bikerdude

yes

HI, I'll take a stab at explaining the controls in the red box in a general way. 2 variable out puts from that controller, fuel and air. 2 inputs, O2 from the stack sensor, and looks like some mysterious "Fuel Demand" is the other This seems strange compared to what I'm used to. I am used to seeing boiler pressure as a controlling input to the fuel and air flow. Also I usually see a mechanical air damper controlling the air flow, not a motor speed controller. Anyhow, the whole concept of the red box is to control flow of fuel & air for combustion in the boiler, while maintaining the desired ratio. One variable flow control valve on the fuel line & one variable speed air fan. Of course the devil is in the details. That is my $0.02 BD

Hi, I have seen several servo systems (linear motion) that are supervised by a SLC500. I am not familiar with the AB Ultra 3000, units but the others models I am familiar with use preset "indexes" as a method of getting precise position done quickly & repeatedly. The servo driver module will need a connection to a encoder or resolver and a "Home" proxy. After the homing process is complete the PLC is able to send commands (digital I/O) to the servo control module. While the servo is executing a move or index procedure it will keep sending a "Busy" signal back to the PLC. When the motion index is complete, the servo controller will discontinue the busy & send a index complete signal. Of course there need to be over travel limits to stop the servo from destroying the mechanical devices attached. Most of the time the linear motion is back & forth repeating in a fast and accurate placement of something. Most of the programming is done in the servo module. The SLC just monitors the rest of the process & tells the servo when to run to a certain position. Once an "Index" is programmed in the servo controller I don't think it can be modified by user input, I don't think so but I could be wrong. Just an option to look at. BD

Hi, We have been using the Banner "SureCross" units for years with minimal fuss. I believe it is Ethernet interface. HERE BD

HI, Is it possible the genset is providing poor quality power to the CPU? I prefer to use a UPS with built in constantly active power inverter if the line is noisy. Might want to load a memory storage card with the program file & set the CPU to load up the program when needed. BD

Shiner, Personally I never have a real world output in the entire program file more than one time. (never/ever) Personally I hate it when I have to try & troubleshoot another persons program that uses conditional JSR instructions. It can become very confusing to say the least. My opinion is that the additional subroutines are helpful to organize the various tasks into logical groups. For example; Routine 2=Main, Routine 3=analog input scaling,Routine 4=discrete input timers, Routine 5=HMI, and so on. Yes, the use of conditional routines can shave a few mili-seconds of scan time. If you are worried about scan time, you are using the wrong processor for the job. I'm sure we have all tried to get Corvette performance from a Malibu before. The "Atta Boy" for saving $500 on the cheaper hardware you may get from the boss will be long forgotten while the maintenance staff are still cussing & throwing tools & swearing they will never ever get another of these blasted machines! I prefer to have all subroutines scanned all the time, except for special cases. If I need to control a sol coil (or motor coil) in manual mode as well as auto, I use a parallel rung branch with auto on top & manual on bottom, output on the right. See simple example below. While at first glance the rung looks complicated, once you get used to the flow it is easier than looking for a binary bit that is in a far away place. Of course binary (B3) bits are necessary in a lot of cases. Best practice is to keep them close by the output when possible, not in a conditional subroutine for sure. That is my $0.02

Seeker, You need Windows XP PRO instead of XP Home. BD

Firebird, There are 2 ways I know of to get the data to the PV+ without hassle. 1> Create "Alias" tags of the UDT members & point the PV+ to the aliases. 2> Create regular tags & move the values from the UDT members to them, pointing PV+ to the new tags. I have never used the "Parameter" files. I always just make the umpteen different screens & keep it simple although repetitive. I have seen programs created by others like in the picture below. This is not what I prefer but it works. The target screen has multiple objects. Some are integer displays some are string, whatever floats your boat. These objects can show different values if the tags in the PLC are loaded with different data. Depending upon which screen navigation button was pressed, the PLC tags values are loaded with different values. The same screen can be called up many times from different places, each time the PLC tags are re-loaded with the proper values accordingly. Hope this makes sense, you just about have to see it before it makes any sense. The reason I don't like this method is because it seems slow & sometimes the "Stale" data is momentarily displayed before the "Real" data shows up. I'll bet a clever programmer can prevent the stale data display with some extra special sauce added to the PLC/HMI programs. Good luck with your project BD

Bob, i hear ya, I just can't get there myself either. Ethernet is for comms in my "Joe Relay" or "Tunnel Vision" way of thinking. I would rather have my I/O wires screwed down tight instead of just plugged in thru a RJ-45 jack. Any old "Bubba or Cletus" can come along & pull the cable out just to see if it is loose or needs the pins shines up. Use the 1794-ASB is my vote. BD

Hi, I haven't seen any SLC500 or Compact adapter hardware. BD

Guys, I have not used any of these. I don't think anyone else has either because the product is probably still under development. It should be out on the market soon though. I hope I don't get in trouble for posting the pictures before it is ready to go. Back when most of the 1771 hardware was installed in the 80s & 90s most people used the 16 AWG wire. That makes a stiff bundle after 18 to 20 are tied together. If you have everything on one 10 amp fuse, you don't have much choice. BD

HI, I have seen such a wiring device in a recent e-mail. I don't have the pictures on this PC, so I can't post them right now. Basically the e-mail was from our engineering group & it said that the newly developed wiring arm adapter would be available in the spring of 2009. There is a shallow frame work of metal that holds the old 1770 wiring swing arms. Attached to the lower part of the old swing arm is an adapter that accepts a pre-made cable. The other end of this pre-made cable terminates on a CLX I/O module's terminal strip. The entire CLX chassis then bolts on top of the metal framework mentioned previously. Personally I think I would prefer to re-wire the I/O. The wires usually just run a few feet out to a terminal strip anyway. BD

Greetings, Most people would use the W2003 Server platform to serve up a SQL database not an Access database. You should be able to do it either way, performance of the database after collecting several hundred megabytes of data will be the penalty. The data piles up very quickly and it must be backed up routinely. RSBizware usually comes with an app named "RSSQL". This app can be setup to manage the connections/transactions between RSLinx (PLC addresses) & the database tables. There are many,many,many things to setup/manage install for a sucessful program. This endeavor is not really suited for a forum like this. It would likely take a experienced engineer most of the day to set up this from scratch. There are help files & examples on the discs of course if your determined. The reports that will be made from the data is another few days work. I have one of these running at my plant. I just maintain the monster. I wouldn't even think about starting one from scratch by myself. Rockwell has engineereing staff that will come to your plant & get things rolling for a few thousand dollars. Worth the cost in my book. BD

noweyc, On the RSLogix500 software CD there are 2 PDF files in the RSlinx folder named "HrdwCnfg.pdf" and "results.pdf". I believe the results file will give the best head start to navigating the software. The person who instaled your software may have copied these files to your hard drive. Otherwise they may still be on the CDROM. I can e-mail them to you but they are greater that 1/2 megabyte in size each if you are on dial up connection. BD