gleblanc

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Everything posted by gleblanc

  1. Harmony XB5R

    Anybody looked at the Harmony XB5R from Schneider? They look slick, but how do they work? 25m range is pretty impressive as far as range goes, but I can't figure out how they're making it work without a battery.
  2. Hi folks. I'm looking for some quotes on integrating a Metler Toledo Ethernet/IP scale into an existing CompactLogix/PanelView Plus control system. Please see the attached PDF for details. Thanks,Greg AC Scale RFQ.pdf
  3. free SFCEditor software?

    I use gliffy for making my flow charts.  They have a free mode, it makes great looking charts, it's easy to use, and it saves your charts "in the cloud" so you can get to them from anywhere. https://www.gliffy.com/
  4. Allen Bradley Vs. Mitsubishi

    I've got PLCs and HMIs from both lines that you're thinking of using.  I don't find that there is a strong advantage to one brand over the other overall.  AB equipment is more readily available in our area.  I do not like any of the HMI programming software from AB.  I found GT designer a bit less painful, but in most of our new panels we are using RedLion HMIs, which I like better than either GOT, PanelvVew Plus, or PanelView Component.   One of the things that Mitsubishi makes a little easier than AB is building a rack with different amounts of I/O and using the same program on both. The AB PLCs will wind up with the outputs re-numbered based on how many cards are actually installed.  With the Mitsubishi you can specify the starting addresses (at least on the Q PLCs, I've not tried this on FX).
  5. The KVA rating is primarily used to determine the load that the UPS is capable of supporting.  That said, a UPS with a larger KVA rating will generally have larger batteries.  Also, most of the smaller UPS units (below 750 KVA) do not have connections for external batteries.  With an external battery connection, you can typically add additional batteries to get as much runtime as you want.  Longer runtimes also take longer to recharge the batteries after a power failure. I've always sized UPS units so that they can clamp the full rating of whatever equipment is connected.  But using those same numbers to calculate runtimes always under-estimates.  You might be able to get a better idea of runtime by measuring the peak usage of the panel directly.
  6. We're looking for a company to build a poka-yoke for our driveshaft assembly and installation process.  We have specified 4" color HMIs for the remote feedback, as they appear to be comparable in price to a large stack-light.  Hopefully the RFQ is clear enough, but please contact myself or Andrew if you have any questions or need clarification on anything.  We're looking to have quotes or letters of intent back by the end of January, with PO issued by the end of February, for April delivery. Driveshaft assembly poka yoke.pdf Driveshaft assembly poka yoke.pdf
  7. I've got another RFQ, this time to replace the HMI on our conveyor control system. Briefly, we have a ProFace HMI connected to a Mitsubishi Q PLC via serial communications. The HMI is failing, and has too many control functions built in. I'd like to move the control to the PLC, and replace the HMI with something legible. Please check out the attached PDF, and email me for a copy of the HMI and PLC programs. Conveyor HMI & Time.pdf
  8. I'm looking for a vendor to build a poka-yoke system for working with our under the hood assembly station. This system will have an HMI to guide the operator through the process, and will integrate 3 separate wireless tools, using both discreet I/O and fieldbus. Please see the attached RFQ. Thanks. Under hood poka-yoke.pdf
  9. Somehow, in my many revisions of the project for my conveyor control program, I've lost most of the statements describing how the program works. If I open an older version of the project, I can find the statements. Is there a way to copy them over in bulk, rather than one at a time? I can't even find a way to compare two projects on disk using GXWorks2, but it seems like a common request, so I might just be overlooking something today. Thanks,
  10. HMI Comms

    Holy cow, $18 per cable end?!? I can hire my electricians to come out, make up, and certify cables for cheaper than that! On a related note, if you're making cables without having a cable tester, you're doing it wrong. I like this one, as it has quite a few bells and whistles, plus an LCD which can make figuring out what you did wrong a bit easier. http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=8128
  11. I like the Mitsubishi programming software pretty well, though I mostly hire other people to do programming these days. Actually, for maintenance personnel who only use the software every few months, I think that GX works is actually easier to use than RSLogix 500 or 5000. And as with anything else, ladder logic is pretty much ladder logic, and things work about the same. All that said, I think that RSLogix 5000 is much more powerful, if you use it's advanced features, which it sounds like you're doing. I'm not entirely sure if Mitsubishi has something akin to AOIs, etc. There are some things that the Q series does that make large programs easier to re-use than on AB. With the Q PLCs, your I/O numbering is fixed, even if cards are missing. So I can put a Q02U on my bench in a small chassis, and load up the program from the Q03(mumble) on my plant floor that is in the biggest chassis, and the program will load up without much complaint that it can't find things. I'm sure that one of the gurus here can explain that much better than I can.
  12. QR Code on HMI

    Most HMIs have screens with very low pixel density (DPI). I would be concerned that they would not be able to represent the QR code accurately enough to be read. I've routinely had bad luck trying similar things on a PC, while displaying the same images on my high density smartphone screen works well.
  13. Gee, wouldn't it be handy if there were some mathematical standard about how to evaluate multi-part expressions like this. Then we could teach it in school so that every 3rd grader would know how it was supposed to work. Oh, wait...
  14. Position Verification Methods?

    Is there a reason you need to do this using your own custom hardware? Have you already selected vendors for the nutrunner and/or 4-axis arm? I was at the Atlas-Copco facility in Auburn Hills a couple of weeks ago, and they have 2 and 3 axis arms on the shelf, with or without encoders for position, and software included with their controllers that can handle all of the positioning, so that you can avoid all of the heavy lifting. I'm sure that Apex/Cleco, Aimco, and Ingersoll-Rand also have similar setups, relatively off-the-shelf. I'm not in the London area, but we have a sister plant in Woodstock who probably has some local contacts for vendors. The other system option that comes to mind is from PinPoint (http://pinpointinfo.com/). They are more of an integrator than a vendor of a particular solution, but I've seen demos of their equipment with arms and position feedback on an operator screen). Greg
  15. I can't figure it out from the Rockwell website. Can I use RSLinx Lite and the MicroLogix DataLogging tool without buying any special licensing? I'd like to put it on the team lead computers, so that they can pull data without me needing to be involved. Thanks,
  16. So each of those two switches can drive 2 inputs on the PLC. Call them tank_1, tank_2, 1_heater, and 2_heater. I'd write the logic so that if tank_1 AND tank_2 are off, and 2_heater is ON, then turn on 1 heater in each tank, plus flash a light or whatever warning you think is necessary, based on what other feedback is available to the operator.
  17. I'm looking for quotations for a system to interface between our Technifor VIN scribe head unit. The system will need to provide a barcode reader, VIN validation routine, and HMI. Please see the attached RFQ for full details. EDIT!!! I attached the right RFQ this time! dcd01-3028 - Head Unit.pdf dcd01-3044 - Marking Unit.pdf VIN Scribe display upgrade.pdf
  18. I've got a PLC cabinet with an existing HMI, plus 10 or so 30mm push buttons mounted below the HMI. I'm looking at replacing the HMI with a new larger model, and suspect that it would be easier to cut a new hole in the door than to replace the door (the door is approximately 6'x5'). I'm a little concerned about swarf from cutting the door winding up in the buttons somewhere. Turning power off to this isn't a problem, so I think it should be safe while performing the work, the only concern is shorting something out. What are the best tools to cut these doors with? Thanks.
  19. While I agree that Logix5k is going to be essential, unless Rockwell gets the pricing down on their smaller CompactLogix processors, the micrologix will be around for a long time yet. All of the smaller projects I build the Logix5k processors are 2x the cost of a MicroLogix. The controls we're implementing aren't complicated enough for that price to be offset with the better RSLogix5000 software. Of course, if they were to drop the CompactLogix controller prices by $1k next week, we would ditch Micrologix entirely.
  20. Version control sucks if all you get are binary files and a change comment. None of the PLC software that I use on a regular basis makes it easy enough to get a plain text representation that would be suitable for a VCS. I'm sure that's somewhat related to everything being ladder logic.
  21. PLC Law

    ProofReader VOlunteer
  22. I'm looking for a vendor to upgrade an HMI on an existing Allen-Bradley system here in the plant. The full details are in the attached PDF. Thanks. Valves Display Improvement.pdf
  23. Yes, that will work fine. Other things you might want to keep in mind: Ethernet has a limit of 100m between repeaters (every switch is a repeater; hopefully the dual-port cards operate the same way). You can get around this limit by using fiber and transceivers. Ethernet cables are flimsy, and prone to damage. Keep spares, and use conduit wherever practical. The other alternative is to use smaller subnet masks, and use a router in a central location. The physical wiring could remain the same, but the traffic might take a slightly different path. I haven't tested how well the HMIs work across routed networks, but RSLogix seems to have no trouble with it. You could still use the same numbering as above, but set each to a /24 bit mask, and your router can just send the packets back out the same network interface, and they'll arrive where they need to. This will also limit browsing to see what devices are online. On one hand, that makes it harder to find devices; on the other, it also makes it harder for people who shouldn't to find devices. You could even take it a step further, and set up a /28 or /29 per machine, and further limit IP traffic from floating around where it ought-not. Mind, I've only used the multipe-star topology with twisted-pair Ethernet, and I've not any experience with the dual port cards from AB, so I have no idea how they will react.
  24. Daylight Savings Time

    Attached is a small program to turn on a memory bit when we're in daylight savings time mode. I've simulated it, and it seems to work fine, but I'm not sure how to change dates and verify that it will continue to work. Anybody want to take a look, and let me know if you see obvious bugs? File is from GXWorks 2, zipped. Thanks, DST ON FLAG.zip