefer to use mov instructions because of shorter format and you can comment buffers as well (you cannot comment them if you use TO or FROM). this is supported by QnA and Q plcs. to make above code compatible with A plc for example one would have to change last BMOV instruction to something like: TO h16 k1664 D2000 k24 Mitsubishi has very powerfull instruction set. In fact there are several manuals just for instructions. Look for dedicated instructions, there might be something to address this. The IEC version of GX Developer might do this for you. This code above was something I was using long before Q was known on this side of pond and documentation was not easy to find. I understand wish to make program look neat and tidy but I don't see a problem with few instructions for something like this. It's not that one would need to make thirty different versions of it like when doing math with AD PLCs. One block of code above is all it takes. It is enough to trigger it again when message content is updated.

i didn't have to write explicit messages in Q but manual for ethernet card should have it all. in the older QnA and A plcs writting to another controller using unsolicited message would go something like this: mov k31 d2000 ; unsolicited command length mov h401 d2001 ; pc number and command code mov k0 d2002 ; WDT (not used) mov k309 d2003 ; write to 309-th element (D309) of target controller mov h0A800 d2004 ; write to "D" type device (D309) mov k24 d2005 ; length of device starting from D309 BMOV D1006 D2006 k24 ; load the actual data to be sent BMOV U16\G1664 D2000 k24 ; transfer whole message to eth. card buffer SET Y160 ; and send... (reset it when ACK received) as you probably already know, ethernet card in this example was at address 0x0160. hope this helps...

note of warning: it may be fine for someting on your bench since all components have some safety margines. but this is not something you want to put in a project that goes 1000 miles away. with 1k resistor you might be driving most modern LEDs out of spec. Some 20mA used to me standard before high efficiency diodes came out. the high efficiency models only need 2-5mA and that's 4-10x difference. they are more tolerant to abuse compared to older LEDs (can survive bigger voltage and current swings) but pushing something far beyond spec might bite. many newer series of resistors are smaller in size (phisically) than classic ones so estimating power rating just by size is not simple task anymore. if resistor is really only 1/8W it won't last very long (i know, i tried it too. they got pretty hot quickly and lasted more than a week in a summer time which is quite impressive). Ohms law is not that difficult and if you buy new components, check the specs and do the math. It's not like you are going to save some money on smaller resistors...