mouldermike

I'm trying to develop a 5 axis gantry robot using steppers, and I'm trying to select a motion control system. We use some PLCs here in our factory that we program with GX Developer (although our skills are not high), and my supplier suggested we use a Q series PLC with a QD70 module. The manual looks horribly complicated and I wondered if anyone had tried it? Tips on whether it's do-able would be appreciated. Mike

Thanks for that. I think I'll stick with the Mitsubishi and pay the price. At least if I need training I can get it all in the same place hopefully. Thanks for the time and the input. Cheers Mike

Hi I have my first PLC up and running - currently managed by a PC next to the control panel. It's an FX3G using GX Developer. Struggling with the minefield of HMIs - any recommendations? Operator only needs to change a dozen or so parameters every now and then. Ease of programming for a newbie and cost are big things. Any suggestions? Cheers Mike

We have an old machine with a 3rd party supplied S5. We need to replace it with S7 as we standardising with in-house built systems but the panel wiring diagrams have gone missing. Is there a way of getting a printout so we can see where all the inputs and outputs go? We have a backup of the programme of course. Cheers Mike

Thanks for the input everyone - it seems I'm sticking with Mitsubishi. Is the Mitsubishi GOT the best solution for an HMI in my circumstance? Cheers Mike

I've just installed my first Mitsubishi FX3U PLC using GX Developer (self taught) machine is running fine but I need to install an HMI and learn how to program it. Buying the kit and software will set me back a few hundred pounds. For my next project would a combined PLC/HMI with free software as offered by Uniitronics be better? Doesn't seem to be a forum for this so anyone got any opinions? Mike

Hi That is in fact pretty much what I've done as an interim solution to get me going - and it does work. It's not very elegant - with 36 stations and only 6 proxies some of the lines have loads of nc contacts. The other thing is that I've written the programme without knowing how HMI programming works and I'm anxious that when I get an HMI I can use all of this - as the machine operator will need to be able to do stuff with all this. FYI the machine makes moulded foam tennis balls in a range of sizes simultaneously - each size on a different group of stations, which can change on a daily basis (colour can also change but that's another story).Thanks for your help and interest. Mike

Brilliant - I'll try it next week - thanks for your help Cheers Mike

Thanks for that Steve - I'm ploughing through my manuals and as soon as I've worked out how to do that I'll give it a go. Cheers Mike

Hi. I have a 36 station moulding machine that I have refurbished and have put an FX3U plc on using GX developer (self taught newbie). Everything works OK so far but I have a problem that I need some help with. The machine is a carousel that indexes round 36 times with moulding programmes that differ on each station. The station identification is carried out by means of six proxy switches mounted on the floor picking up bolts in different positions on each station to give different combinations of signals, eg 1, 1+2,1+2+3, and so on. I'm trying to work out how to get these different combinations of inputs to work to give each station a unique id for the programme. I've been trying to do it by giving each combination of outputs from the switches a coil. The problem I'm having is that a combination of 1+2+3 also makes 1, and 1+2 live at the same time. I'm missing something obvious here as this is an industry standard method and operated on the old Siemens kit that originally ran this machine - we haven't changed the hardware layout at all. Any ideas as the best way to do this? Mike