Posted 12 Jan 2018 In a certain area of our facility we have several machine that manufacture a handful of products. These machines were built at random intervals starting in the late 80's and consequently have a range of different PLCs that are used to control them (SLC 500 to ControlLogix L61). The other areas of our facility use a server that has a historian installed (Canary) and the client (Axiom) is installed on our computer so we can view data trends in real time. I would like to network our PLCs mentioned in the first paragraph to this historian to gather production and maintenance data. I know that I need to network these devices through an OPC server (which we have). Several of these devices have been connected through DH+ and/or Ethernet networks in the past but are no longer connected. We recently connected some of the DH+ Devices to the Ethernet network (just to see if we could) with a Prosoft AN-X2-AB-DHRIO. My questions are: Are there any best practices for networking devices with different protocols, i.e. DH+, Ethernet, etc.? Is the way we have it set up now (with the Prosoft DH+ to Ethernet bridge) a robust (scalable, etc.) solution? Is there a better way to do this? Is it worth getting EtherNet/IP cards for the PLCs that don't have them? If anyone has any experience with a similar scenario, insights/advice would be much appreciated Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 Jan 2018 For capturing manufacturing data, utilize the hardware you have. Legacy processors often support DH+ networking. However, DH+ networking tools are not plentiful but do exist (Ethernet/IP networking tools...a patch cable and a PC). http://www.fte.com/products/NetDecoder-dh.aspx What is your project budget? If there is no budget or you have to keep costs down, utilize the hardware you have. Implemented a similar solution some years ago...islands of machines with PLCs, nothing talking together; networked processors via DH+ back to a networking bridge Logix PLC that hung off of an Ethernet network. DH+ Networking lessons learned is attached (there are some gotchas). First...start small. Get the network up and running with 1 machine. Verify. Expand the solution. Second...what data should be archived, archive duration, backup data archives, datapoint duration (Delta-T - the time span between datapoints), have you calculated hard drive space needed, when will the data archives max out the drive capacity. Often, managers want the data when there is a problem but may have no interest when all is well. The DH+ network I built was a tool designed for Maintenance Techs to quickly connect, access correct program archives, access troubleshooting materials. DH+ Networking.doc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 15 Jan 2018 This is awesome. Thank you for sharing. HUGE help. 1 person likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
