I am trying to find a demo software for the ABB line of PLC's (AC500). I could not find anything on there website.
Does anyone have a link?
Thanks
Full Version: ABB PLC Demo Software
I've never seen a demo copy of that software. And I did work for a company who had access to sell those PLCs. I would call ABB and ask about it. They didn't seem to do a good job on their website with the PLC info.
I am using ABB 800 controllers. A horrid wretched thing to have to work with. 
Sure, they can run an entire country of process plants, but rather than making life easy through reuseable libraries, the amount of work required to replicate a valve on the screen really is a pain in the booty.
You have to ensure you have built all the equipment modules before you can knock up the graphics as it is all part and parcel of the product.
They take absolutely ages to boot up and OPC is yer interface so be prepared for slow updates at times.
I don't like the built in device faceplates either. It really is a massive amount of work to tweak these and offers more options to the operator than you can shake a stick at - wonderful if you spend the time to train your operators, but a very steep learning curve.
Licensing is a pain in the booty as is the lack of ability to do online changes; any changes to the hardware layout requires a download to the controller. This won't stop yer process plant, but you cannot just "suck it and see".
Building a new profibus device template adds years to you also.
Look, don't get me wrong, it's a very powerful bit of kit, but it requires a massive amount of planning beforehand as to how your are going to design the skeleton of your software... how things will be built up as layers, what can be reused and how equipment modules will operate. And you can only do this after weeks of training.
One final issue... the baffling notation of "loops" and the problems it causes.
If you write to a variable and a few lines down you read from it, the compiler complains of a "loop". You have to write to a variable and then read from it using a notation like the following:
<analogue plant tagname> = MySetpoint:old
God knows why, I've never had a successful explanation for this myself.
Anyhows, it's massively powerful and a true SIL enabled DCS system but it's let down by the constraints of its development software (graphics are a nightmare!) and frankly, the time it takes to develop an application.
Oh, and the Project Explorer thingy.... it will baffle you for the 3D way it organises the various aspects of looking at collections of things.
Arrrrgggghhhh!
Sure, they can run an entire country of process plants, but rather than making life easy through reuseable libraries, the amount of work required to replicate a valve on the screen really is a pain in the booty. You have to ensure you have built all the equipment modules before you can knock up the graphics as it is all part and parcel of the product.
They take absolutely ages to boot up and OPC is yer interface so be prepared for slow updates at times.
I don't like the built in device faceplates either. It really is a massive amount of work to tweak these and offers more options to the operator than you can shake a stick at - wonderful if you spend the time to train your operators, but a very steep learning curve.
Licensing is a pain in the booty as is the lack of ability to do online changes; any changes to the hardware layout requires a download to the controller. This won't stop yer process plant, but you cannot just "suck it and see".
Building a new profibus device template adds years to you also.
Look, don't get me wrong, it's a very powerful bit of kit, but it requires a massive amount of planning beforehand as to how your are going to design the skeleton of your software... how things will be built up as layers, what can be reused and how equipment modules will operate. And you can only do this after weeks of training.
One final issue... the baffling notation of "loops" and the problems it causes.
If you write to a variable and a few lines down you read from it, the compiler complains of a "loop". You have to write to a variable and then read from it using a notation like the following:
<analogue plant tagname> = MySetpoint:old
God knows why, I've never had a successful explanation for this myself.
Anyhows, it's massively powerful and a true SIL enabled DCS system but it's let down by the constraints of its development software (graphics are a nightmare!) and frankly, the time it takes to develop an application.
Oh, and the Project Explorer thingy.... it will baffle you for the 3D way it organises the various aspects of looking at collections of things.
Arrrrgggghhhh!
I'm using CodeSys V2.3 for online with ABB AC500.
Contact your local ABB for detail information.
http://anekalistrik.blogspot.com
Contact your local ABB for detail information.
http://anekalistrik.blogspot.com
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