Nick Trolley

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About Nick Trolley

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  • Birthday 03/10/79

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  • Country Canada

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  1. I have done that - the lower port numbers were listed as being in use - when i changed the port number to a one listed as in use i got a warning saying that this could cause the device to become unuseable? also when i removed the device and pluged it back in the computer put it back on port 14 - as if it still viewed the lower ports as being in use even though i had removed all of the "in use" message status?
  2. I'm not sure if this topic has been posted about in the form before - i tried to google search it and all the returns i found seemed to reference windows XP - Im' running windows 7 ultimate 64 bit service pack 1 the issue is that when i currently plug in my USB to serial converter cable the system wants to auto assign it to Comm 14 since thats the next free comm port i have - im wondering how do i go into my system and release say comm ports 3-4 so that when i need my usb -to -serial unit it can be put on those comm numbers? the problem is im using directsoft 4 from automation direct and the comm link software only goes up to comm 9...... i could upgrade to direct soft 5 which supports up to comm 99 but i'd rather not if i don't have to, plus im sure id have this issue on some other plc programming software too..... i have a feeling i have to use hardware manager in my control panel but im not sure how to change the comm numbering or release ports no longer in use - and if i do will i screw anything up?
  3. ASCII STRING INTO A D2-260 PLC

    Well i might be okay in that case then - im not looking for real time monitoring of the string input - i just want to pole it every 5-10 seconds or so to check on the ink levels in the printer - - you know how when your printer screams at you that its out of ink, but you can still print some pages? as long as the operators aware that the ink is running out thats all im trying for - it doesnt have to be real time instantious updating hopefully it means i can use the default port
  4. ASCII STRING INTO A D2-260 PLC

    That is a very good question - at this moment i do not know - i have left a message for the engineering guy who designed the printer software but hes currently flying back from windsor ont to cali so i won't get a reply anytime soon - would you say then my safest bet is to use a BASIC module? can this be used with the d2-250? or do i still need the 260?
  5. ASCII STRING INTO A D2-260 PLC

    Ok to give you guys a bit of a backstory here to explain what we are trying to do - the company i work for makes the machines that print and apply those lil barcode stickers you see on fruit and such at the store. Well we have had to change the printers we use because the previous models are no longer made, and the NEW models work great except for one thing - the only way to get the "out of ink" warning is via an ascii string from the printer software installed in the panel PC this string would be sent to the RS232 programming port on a D2-260 series plc (until now we were running D2-250 (-1) series plcs) ive played with ascii data in the past but never in an automation direct product, and timing is critical because the equipment ships in 14 days (we've spent the past week trying to find any other way to get this error message) the ASCII string that we would recive from the printer software is as follows: *00000000CR -where * indicates the start of the string - CR indicates the end. Each printer on the line is represented by a 0 when its ink level is okay, and a 1 if it is about to run out so for example....... *00010010CR - would indicate printers 2 and 5 are about to run out of ink what i need to know is - -when the ascii string is sent to the plc - where is it stored? in what format? i want to monitor the memory location every 3-4 seconds and sent a fault indication for whichever lane is about to run low on ink (there are power on/fault pilot lights located above each printer location to signal status to the operator) various other fault conditions are already monitored by the plc I/O all i would need to do is add a parallel contact to my fault rungs in my program whenever the referenced printer has an out of ink warning. any help would be greatly welcomed
  6. Programming question for 250 (-1) PLC

    the requirements are exactly the same as they were listed in the first post? the system will ramp up from 3 fire signals a second to 15 - in 30 second intervals - - then once it reaches 15 it resets to 3 and continues the cycle. the various values you see being loaded in to v2000 are the millisecond values that would be used to set the second timers preset value - based on the number of fires per second. all of the greater than-equal too, and less than statements - - allow me to vary the intervals at which the fire output is turned on based on the counter.
  7. Programming question for 250 (-1) PLC

    Because i don't want it to just fire 80 times in a row out of 100. thats not a real-world test of the load the heads would be under, on a fruit label machine it might fire 10-15 times in a row - then sit out the next 6 pulses because the fruit cups were empty - then fire another 9 then sit 3 ect ect in the end it works out to be like an 80-90% duty cycle but its not just 80 straight fires - thats what all of compairs give me is a way to break up the fire rate.
  8. Programming question for 250 (-1) PLC

    here is my program so far - will it work as my description intends? MAZI BOARD TESTING.rar
  9. Programming question for 250 (-1) PLC

    i also plan to use a second counter to count those fire pulses - -and then use a whole string of "greater then or equal to & less then or equal to" statements to set a "duty cycle" were out of 100 pulses it only fires for a total of 80-90 - is this not how i could set a duty cycle of fire pulses in groups - with a number of pulses not triggering the fire output? I'll post the zip of the project files shortly
  10. I'm new to using automation direct plc's they seem fairly straight forward with their basic logic but their timers counters comparison instructions and the like are messing with me a bit. What i'm attempting to do is the following - design a program to test a new piece of equipment during an 8 hour cycle. the equipment in question is a Print and apply application where all i am looking to do is provide a series of FIRE commands at rates ranging from 3 per second and increasing up to a max of 15 per second. what i have so far is this. A free running timer set to 30 seconds runs constantly - every time it resets its also increasing a counter with a preset of 16 im using "equal too" statements to check the acc of the counter to a fixed value, for example when it is 1 i using a LD command & and OUT command to move a K33 value to V2000 the value in the V2000 area will be used as the preset for another free running timer as the time between fire pulses i also plan to use a second counter to count those fire pulses - -and then use a whole string of "greater then or equal to & less then or equal to" statements to set a "duty cycle" were out of 100 pulses it only fires for a total of 80-90 does this idea seem like im on the right track? if i was using an alllen bradley or omron or semens plc my approch would be different but there seems to be limitations to the timer counter and compairison instructions with the AD plcs