Joe E.

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Posts posted by Joe E.

  2. Posted

    Is this a new program or one you're taking over or modifying? If it's an existing program, look around for other places that may be writing the DispContrast variable. Could be in a program or in a screen tick event or someplace similar.

  4. Posted

    Hmmm....looking at the manual, it says it's a read/write parameter. You say that writing to DispBrightness works but DispContrast doesn't? I don't have a screen I can use to test (lead times keep getting extended...) but if one works I'd expect the other to as well. Have you contacted their tech support? In my experience, they're good at resolving issues.

  6. Posted

    If the system works for them, you may have to borrow a laptop from them to make the change. Who knows what special firewall/security/etc. software/settings are different between your PC and theirs. If even their laptops don't work...like @pturmel said, they need to sort out their source control system. It seems like a bit of a crazy kludge to use a Profinet via a 3rd party system to connect to the PLC. If it normally works and has recently stopped working, then whoever set up that system needs to support it. Or, I guess you could bill a nice hourly rate to try to sort it out yourself.

  13. Posted

    From an end user's perspective...

    We're working with an integrator to design/build/test/refine a prototype for us that will then be copied 3 more times (4 total). The quote for the first one included a lot of engineering time but the subsequent units were a lot cheaper because they're just building/installing them. The software will already be done and will require little if any modification. We had it stipulated very early on that we own the final product, including the design and programming and will receive a full package of documentation including drawings and source files (and not as pdf either).

    Locking the code, charging more to "license" the software, etc., is a good way to make me not want to buy from you again. Of course, licenses for installed runtimes that you have to have, like for a SCADA package or something, are different. Those licenses, however, should be included in the cost of the build and transferred to the end user. The fact that the end users don't have technical folks on staff may change things slightly, but I'd say only to the extent that you build in whatever you need for remote support.

  14. Posted

    How long were you flashing the light? That model has relay outputs, which have a relatively limited lifespan compared to solid state outputs. The manual (pages 133 and 135) talks about relay lifespan, which varies according to the voltage/current you're switching. Mechanical life is 20,000,000 cycles, which is about 2800 hours (115 days) if it's cycling continuously every 0.5s. The electrical life is shorter but depends on the voltage/current/inductance/power factor of the switched load (graph on p135).

    For something that blinks quickly/a lot, I try to use solid state outputs. The 1766-L32BXB and 1766-L32BXBA have some relay and some DC solid state outputs.

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  16. Posted

    20 hours ago, ElectronGuru said:

    I'm not sure what you mean by, " The drive has only parameters or also programming?". By setting the parameters, you are programming the drive; that is, making it behave the way you want it to.

    ...

    I think he's concerned about the possibility that the drive has some DeviceLogix code inside it in addition to the parameters. I've deliberately chosen NOT to use DeviceLogix, preferring to have any needed code in the PLC that controls the overall system, but I can see a system with a 75x drive that doesn't have a PLC finding a use for it. Since this drive is owned by a CompactLogix, I would be slightly surprised (and disappointed) if his system used DeviceLogix, but it's worth checking.

    Appendix D of the manual covers DeviceLogix and using the HIM CopyCat function. It also says that DeviceLogix code is edited using DriveExplorer, DriveTools/DriveExecutive, AOPs, and CCW so it should be pretty easy to see if the drive has any such code in it since it's integrated into the CompactLogix project.

     

    At least it's not a 700S DriveLogix system...

  19. Posted

    The user manual covers at least some of the differences between series:
    https://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/um/1761-um006_-en-p.pdf
    See page 1-7 (pdf page 19).

    In general, a higher series will generally work as a drop-in for a lower series and nothing in that list makes me doubt that you'll be fine. Since they specify series B, you should be ok with series B or higher. I would not be surprised if it does not work with series A.

  20. Posted

    Another vote for the 1756-DHRIO since you're talking DH+ between AB components. If you can't find one or if it's too expensive (they're "active mature" so AB has bumped list price to $3500), a colleague at my last position got a ProSoft module working between an HMI and a DH+ network. He had to do some magic to get it to work, but once it was working it was solid. ProSoft has some really good support folks who have been very helpful with that and with their Profinet-Ethernet/IP bridge module. Definitely reach out to them if that's the route you end up going.

    As an example application that I had to kludge together, we had a line controlled by a PLC-5 that had a bunch of RIO devices on one channel and one DH+ device on the other channel (a central gateway chassis that gave us remote access to the system). I had to add 3 strip resolvers, an HMI, and a bunch of code that was already written for ControlLogix. We had a bunch of 1756 hardware laying around (no CPU that was new enough, sadly), so I ended up installing a spare 5370 CompactLogix system to run the new code. It controlled a 1756 chassis via a 1756-ENBT module. That chassis had a couple of AMCI resolver modules and a 1756-DHRIO module to talk to the PLC-5. It was pretty simple to get it all set up and working and, even though it was kinda ugly, it's been running flawlessly for several years.

    All that to say, the AB -DHRIO module will give you a very solid, simple way to communicate between the DH+ network and the ControlLogix, but the AN-X2 will work too. I can't help you with configuration of it, though, since I didn't handle one.

  21. Posted

    It's really annoying when a company goes out of business like that. I had an issue with a machine where the company was bought and that division went away with no records left. We were completely out of luck.

  22. Posted

    Can you get the code from the machine builder? We were fortunate in that we did have access to them and they were helpful. We also ended up buying a license for the "Easy Professional" software so we could make changes to the code in the drive. That was definitely an exercise in frustration trying to figure out, but it wasn't too bad once we did. I wish I had access to the instructions so I could share them, but they may not be super helpful with a different model drive.

    FYI, most of the drives we had were EVS9325-EKV004 and GDC was all we needed.The drives we used Easy Pro for were L-Force 9400 HighLine.

  23. Posted

    Not sure how much it will help your scan time, or exactly what processor you're using, but look at the FLL instruction:
    FLL.JPG.b7ac9ca4e3edaec5ef7b4eb0d7ffca6d

    If your processor doesn't have FLL, use COP. It works similarly, but you'll have to use an address for the Source that's always zero. Or, use a MOV instruction to put a 0 in the first register and then a COP to copy that value through the rest of the array:
    COP.JPG.d1210eb64daed8ed13776e2ee6188cc7

    Check out the online instruction help for FLL, COP, and MOV to get familiar with them.

     

     

  24. Posted

    I have limited experience with Lenze drives, but I do remember having a multi-page work instruction (with screenshots) explaining how to upload/download/activate/store the parameters using GDC. It was very possible and very easy with the right procedure but the procedure was not obvious or intuitive. I had to do something similar with newer drives using Easy Starter. That was similarly involved. I'm not at that location any more and I can't find the instructions I had or I would share them here.