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Balandawi

RSLogix 5000

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I have this $5Mil machine that is some how stopped all of a sudden... it has a Remote screen to run it with a DeviceNet... The colors and buttons on the screen all disappeared, the RSLinx is no longer showing up, and it's taking for ever to load the RSView 32. Finally, I am trying to go online but I didn't know how. it's a new machine with RSLogix 5000 Enterprise Version and on the Panel upstairs it has 3 different AB ControlLogix 5555 with 17 slot cards on it ALONG with Seimens, Toshiba, and GE Fanuc controls and drives Talking to each other. the systems is hooked up to a network through a router... along with a PROFIBUS, MODBUS, ETHERNET and all kinds of bells on it... and it's hooked to a PC as well... What do I do to go online to look at the program and how do I configure the connection? Not RS-232 for sure... Note: I know the SLC 5000 tags tricks and how to write codes in C++... unlike the SLC 500 using Data Files... I NEED HELP... I am just new to this SLC 5000 thing and Seimens S7... I work for General Electric... and I am a newly promoted guy to this game...

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I would recommend a period of reflection and strategy, taking full measure of the possibility that you are so far over your head that it would be the honorable and wise decision to enlist the assistance of a person or company who already posessed the fundamental skills to begin working with the software and hardware tools involved. Taking the last issue first: You need to learn the fundamentals of the RSLinx communication software and how it interacts with the RSLogix 5000 editor. Generally your engineering workstation running the RSLogix 5000 software uses Ethernet to communicate with the ControlLogix system. Look for a 1756-ENBT module with the IP address scrolling across the front. In RSLogix 5000, select "Communications" and "Who Active". This will bring up the "RSWho" network browser and allow you to navigate to the controller you need to connect to. If your engineering workstation contains the offline file for that controller's program, you should be able to go online. In the more general troubleshooting theme, I would guess there is a strong correlation between your machine "suddenly stopping" and the screen with the disappearing "buttons and colors". If you are looking for help diagnosing that, post a more thorough description of the "screen".

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As far as the "colors and buttons" disappearing, I don't know what caused it and the machine stopped completely... no reset, no light, "NOTHING" at all. The remote screen down stairs is to run the machine and view all the datas; TEMPS, SPEED, MIXTURE options, ON and OFF buttons, PROCESS TIME, lists of SENSORS, DRIVES, FAULTS etc... and it has more than 25 different menus. but everything just stopped, colors, datas, buttons etc... and when I reboot the PC, the RSView 32 takes forever to load... the RSLinx doesn't automatically start and the Server doesn't connect? everything is just going crazy? AND ALL THE AB, GE, SIEMENS AND TOSHIBA DRIVES ARE FAULTING LIKE CRAZY... I can usually think it through and figure it out, not TODAY. I have both, PC and laptop to connect directly from my office or on the floor? What do you suggest is happening? Note: We have all the scientist and engineers onsite but they are busy with their own projects and it's my job as a newly promoted Syst. Eng. Mgr. to direct them and find solutions or do it my self. I rather focus on Mgmt instead... but I want to try it out first before having my guys to do it... I am not an electrical engineer... i am a physicist and nano-technology expert...

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Did you loose power to something? Is their any type of screen lit up at all when you say colors are you talking colors of graphs or buttons?

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Most drives, be they AC, DC, or servo controllers, give you error codes that help you diagnose them. I am most familiar with Allen-Bradley PowerFlex family AC drives; if you have any fault codes from those, I could comment on what caused the faults. The "remote screen downstairs" sounds like a PC malfunction. Could be a network failure that's causing the network-dependent functions to not work, or it might be something more commonplace like a hard drive malfunction or worse, a virus infection. Heck, those sneaky guys in the IT department might have installed XPSP3 patches in the middle of the night. But both drive failures and PC failures at the same time... that sounds like electrical noise to me. PCs are very bad at giving you information about their cause of failure, but industrial gear like AC drives are pretty good. Since the system is running ControlLogix 5555 controllers and RSView32, it's probably between 3 and 5 years old, am I right ? So the engineers and technicians who built it the first time are likely no longer onsite. But it sounds like your organization doesn't have a continuity or maintenance plan for the automation portion of this system, other than "hey, Bassiouni is a physicist, he ought to be able to figure out simple industrial controllers." You'll see advice often on this Forum that roughly reads "call somebody who knows what they are doing". I'm surprised how many folks from outside the industrial automation business are not aware of the existence of systems integration companies that specialize in controllers, networks, and industrial software. Probably the business cards of some of them are taped to the inside of the ControlLogix enclosure cabinet. I relish the challenge of solving a big, complicated problem using this Forum, but I really think that you need to call in the original builders to help narrow down the cause of the "machine just stopped" to a physical failure or a particular piece of automation or PC hardware.

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YES, THE MACHINE IS ABOUT 3YRS OLD... TRUST ME, THIS IS GENERAL ELECTRIC AND WE HAVE ALL THE BRAINS THAT WE CAN GET OUR HANDS ON HERE... WE DON'T NEED ANYONE TO COME AND HELP US AT ALL... I JUST WANT TO DO IT MY SELF... IT'S NOT EVEN MY JOB, BUT I JUST WANT TO DO IT AND GET A FEEL OF WHAT MY GUYS GO THROUGH EVERY DAY DESIGNING THESE MACHINES...

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In my opinion, your approach to this problem is as important a management issue as the technical issues that underly it. You can, in fact, connect serially to the ControlLogix. Use a null-modem RS-232 cable, create a DF1 Devices driver in RSLinx Classic, and click the "Autoconfigure" button. I would recommend connecting via Ethernet as close to the controller as you can (since you mentioned a router that might be suspect). Find the 1756-ENBT module and trace back to the Ethernet switch it is connected to. Configure your PC for the same IP subnet, and use the EtherNet/IP driver in RSLinx Classic to browse the network. I posted above the steps you need to take to connect RSLogix 5000 to your controller using RSLinx/RSWho.

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First post said he needed help, last post said he didn't.....I wonder if Bassiouni got the machine running again? Edited by jstolaruk

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Yes, I was able to get the machine back and running on Friday night. It was a network issue... the rounter and ProfiBus went crazy and I replaced it... Everything works perfect now. Thanks

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Well this post was interesting. It makes me want to punch my Mngmt Bobo doll. Sorry... I had to say it.

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