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PaulKraemer

PanelView Plus serving data to a PC?

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Hi, I have a customer with a PLC5/30. They want to get a PanelView Plus as their HMI. The PanelView Plus would communicate with the PLC5 through the CH0 DF1 port. If possible, they would like to connect a PC to the PanelView Plus via ethernet (or by any other means if ethernet is not possible). They would want this PC (which would be running some VBA code inside an Excel workbook), to be able to read tags values from the PanelView in real-time. When I say real-time, it doesn't matter if there is a slight delay due to the comm interface - I just mean that they want to the PC to be able to read current tag values from the PanelView, not historical data. Can anyone tell me if the PanelView Plus has the ability to make current tag values available to a PC through ethernet or some other communication interface? If this is possible, can you give me an idea how this can be done? One possibility I thought of is if the PanelView Plus were able to act as an OPC server while the PC could act as an OPC client, but I have no idea if the PanelView Plus has this capability. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Paul .

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PVP's default data server is Linx Enterprise, which doesn't talk OPC. It also technically lives in what they refer to as the Local FactoryTalk Directory, which means that it only communicates with the local machine. That said, RA also makes KepWare's KepServer available in some bundles. It might be possible to configure KepServer to communicate off-box, but I've never seen or attempted it.

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A similar post was put up some time ago... http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?showtopic=12986 Having the PV+ dish out data to an Excel file or VB app, I do not think is possible. The PV+ has the communication layer to work with the PLC, but I do not it has the capability to communicate with software to push data. But the PLC could easily communicate with a data server. There are somewhat inexpensive data logging packages out there, to push data into Excel, Access or SQL databases. All of these will require communications to the PLC-5/30 (RS-232C or DH+) and a RSLinx license to support OPC (RSLinx-Pro or RSLinx-OEM). There are cheap and expensive OPC Data Loggers; they communicate via OPC to the PLC and populate data into an Excel or Access file/database. http://www.opclogger.com/products.php http://www.webdock.net/ http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?showtopic=18544

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You could try using the Modbus TCP/IP driver, setting either the desktop PC as the master or the PVP. You will need to have something that talks Modbus TCP/IP on the PC, and can get that data into the format you want (ex. Excel VBA, files, OPC server, etc). This is more of an advanced approach, so if you do not feel excited when reading this I would not recommend it. Also, I would not expect update speeds faster than once per second (your performance speeds will be specific to the quantity of tag data that you are copying, and limited by the serial DF1 interface speed). Quick overview of steps: You can get a PVP to share data with another PVP through the Kepware modbus TCP/IP driver. In that case, one PVP is configured to be the master (Kepware modbus driver) and the other is the slave. In your case the PC will need to have some Modbus TCP/IP software to be either a master or slave. If the PC is the master, enter that IP address as the device address in the Kepware modbus driver. The second part is to create a Macro file in the PVP that copies the PLC5 DF1 tag data to the Kepware Modbus tags. Each line in the macro will simply copy PLC5 tag data to the correlating Kepware tag data. Name that macro "Macro 1" and enter a similar expression into the Global Connections property "Remote Macro 1" system\second%5 or better if (system\second%5)>=2 then 1 else 0 That will execute "Macro 1" once every 5 seconds

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You might want to look at a Red Lion G3 for the HMI. It will allow you to easily create a custom webpage from which data can be read at near real time. I have started using the G3 for projects instead of the PV+ and I have found them to be a superior solution in every category.

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I second the Red Lion G3 comment, however, there is an even better option. Get a Digi One IAP. Plug it into the serial port of the PLC-5 and configure it. Now your PLC-5 will appear to be an Ethernet processor. The PV+ and the PC can connect to the Ethernet port (with a switch) and you can simultaneously program and communicate to both from the PC side of things. You also don't "lose" your serial port. The IAP has 2 serial ports and the second one can be configured to act as a "bridge" back to the PLC-5 so that you can still "plug into" the Channel 0 port for diagnostics for instance. Only disadvantage here is you are limited to the speed of the serial port on the PLC-5. The best option (assuming you don't switch to a different PLC) is to get an Ethernet coprocessor. This device MUST be plugged into the second slot right next to the PLC itself but gives you a full blown Ethernet port directly off the PLC. It's expensive but less than buying an enhanced PLC-5.

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