quarter20

Thanks. I discovered that one! 

Hi: I am trying to determine if I should use the RS 5000 or RS 500 to start a micrologix 1400 project that will include a Maple Systems HMI. I have never used the RS 5000 software so I am aware there will be a learning curve, however I am certain that it could be useful in the future.  However, my work schedule is nights so I am limited in how much tech support I will get here at my facility when no one is using RS 5000 here at this time? Your input and feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.  

Thanks. I will try that. We have an infrequent CPU fault on our injection molding robots that comes up a few times a year. They are older and scheduled for replacement but until then we keep them chugging along. I was told that there was a way, but the person who told me did not know exactly what to do. I will let you know how that goes! I appreciate your response.

Is there a way to clear a CPU fault on power up without having to connect to software?

Yes. I downloaded them and are reading up at this time. Thanks for the support.  

Looking for some servo application help. Software: I have GX works 2, GT Designer, and GX Developer.  Hardware: PLC L06CPU-P, GOT2000 HMI, MR-J4-350B servo amps, HG-JR35JK motors, LD77MS2 Pulser I have (2) AC servos that will simply move an aluminum frame backwards and forwards using a FESTO belt mover and I have a servo gear reducer 20:1. I have a "simple motion module"and all of this hardware and software, plenty of time, and would really like to finish this project off. But this is my first servo and my first hmi project. I have some experience with Omron, Mitsubishi, and Allen-Bradley plc's, and consider myself novice at best. Any sample programs or help getting me started would be greatly appreciated!  

I am in the learning phase of HMI and PLC programing and am trying to use some of the hardware that has been donated to me. I have an AB panelview 300 micro terminal and a Micrologix 1000 Plc (they are not tethered yet). I have constructed a small test board with everything mounted to it and have successfully written and downloaded a simple project to the plc with timers, etc.   Now I need to find a way to program the terminal to make changes to the program.   I am looking for some free panelbuilder 32 or anything that will allow me to program the terminal and use it.   Can anyone help me? All help will be greatly appreciated!

Red Lion is one example.

Thanks. I did look at the Rockwell AB site first. The panelbuilder 32 is no longer supported. I registered with them as a user and they simply do not support the model of hmi and/or the programware for it. So, I guess I was hoping that the hardware I have is not totally useless to me. Sorry, it was not my intention to solicit for anything that would bypass a licensing agreement. I am simply looking for a no cost option that might work with this terminal model that AB no longer supports. -^ Wether it be a free trial version from AB (old and unsupported) or alternative software that might be compatable with the terminal. Sometimes folks have links to legitimate software that are through channels I just did not find the first time looking at the manufacturers websites.

I also have a netbook that uses xp home edition. I use it for all my programming 'on the go' and would like to get the rs linx  version 2.50 to try on it. Does anyone know where to obtain the older releases? - Version 2.57 is what I found at the Rockwell site. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I too am looking at the features of these with built in PLC's and free software, I can see more opportunities for projects getting done versus trying to use the same budget and buying only AB stuff. Like you, my biggest concern is reliability. They are sold through respectable distributors in my area so I am assuming they might be?

I have several Mitsubishi Melsec Fx-1n 60 plc's that sometimes go for weeks without the equipment getting powered up when not in use. I know that it has the eeprom memory- does anyone know of a cheap effective hack to attach a battery or other device to the plc to retain the memory? I thought of attaching a battery backup unit from staples to it-any thoughts? The program operates ink pad printers which has several "jobs" in memory- (with parameter settings) it loses. This is leading to excessive set-up time when production is required. Any help is greatly appreciated!

My problem is that the memory for the different set-up recipes is being stored in the plc. It stays there as long as the machine remains under power, but unfortunately-they are used periodically and may run for a few days and then sit unplugged for several weeks. The manufacturer of the machine did some programming "upgrades" that cost our firm$$ heavily as we shipped the equipment to them and back. While they were there, they should have recommended the battery upgrade while they were doing the service on them, but they did not. After we lost everything (memory) during transit, and before actual use, they said they were not even aware of the battery problem.??and didn't really know what to recommend. That is what sparked my research on the dilemma. We ended up buying the correct spec'd battery for the plc processor @ $100 each and it seems to have solved the problem, although they are only available in limited quantity for now so there is some waiting involved to get all of our units implemented with the fix. Now I am getting more familiar with the Mitsubishi products and software so that future improvements can be examined in the functionality of the equipment. Thanks for everyone's support and assistance here at Mr. PLC!

I agree with Crossbow. When I installed my sc-09 cable, it was set to comm port 10 in the hardware profile of the pc. I had to go into advanced port properties and manually change it. Then also had to change in on the transfer setup page of GX Developer.

I will agree with Crossbow on that. It is really hard to know which cable you have. The cable vendor should recommend the driver, offer a video, or at least some installation instructions. If they did included a disk, I would make sure that when the software wizard starts, you select to manually install them from your own location. In most of the videos that I watched, the user first copies the drivers they need to a new desktop folder first before connecting the cable. Then- when you connect the cable, the computer will detect it and ask you what you want to do. It should provide some path for you to "browse" and select the drivers from your desktop folder you created. If it has already installed some form of driver automatically then-This might also require you to "update" your driver with your own file you have in that desktop folder you created. You should be able to look at your installed hardware and find the cable and update the driver. I did all of this with an Omron usb cable about two years ago and it was not easy. It was a learning experience to say the least. But when I had to do this on the Mitsubishi cable last week, it seemed much easier. My best advice is keep trying and be patient. I have found that eventually you will get a message from the pc informing you that you already have a better driver installed. Also- I will add that the videos I watched point out that there are drivers for the OS and the Cable that must BOTH be installed for the cable to work correctly. Hope that helps!

Thanks Colandra! I will be checking that out at this time. Necessity is the father of innovation...they say?

Ninjaman: I would also select the drivers by "browsing" to the location of the disk and opening it up by expanding each folder and finding the drivers that may appear to be related to your operating system and plc brand. It seems to me that the disk they included with the cable may be a generic driver disk for every cable the company sells that can be used with many different cables. The cable that I used even looked like it might work on an AB micrologix1000? Although I did not try it.

Ninjaman: I watched your youtube video, it looked like you were almost there. When you were on the usb port settings (the same place you change the baud rate), there is a box below that that says "ADVANCED". Click that to change your com port. Hope that helps. I did not mess with the data bits, baud rate or any other stuff, just matched the comm ports. I actually used comm port 2 on my computer. Hope that helps.

ninjaman: I also just got one of the USB-SC09-FX cables to use with a Mitsubishi Melsec FX-1N PLC. I also got the small 3" size driver disk. I was able to successfully install the cable on two different XP systems. I would suggest plugging the cable up first to let the system detect it, and then select the right path to install the drivers. There are several youtube videos that do a great job explaining how to instal them. I used the advanced settings to "Update drivers", then went through each folder and attempted to install all of the ones related to my cable and the windows xp operating systems. It installed a few of them and on some of them it would indicate that it was not as good as the one I had already installed. When you finally get it right you should find:- under hardware settings, -under ports, -you should see the SC-09-FX cable with the comm port indicating it was successfully installed. In my case it was identified as " Jiacheng" Comm port 10. To effetively establish comms with the plc, you may have to go into hardware settings/advanced and change the port to match with your software. I was using GX Developer to read and edit. Good luck!

Greetings All! I am in a memory situation myself with a Mitsubishi FX1N-60 MT that is using a F930Got-BWd-C touch screen hmi display, used to control an ink pad printer. My problem is that the PLC has limited eeprom storage which it is losing after setting in storage without power for a week or two at a time. This causes huge set up delays because of the many "moves" that must be programmed into it for each recipe. We do plan to go ahead and get the GX software/cable to upload the programs to our laptop for back up, but were exploring alternatives to either increase memory or be able to back them up to a flash drive (or any storage media)automatically. Since I have never worked with Mitsubishi plc's, I thought I would seek out some ideas here on this forum. I know these are older plc's so my options are likely more limited, but I am willing to explore some "hacks" that might work to upgrade these machines. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Hello everyone! I am not necessarily new to plc's but simply haven't had as much exposure to programming as I would like to have had over the years. I have a project that requires me to cycle three facility air compressors individually so that each one will aquire equal run time (approx) annually. Some requirements are: The start of the next one must overlap for a few minutes before the previous one shuts down, to avoid any loss of air pressure. Also, the system must run all three at once, upon power up, for a short period when the plant is first start up. The run times in this area are not critical either. I have a C200hs Omron PLC and I am using Cx Programmer to write the logic. So far I am using the one minute clock pulse to count down 5 or 6 hours between compressors and using timers to reset them. Does anyone think there is a way to use a shift register SFT to accomplish the same thing easier or? I am open to any suggestions as long as they're not vulgar. Lol. Thanks for any help!

Thanks for the replies on this topic.I haven't responded lately because I got pulled away to do another project. I work in at injection molding / assembly manufacturing facility and priorities are constantly changing. I like sleepy wombats approach on the project. It reminds me that I will have to spend a significant amount of time designing the program to address every possible scenario that i can think of. The compressors can be called up and shut down within a few minutes by wiring to specific inputs in their controls. I am trying to consider what to do if one of them goes down for any reason, such as a motor overload tripping, etc. I was really looking for a simple approach to just cycling the compressors systematically every 6-8 hours so that they will aquire even run time and maintenance/repairs can be scheduled conveniently. Power outages are frequent during thunderstorms in our area- so that is another consideration I will need to write into the program. What to do when there is a cold start up condition is another consideration. Maybe there is a way to subroutine a two compressor option if one of the others goes down or needs repairs using a selector switch in the panel (i.e. select an offline compressor input)? Thanks for your input and feedback it is valued very much! Have a great day. I will let you know what I come up with and see what you think.

I understand that the sft has an index and a pulse going to it. When you say increment, which provides the incrementing input? The index or the pulse line? I haven't set one up before and that is sort of the reason i want to try this approach- so I can cut my teeth on it and identify some ways to apply it. Would you use the clock pulse to increment the sft or would you incorporate a counter or timer into the mix? Thank you for your responses, I value your insights here. Have a great day!