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Nothing like a little time away to make things work.

I cant think of any way to have the system popup a login prompt when your user tries to go to a secured page. Your current login problem sounds like what a user sees when they enter an incorrect login. make sure you setup not just your accounts in the runtime security, but your user credentials in the users and groups folder. I'm not sure you can add a runtime security account without also adding the user so you probably had to do that. try changing your admin password to something simple and seeing if you possibly miskeyed the original password.

Ahhhh! Yes, now I see the little plus sign next to the power up folder. Kinda tricky - thanks for going through the pain and suffering for the rest of us! Now if I can just remember this when I do this to myself....

Ok thats strange... It looks to me like all your programs have a main file assigned. Did you possibly have a program that was named 'main' that you deleted? I think I might try creating a program Main and a routine under it. See if you can get the warning to go away that way. If it does then maybe you can delete it after and get rid of the problem. Alternatively, you might just create a new program file and copy/paste and/or drag your logic, tags, etc to the new program and get around it that way. I would like to hear how you solve it when you do.

Robert, You caught me at a good time as I recently replaced my laptop. I went with a MacPro. I actually saw some posts on this forum that made me go in that direction. When I first saw people posting about Macs I thought they were crazy. The Mac world has always been one that has been unobtainable for us controls guys. With the advent of the Macs going to the Intel type processors its a whole new world. You have to use VMware or similar software to run a virtual windows machine or duel boot. I have been using the VMware option for months now with all the rockwell plc programming products without any problems. Its faster than my old machine and I can use OSX for most other things. I have been using the Ignition SCADA product by Inductive automation and I can run it natively in the Mac. Add to all that the fact that it is a fantastically designed machine (makes my old dell look like a clunker) and its a real winner. I really like the fact I can just close the laptop and open it later to come back to my work without any problems and without using a lot of battery.

Keep in mind that the display and buttons are nice, but they are kinda limited in practicality. I visited a client that would open the panel to operate his machine because the display and control buttons were on the front of the PLC. Not really a good idea.

I have seen rates up to $125/hr and the company was busy. It somewhat depends on who is selling and what they have to offer - and of course area of the country matters. I'm in a fairly low cost area so I would expect rates to be higher than what I have mentioned. I assume from your text that you are having them quote rates for time and materials type of project. Maybe to get a better idea you might see if they will put a time estimate with it. An experienced programmer at 100/hr can be equal to a newbie at $50/hr. If its mods to an existing system that are not well defined they may decline to give a time estimate. In this case I would ask for information on the controls professional they would have working on your job, past experience, etc. You should already have recommendations on the company to insure they are not leaving a string of unsatisfied customers behind.

Hi everyone! We recently added videos on configuring Inductive Automation's Factory SQL and Factory PMI. If you are not familiar with the IA guys, you should check out their different take on SCADA. Their system is JAVA based and uses a SQL database (SQL Server, MYSQL, etc.) as the base. Their big advantage in my eyes is that their server based system can drop clients all over the place with no client app fees. For someone who really only paid attention to the big players in the SCADA arena, I was pleasantly surprised by their system. Russell

Yeah wireshark is a little involved, but netscan is all you need for getting all the mac id's. Using the browser to access the built in web page is pretty simple. Gotta love the simple solutions... ARP -A works well too. For some reason I can just never remember that.

We bought a used HP 5Si years ago. I think the print log on it showed that it had printed around 900,000 copies. We've probably added that many to it since! It prints 11x17, and 8.5x11 and its a beast (both in size and use). It has outlasted every new printer we have bought over the years. Built back when HP used to make real printers instead of the free printers they give out now to sell ink cartridges. It has options for double sided copies, and dropping it off of an ethernet connection. The printer cartridges are about $175, but they last forever. I don't even remember when we had to replace the current one. The only problem I ever had with the printer is when I bought a cheap 3rd party toner cartridge and it dumped toner all throughout the printer.

Sure, I would suggest getting a hold of SoftPerfect's Network Scanner utility (netscan). It and wireshark are two network utilities I would suggest having. Both are freeware or shareware. Netscan will search out all IP's on the network in a range you select to let you know what's out there. It also returns the MAC address associated with the IP. This is their website: http://www.softperfect.com/

Daryl, We went to Vipre from Sunbelt about a year ago after suffering through the Symantec and Mcafee fun. Seems to work well and work light. http://www.vipreantivirus.com/ russell

I think the fact that you lose the descriptions and comments if you dont have the program file has been discussed here. What has not been discussed is processor security. if the processor has been secured then you may not be able to access it for upload. There are several ways this can be done depending on the processor. The SLC's and micros can be password protected (fairly weak protection) and the deny future access bit can also be set. I'm not as familiar with the deny future access bit, but I dont think it will allow you to upload. On the logix there are three types of security that are stronger than the older platforms. You can lock the processor with password access. You can use the CPU security tool to secure the controller. Finally you can use source protection. It is fairly involved and will allow individual program files to be selectively protected. If the processor is protected with one of these methods, you may not be able to upload. I mention the security aspect as some contractors and OEM's will protect their processors with these methods.

Bob, I seem to remember one of our guys having to do this on a past project. I think we controlled the drive with I/O for start/stop and messaged the speed setpoint.

Paul! Man! Dude! Wow! Not just a response - that was a whole ethernet dissertation! Once again a great post. Thanks for the education. I think I need to hook up and upload your brain. Not sure I have the available memory though... thanks, russell

I think you need to look into the managed switch a little more. See how it is configured and see what kind of diagnostics it has available. That may be enough to track down the problem. If nothing comes up from that, I would try setting up a VLAN for each of my PLC's and the line coming in from the PV's and Pilz. You will also need an overlapping one for the PLC's. That would truly isolate the PV's and Pilz from the other PLC's. Also, is the problem just one PLC timing out or does it vary from PLC to PLC. Maybe there could be a hardware, configuration or cabling issue associated with that particular PLC.

Well I am definitely not a "network engineer" - with or without the quotes. I do know a little about TCP/IP addressing that may help. Unless your managed switch has been configured otherwise, all the PLC's are 'talking' to each other anyway. If fact they have to with the heartbeat setup. There would be no change by changing the 3rd and 4th numbers in the address in the way that you mention because of the current submask setting. Your current submask for the PLC's is set to 255.255.240.0 - that lets all of the PLCs communicate to each other regardless of the third number in the network address as long as it is 15 or lower. In a typical masking that most people are familiar with 255.255.255.0, all the devices have to have the first three numbers the same in order to communicate. When you change the third number as you have it, 255.255.240.0, then you open up variations in the third number also. In that situation, any device with the second number from 1-15 can communicate freely. The panelviews have a mask of 255.255.255.0 and therefore cannot see a PLC that does not have an address with the first three numbers matching (192.168.2.x in your example). I would suspect that the panelviews for each PLC have a third number that matches the PLC address. this all seems a strange way to isolate a system, but then again I am not a "network engineer." I would think that the managed switch would be the best way to manage communications and how the devices interact. You did not mention how the panelviews talk with the PLC's. Do they go through the same managed switch? This may shed some light. I will go out on a limb and say that I do not think that changing your addressing scheme will speed up your network. I think you need to sit down with the network engineer and have him explain (repeatedly if necessary) why the change he suggested would affect things positively.

Paul! Nice timer summary! You mention the TOF. I dont really use that much as it gets me blank stares from some of the guys having to troubleshoot the systems I program. It does make things simple in some instances. My mantra has always been program to your audience. Since, as you mentioned, you rarely see them people rarely know what to do with them. Maybe I just need to send my clients to my video on the TOF and make things easy for myself. A little business cross pollination. I like your infinite timer. I dont think I have ever seen this in a program and I know I have never used it. I usually just use an STI for totalizers, but I like how your infinite timer works. Thanks for the post.

See I have to agree with TW on the Siemens support. Our local rep support is non existent. The only time I ever brought a client to them I found them bidding against me for the project shortly after. I dont have a lot of motivation to specify them. Even with that I tried to see if the environment was different when they merged with another company. Never heard back from them. I guess local support is always dependent on the local rep. Our AB guys are great. We never had a shortage in our area. I checked for a couple projects and they had 40 processors of the exact type I needed on the shelf. I personally have never used the Automation Direct. Generally if people are trying to cut costs like that then they want to cut my rate to the point of it not being worth my time. One of our guys has worked with them in the past and has mentioned that he was disappointed with the amount of stuff that died and he had to replace. That is just one person so I dont think you can assume a quality issue due to that. I have the same problem TW does with no local support/shelf. The client or my company would have to stock spares to avoid downtime. Our AB rep is well stocked with common components. I know all that really doesnt help you with an alternative. I did have a client that was in love with the Idec blocks. I have a good friend that loves the GE stuff. Drives me crazy. I really dont know how you get around your clients having to train up on new processors and software - possibly software purchases added to the mix.

You can help you I/O problem by moving up to the 1400. It has more I/O on the block and you are supposed to be able to add up to 7 expansion cards. You say your encoder is supposed to count no more than 30 RPM. What are you using it for? You need to figure out the resolution you want (ie, pulses per revolution). Your max speed of 30 RPM will then determine how the signal gets into the PLC (I am assuming you just need pulses). You may just need a prox switch for a pulsed input that can go to an input on the PLC. The micro has a high speed input on the block if you order the correct version.

There's a lot of capability with the three timers available. Kinda the less is more approach. From my point of view, I would hate to have to learn 10 different types of timers to get what I needed done. Frankly I rarely use the TOF. Usually throws off my clients if I do. I will say that I was surprised when I put together the vids for these three little timers and it took about an hour to go through it all. Usually an instruction can be covered in about 10 min. Give the micro a little time before you down it. Ab has done a lot of things right with that platform and especially the Logix platforms. I've used a lot of different brands and my preference is still AB.

Paul, I have never tried the modbus/rtu with the micros, but wouldnt you have to setup explicit messaging with it? Seems it wouldnt really be any different than messaging to ethernet i/p I/O. Thats really the only reason we haven't messed with it in the past. Otherwise it seems cheap and simple.

I have experience dropping I/O on ethernet I/P with the ControlLogix platform but not with the armorblocks. The 1100 and 1400 are not designed to address remote I/O over ethernet I/P. You can explicitly message to the I/O, but I would not setup a system like that. If you want to drop ethernet I/P IO then you really need to move to the compact logix line.

Where is the 24VDC power coming from for these loops? I have seen clients over load a power supply causing the power availabe to be cut off. I saw this in a PLC5 where the outputs were supplied by the backplane and all of the outputs would clamp at a maximum mA value under 20mA because the system was overloaded. Any new additions to your system? Possibly a PS going bad or did someone use the PLC power supply 24VDC to supply the inputs?

You also may want to look into the CPT (compute) command. Enter the command into your ladder and press F1 while your cursor is on the command and you will see help in performing the math instructions you list.