AndrewG

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Posts posted by AndrewG

  3. Posted · Edited by AndrewG

    I have to made some changes to an Automation Direct HMI using C-More software (part # EA9-PGMSW). This is the first time I've used one. I need to update some of the alarm messages but I can't find the alarm messages/text. For example I need to change "Valve #3 Faulted" to "Valve #4 Faulted" but I can't figure out where these alarm messages are stored. The Tag Name database does have the alarm tags in it, but I don't see the descriptions/messages. See screenshot below.

     

    Tag_database_cmore.jpg

  6. Posted

    I've used Allen Bradley for 10 years but never used Siemens, I might have to work on a Siemens project soon, it's supposed to use the S7. May be a stupid question, but what do you guys suggest to help learn Siemens programming/troubleshooting? Any articles/links etc would be appreciated, thanks.

  8. Posted

    9 hours ago, kosmosisx said:

    Stopping and downloading isn't necessarily the issue I have, it's more so that I can't make the needed programming changes and test them out and correct any mistakes without stopping the process, which is a big deal, since I'm definitely not an expert and frequently have to change my ladder logic multiple times to get the desired result.

    I hear you, actually I am very interested if anyone knows how to deal with this issue, or if you figure it out eventually, as I did have this issue myself too but never figured out how to resolve it.

  9. Posted

    I've used them a few times, in my opinion the Pros are:

    -Easy to see where you are in a sequence, easy to see where a sequence is hung up as Gerry said

    -Easy to understand for programmers who aren't used to ladder logic (like Visual Basic programmers)

    Cons:

    -Programmers who are used to ladder logic (like me) find them difficult to understand

    -if there are a lot of different "branches" in your sequence it gets messy

    -Hard to print out on paper since you either have to fit everything on one page or print on several pages, which makes it hard to view the sequence

    -You may have to pay more for your RSLogix license if you want SFC capability as Joe mentioned

  11. Posted

    If you are using a USB to serial adapter, are you confident that this adapter works? Have you used this adapter before on another project? You may want to find some way to test the adapter like by using it with an old computer/old project that you used in the past. Another option is to use HyperTerminal and perform a loopback test on your serial cable to make sure the serial port and the USB to serial adapter works. Search for "use HyperTerminal to test serial port" and you should find some websites with detailed suggestions on this.

  12. Posted

    It's been a while since I used the Compare tool, but as far as I remember, sometimes it will tell you a rung is "deleted" even when it seems to exist in the actual code, if the rung has been modified. In some cases the rung has been modified and not deleted, but the Compare tool will tell you it's been deleted.

  19. Posted

    I've been working for 6 years since graduating college, I've had 4 different jobs which all involved travel. At one job I was a field service technician which was 80% travel. At the other jobs, it was about 20% travel. Now my gf is pregnant and I'm in no position to travel much. In the automation/controls/PLC field it looks like most jobs involve travel. Any advice on how to get a job with little or no travel?

  21. Posted

    I have to duplicate a FactoryTalk View SE v7 HMI built a few years ago. So I'm going thru all the screens, one of the screens is giving me errors when I open it:

    "cause: Microsoft Forms 2.0 TextBox: Newer file used"

    "Different ActiveX control loaded for display than when saved"

    Also when I tried to add a button to the screen and save it, I got the message: The display can not be saved with missing ActiveX controls

    I downloaded the latest FactoryTalk View SE patches from Rockwell's website, it didn't help. I called Rockwell, and they said to re create whatever ActiveX controls I need. There's a grey hashed out square on the screen that is apparently the ActiveX control that is "missing". My question is, how do I re create the ActiveX control if I don't know what it was originally? Any other advice about these errors? Thanks in advance.

     

  22. Posted

    Is the main issue that, the PLC writes a 0 and the HMI writes a 1 to the same tag?

    Can you add some animation to the HMI to make the HMI controls invisible when you want the tag to get the value from the PLC only?

    Or add a button to the HMI that the operator presses to indicate they are going to operate the PIDE manually. Then only read the tag value from HMI when this button is pressed.

     

  24. Posted

    9 minutes ago, adohm said:

    Sorry.  Why are you doing this in a macro?  Pretty sure you can't do math in a macro.  If it were me, I would be doing this in VB code, unless it's just for display which then I would just do it as an expression within a numeric display.

     

    I was told to avoid adding new PLC tags/logic to this project. I will look into the VBA option too.

  25. Posted

    I need to write a macro in FactoryTalk View SE v7.0. I need to take some HMI tags, multiply by a certain number, and write to PLC tags. For example:

    PLC_Tag1 = HMI_Tag1 * 0.75

    The FactoryTalk Help says to do it like this:

    Equal ( = ) command [&] <tag_name>=<expression>

    but there are no examples shown and I don't understand the syntax. I have to do this offline so I can't test it. Do I write:

    [&] <PLC_Tag1> = <HMI_Tag1 * 0.75>

     

    Thanks in advance