allen bradlley plc

I know there have been several of us contemplating whether or not to use the Micrologix 1100

I know there have been several of us contemplating whether or not to use the Micrologix 1100. I have finally got an application to use one on and I thought I would share my first impressions with you.

First here is a little background on the machine. I built the controls for the machine about 4 years ago using a Micrologix 1200. It has 4 expansion I/O modules, two 1762-IW16s, one 1762-OW16, and one 1762-IF2OF2. It uses one high speed counter (Input 0 and 1) hooked to an encoder and uses the 1762-IF2OF2 to control a AB 2098-DSD-020 servo drive. It uses a Panelview 600 DF1, 2711-T6C16, as a HMI.

I was asked to make some upgrades to it that was going to push the data memory over the Micrologix 1200s 2k limit. It was also to be hooked to the Ethernet network for data acquisition. I probably could have used a memory module and some 1761-NET-ENIs to do it but it seemed like a perfect time to try the Micrologix 1100. This was a much cheaper solution but the machine could only be down twice for a half a day each time. All other program changes would have to be made in 2 minute openings when new parts were being loaded. So not only did this test the capabilities of the Micrologix 1100 but also how easily it could be swapped for a Micrologix 1200.

I/O There are some things you need to watch out for when planning to upgrade to a Micrologix 1100 or designing a new project for that matter

1. There is only 10 inputs and 6 outputs on the Micrologix 1100 compared to the Micrologix 1200s 24 inputs and 16 outputs. I got lucky on this one. Most of the Outputs went through the expansion modules and I had enough spare inputs on the IQ16s to move all of the inputs to the expansion module. In the end I only had the encoder on inputs 1 and 2 and used five of the base outputs.

2. BIG WARNING The Micrologix 1100 only supports 4 expansion modules compared with the Micrologix 1200s 6 expansion modules. I had some other questions for Rockwell and tech support did inform me of this when I was talking to them. Lucky for me, I had exactly 4 expansion modules.

3. The analog inputs are only 0 to 10 VDC and you cant configure the data format like you can with the 1762-IF2OF2.

Program Conversion

At this point I converted the Micrologix 1200 program to a Micrologix 1100. It went very smooth but it erased my expansion module including their configuration and set my input filters on inputs 0 and 1 back to their defaults so the HSC function file would not count. After making some changes I needed to put the program back into to do some testing with the existing Micrologix 1200 and ran into some problems during the changes and testing.

1. Message configuration. I already had some messages that were used on Micrologix 1200s through 1761-NET-ENIs to do the exact same communications so I started with them as a base.

I changed the message to go through channel 1 and I found I could not figure out how to the message path.

So I went to the instruction set help and selected message and there was no documentation apparently added for the 1100. Then went to the find tab of the help dialog and put 1100 in and there were the instructions for configuring the 1100 Ethernet message. I guess Rockwell forgot to put a link to it in the message help area.

There is a new data type, ROUTING, for configuring your path.

2. Converting a 1100 program back to a 1200 program I needed to test some of the new code and converted the 1100 program back to a 1200 program and ran into a flaw in RsLogix 500.

It erased my expansion modules and set my input filters back to default.

After the conversion I could not get the program to verify. In routine 20, rung 20 for instructions 1 and 2 it said "ERROR Instruction not allowed on last rung." The rung only had a simple NEQ statement and a MOV statement that was all that was in it.

Also there were 22 rungs in the routine which means that rung 20 wasn't event the last rung.

After about an hour of looking at it, I realized that my Ethernet message instruction was on rung.

I viewed the configuration of the message and it had reverted to an acceptable message instruction. But when I tried to cut the rung out of it RsLogix 5000 came up with a memory error and crapped out. After several tries and I don't remember the final method I got the message instruction out of it and the program verified fine. I created a message instruction with the exact same parameters and it still verified fine.

So when you are doing your conversion and need to test on the old controller do not convert your program back to a 1200 program. Use two programs and copy/paste your rungs back and forth.

Then the new Micrologix controller came in. Here are some comments on the physical package.

1. The inputs are grouped in a very similar way to the 1200 only less of them. I like this layout.

2. All 6 outputs are individually isolated. This is a very nice improvement. Since I think Rockwell designed this to mainly use the expansion I/O you can use these 6 outputs for that odd voltage or different circuit configuration you need to turn on.

3. The display doesn't do a thing for me. I don't like people having to open a panel unless something is broke and if they need to view something or change a setting there should be a touch screen on the machine. Plus the display is too small to really do anything with but it's there and I guess it looks neat.

4. The communications ports come out of the side of this controller which is different than the 1000, 1200, and 1500. I had stated this concern in earlier post and after seeing the unit I still don't like it. If you mount the 1100 at the minimum left clearance (2 inches) it is very hard to deal with the Ethernet connector. Remember this is a conversion from a 1200 so changing the panel layout wasn't an option. I use Beldin 7919A shielded Ethernet cable which is very stiff so you can't bend it like a normal patch cable. You really need a compact 90 degree Ethernet connector.

5. The 1100 is 2 inches narrower than the 1200 which was good for a conversion. That is where I got the clearance to put the Ethernet connector on it. I have to admit I cheat on the left clearance. There is usually a piece of wire duct right beside it so I cram it against the wire duct to save panel space and let it vent through the wire duct. The wire duct is plenty large so the controller still gets plenty of ventilation with the wires in the duct.

6. There is a warning below the communications connectors that kind of scares me. It states "ATTENTION: Do not connect the RS-232/RS-485 Combo port directly to any other MicroLogix controller Channel 0 (RS-232) port or the 1747-DPS1 Port Splitter network port. Doing so will cause permanent damage to the comm. Port on the MicroLogix 1100".

7. The +24VDC and 24VDC common are reversed from the Micrologix 1100. This was the only problem I ran into during the installation.

Power up for bench testing

1. It is very nice being able to make online edits. Of course PTO, PWM and MSG instructions can't be edited online and the first thing I need to edit is that message instruction I guessed at. But you couldn't do it in any of the other Micrologixs either. This includes editing anything else in the rung containing these instructions.

2. There is a problem with an Ethernet message instruction after a power cycle if the Ethernet cable is not connected. The port is in an inhibited state until it is hooked to the Ethernet network. Also the IP Address cant be view from the front display until it is hooked to the Ethernet network. So if you are unsure of the address or want to change it before it is hooked to the network, you will have to go through the serial port.

3. Ethernet communications performance is tremendously improved. I really thought they had crammed some type of serial to Ethernet adapter in it and it would be similar to a 1761-NET-ENI but it isn't.

1. Message instructions 90 ms
















17. Message instructions 1204ms

I did a test using multiple messages to the same controller using a Micrologix 1200 connected to Ethernet with a 1761-NET-ENI, a Controllogix L55M12 going through an ENBT and the Micrologix 1100. The 1200 took approximately 16.8 seconds to cycle through all of the messages. The Controllogix took 1.7 seconds. The 1100 too approximately 3.1 seconds. I think that is a tremendous improvement even though it is not as fast as the Controllogix response time.

I did some additional testing on the number of messages and the amount of information that can be read by Micrologix 1100. All of our messages are read messages so it did not test its ability to write messages. The communications setup for each message was the Micrologix 1100 reading data from a Controllogix 1756-L55M12 going through a 1756-ENBT. The data type was a long integer and the number of elements was 20 for each message. This is very similar to our normal setup so did not play with varying the element size to increase throughput. A one second response time was the maximum I wanted. According to the data I gathered the maximum number of messages that can be fired in this setup is 15 and the maximum amount of data that can be sent in one second is 1200 bytes. Below are the response times of the messages

Also in comparison to a SLC 5/05 - According to AB manual 1763-um001A-EN-P page F-2 optimum performance from a Micrologix 1100 to a Micrologix 1100 compared to AB manual 1747-um001A-EN-P optimum performance from a SLC 5/05 to a SLC 5/05 it looks like the Micrologix 1100s max is 11 messages at 100 words each for 2200 bytes per second. The SLC 5/05s max is 31 messages at 256 words for 15872 bytes per second. Both it appears in a perfect world with no other devices on the network

The Micrologix 1100 does not have LED indicators like the other Micrologix do. You have to go to the I/O States Screen on the front of the controller to view the indicators. They are much harder to see than the LEDs. Usually you can tell which point is on from at least 4 feet back. You can't do that with the 1100 unless you have really good eyes. Here are a few sample pictures.

You can't go through the Ethernet port in and out on the DF1 port to download like you can in the Logix5000 platform. But for the cost I don't think that is something to grip about.

Summary

Overall I am going to say that the Micrologix 1100 is a great addition to the Micrologix family. Below is a summary of what I think the pros and cons of Micrologix 1100 are. I am listing more cons than pros but my cons are very minor compared to the improvements they have made.

Pros

1. Ethernet communications The communications performance is a tremendous improvement over a Micrologix 1200 going through a 1761-NET-ENI.

2. All 6 outputs are individually isolated.

3. Overall nice layout. Since it is a little smaller than the Micrologix 1200 it makes it very easy to upgrade.

4. Uses the same expansion modules as the Micrologix 1200. Not only does this make upgrading from the Micrologix 1200 to the Micrologix 1100 very easy, but people are already familiar with the 1762 expansion modules and you do not have to worry about stocking spare parts for a whole now style of PLC.

5. Built in Real Time Clock. But you must remember it has a battery so you will need to setup a battery replacement schedule.

6. This is really a con but I think Rockwell handled this in the best way possible. When converting from one processor to another it is a pain that it erases your expansion modules. I can understand it taking the I/O configuration of the base unit back to the defaults since the I/O layout is different, but since the Micrologix 1100 and 1200 use the same expansion I/O it should be able to keep the expansion module configuration. This is probably done this way because the Micrologix 1000 cant have any expansion modules and the Micrologix 1200 and 1500 use different styles of expansion modules. Plus the issue with the Micrologix 1100 only being capable of 4 expansion modules compared to the Micrologix 1200s 6. This may be the best way to have this so programmers will have to go configure the modules and realize that there are only 4 that are configurable.

7. Online Edits. Boy have I missed this.

8. Increased message buffers compared to a Micrologix 1200 through and 1761-NET-ENI.

9. Data Logging I dont think I have any use for this but am not sure exactly how you are supposed to apply this feature. RsLogix 500 help file is not clear on the use of this feature.

10. Recipes I dont use recipes but I have heard others requesting this feature.

11. With the Micrologix 1200 you had to either memorize the wiring diagram or take the covers that guard the I/O terminal screws off. When the covers were hinged up you so you could connect the wires you couldnt read the labels that identified what each point was. The Micrologix 1100 does not have these covers. The terminal points are recessed into the plastic and the labels can be clearly read.

Cons

1. The Ethernet port comes out of the side of the PLC. Need to find a 90 degree Ethernet connector for it. It is not a problem with standard Ethernet cable but when you go with a thicker cable like Beldin 7919A it is very hard to deal with the cable. Also this makes the Ethernet indicators below the connector very hard to see. Our basic technicians use these indicators to determine if there is something wrong with the physical hardware going to the unit.

2. The display is too small to be functional and you should not have to open the panel to make adjustments or diagnose a machine.

3. No LED indicators. The Micrologix 1100 uses the display to show the I/O and status of the PLC. From a cost standpoint I am sure this was much cheaper but you have to stare right at it to be able to see them. Many plants require windows in panel in front of the PLCs so the I/O and status LEDs can be seen without opening the panel. You wont be able to see them through the Plexiglas with the Micrologix 1100.

4. Lower amount of built in I/O. The Micrologix 1100 has 10 Inputs and 6 Outputs compared to the Micrologix 1200s 24 Inputs and 16 Outputs. This will make planning for an upgrade a little more difficult.

5. Lower expansion module capabilities. The Micrologix 1100 can only handle 4 expansion modules compared to the Micrologix 1200s 6 expansion modules. Especially with the lower number of base I/O this will keep many Micrologix 1200 system from being able to be upgraded to an 1100.

6. The analog inputs are only 0 to 10 VDC and you cant configure the Data Format. When you are used to using the 1762-IF2OF2 this is a big difference. Plus in my first situation with the Micrologix 1100 I needed 4 analog inputs. So I used the 2 built in analog inputs and 2 analog inputs off of a 1762-IF2OF2. Even if they have to be 0 to 10 VDC only you should be able to change the data format. This may be in the generic configuration but I couldnt find it.

7. No I/O messaging. This is a complaint from a Controllogix point of view. For those of you who do not know, in Controllogix you can setup PLCs on a network so they pretty much become an extension of the Controllogix chassis. You can then use Produced and Consumed tags to communicate between the PLCs without message instructions. Managing messages in Controllogix becomes a pain after about 16 and the absolute limit is 40. Using I/O messaging the limit is well over 100. No other Micrologix has this ability either but it would have been a nice improvement.

8. Instructions for configuring the Micrologix 1100 message instruction need to be clearer in RsLogix 500. Especially when it comes to the new Routing data file.

9. Need to fix the bug in RsLogix 500 pertaining to converting from a Micrologix 1100 back to a Micrologix 1200 when using messaging. Also the error in the verification of the program did not point to the rung that had the message instruction.

10. The Ethernet port does not respond on power up until it is hooked to a switch. This includes viewing the IP address on the front display. If you arent sure what the IP address is and dont want to hook it to the network until you find out, you are either going to have to hook it into a switch that is not connected to the network or pull out your serial cables and connect to the Micrologix 1100 through channel 0.

11. Though I understand not being able to edit PTO, PWM, and MSG instructions while online, you should be able to edit other instructions in a rung containing one of these instructions.

12. Inability to do multi-hop messaging from one Ethernet network to another Ethernet network.

13. Although this is apparently a problem with all SLCs and Micrologixs, I wish the clock could be set from inside the ladder. I am used to the Logix5000 processors that let you set the clock with a SSV instruction. With the SLC and Micrologix, you must use the RTA instruction which either rounds up or down the seconds. Another controller must send a message to these to set the clock. One more message to handle the buffers on.

14. No pass through from the Channel 1 Ethernet port to the Channel 0 Serial port. For the cost of the unit, I dont think we can complain about this but it never hurts to wish.

15. The built in web server needs to be more like the 1756-EWEB to be functional. Simply being able to view data files is not useful. Need to be able to create custom web pages. Also, once you are communication to and from the Micrologix 1100 with message instructions, the web server becomes very slow to respond.

The first thing that must be addressed before we begin connecting using the serial port is PC serial ports or better stated the trend towards PCs not having serial ports. In these cases most USB to Serial converters will work fine. I would suggest you go to Allen Bradleys website and see which USB to serial adapters have been tested with their products. For the purpose of this article we are using a Belkin F5U103.

Second is your cable. The cable for connecting a PC to all of Micrologix family is an Allen Bradley 1761-CBL-PM02. You may also construct your own but before you go to all of this trouble I would suggest you purchase The Automation Store's version of the cable. It is of the highest quality, comes with a limited lifetime warranty, and is less than a third of the price of the OEM cable. We will be using this cable for this article. Find out more at the following website.

http://www.theautomationstore.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=82&category_id=47&option=com_virtuemart

1. Connect your PC to your Micrologix 1100

2. First lets open RsLinx. This program is already running as a service and all you need to do is find the RsLinx icon in the bottom right hand corner and click on it

3. From your menu at the top of RsLinx go to Communications > Configure Drivers

4. Under Available Driver Types select RS-232 DF1 devices. The default name is AB_DF1-1. You may change it now if you wish then click OK

5. You will then see the configuration dialog

6. Select the Comm Port that is assigned to your serial port or your USB to Serial converter. Many converters will be assigned to higher Comm Ports such as 4

7. Select SLC-CH0/Micro/Panelview in the dropdown beside of Device

8. Now all you will have to do is hit Auto-Configure. In the textbox to the right of the Auto-Configure button you should see Auto Configuration Successful!

9. Now on the top menu bar of RsLinx go to Communications and click RsWho. Select your AB-DF1 driver in the right pane and in a few seconds you should see your device in the right pane

10. Open RsLogix 500 and from the top menu go to Comms > System Comms.

11. Select the AB-DF1 driver in the left pane and click on your device in the right pane

12. From here select OK and you are ready to go. Also you may select Online instead of OK to immediately go online or Upload to upload the image out of the processor

BEFORE YOU START PROGRAMMINGThis was brought about by the following question: My problem is I have a set of tanks that have a heater unit and a pump the pump flow comes back into the tank. there are three senors in each of the tanks. there are two water flow valves to each tank in series; one is redundant in case the first sticks open. one low level sensor to turn off the heater and pump if it turns off. the middle sensor is to do normal level control. the upper sensor is to turn off the redundant vale if it turns on.

So given the fact I have four outputs

water pump heater unit fill valve redundant fill valve

and three inputs

low level normal level high level

Later added: the pump and the heaters are hard wired to a push button on the front panel. the button turns them on or off as an input to the plc, the plc then outputs to the contactor solenoid.Answer given by Allen Nelson and Terry Woods

#1. YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE STARTING FROM. I suggest that before you start writing code, you come up with a complete I/O list. The list will grow and change as you do the second task. But that's OK. You've got to start somewhere.

#2. YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO. You need a careful, detailed sequence of operations. As you develop this sequence, you'll be realizing that you may have gaps in the I/O, (such as what CK pointed out). Fill them in, and then review your sequence again.

Be sure your sequences are detailed enough.

You were trying to write: STEP 1. ENERGIZE PUMP OUTPUT.

When you needed to write:

PUMP SEQUENCE STEP 1a. PRESS "START_PUMP" pushbutton sends signal to PLC. 1b. When "START_PUMP signal is recieved by PLC, energize pump output. 1c. Releasing "START_PUMP" pushbutton drops signal from PLC, but Pump remains running. etc....

This sequence, unlik yours, shows the need for the START_PUMP PB. As you watch the process, you start asking questions like: "What makes the Pump Stop?" Ah!, I need a STOP_PUMP PB.

Some things to think about :

I have a set of tanks that have a heater unit...

Is that ONE heater to be shared by the SET (how many?) tanks. If so, what are the rules of sharing. If one tank's rules call for the heater to be OFF, and another one wants it ON, who wins.

Is High Level the only thing that turns off the heater, or do you need some sort of temperature sensor to prevent the PLC from boiling away the liquid? Or is that the job of the low level sensor?

The hardest thing for a lot of guys to overcome is the tendency to take things for granted. They don't consider the details - all of the details!

I usually suggest that a person needs to "Be the Computer". However, that might be a little presumptive in this case.

Another thing I suggest is that a person think of how they would control the system if they had to do it at a completely manual control station. However, that too might be a little presumptive... it presumes all input and output signals exist. It's too easy to overlook a detail.

The most detail oriented way that I can think of to uncover all of those details is "breadboarding". You don't have to actually do the physical breadboarding, but it sure couldn't hurt.

You can sometimes get away with "mental-breadboarding". Usually, you have to do it with a pencil and paper. Essentially, you are building a schematic of a manually operated system. But, as you do so, you make notes of what you want to do, how you can do it, and why you want to do it that way.

Then, following the rest of Allen's steps, you should end up with something that works according to what you have specified.

That DOES NOT mean that your process will work as you want it to... it only means it will work as you specified!

Once you have your I/O list and a good sequence, you're ready to START your journey. #3. YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO GET THERE.

There are no shortcuts. You start by understanding how logic is scanned (especially how what you do on one scan will affect the next), and knowing your instruction set. For beginners, -| |-, -|/|-, -( )-, Timers and Counters are enough (certainly enough for your application.

Then you start with the outputs. Just draw them out in space like this:

PUMP

. . . . . . . . . . . .---( )

FILL_VALVE

. . . . . . . . . . . .---( )

` Then look at your sequence. When does the pump come on? - When the START_PB is pressed

When does the FILL_VALVE open? - Only while the pump is running and then only the LOW level is reached.

So you add those out in space:

START_PB PUMP

----| |-----+ . . . . . . . . .---( )

PUMP LOW FILL_VALVE

-----| |----+-----|?|---- . . . . . .---( )

` The -|?|- is there because I don't know if you plan to use the NO or NC contact from the Low Level switch. Does a signal (voltage on the input wire) mean that the tank is low, or that the tank is OK. When you know the answer, change the -|?|- to -| |- or -|/|-, whichever is appropriate.

The line in the sequence: "When the PB is released, the pump keeps running" means that we need to "latch" or "seal" (epending on your age and where you went to school) the pump, like so:

START_PB PUMP

----| |-----+ . . . . . . . . .---( )

|

PUMP |

-----| |----+

Similarly, the FILL_VALVE stays open even after the tank has been filled past the low level.

The PMP stops when the STOP_PB is pressed. The FILL_VALVE stops at Mid level.

Adding those in yeilds the complete rung:

START_PB STOP_PB PUMP

----| |-----+------|/|-----------------------------( )

|

PUMP |

-----| |----+

PUMP LOW MID FILL_VALVE

----| |-----+------|?|-----+-----|?|---------------( )

| |

| FILL_VALVE |

+-------| |----+

I'm intentially leaving the heater and redundant valve for you to program.

#4. YOU HAVE TO EXPECT DETOURS.

With the completed code, you start asking yourself "What-If" question?

"I know what's supposed to happen when the valve sticks OPEN. What if the valve sticks CLOSED?" How will I know? Is staying at LOW for more than XX time good enough, or should I have a limit switch on the valve so the PLC can compare what's happening to what it thinks SHOULD be happening?

"What if the valve sticks OPEN (or CLOSED). Shouldn't the PLC tell somebody?" If so, how. Lights? Noise? How will those be turned off once the problem is fixed?

"What if BOTH the valve stick OPEN?!?" Should I shut down the Pump? Sound the Alarm? And how will I know? HI_LEVEL staying ON for too long?

This "map" is just a start. If you are serious about learning PLCs, get PHIL'S BOOK.

Step-by-step. Plain English. It will not just teach you about PLCs, but might even show you how to think in the methodical manner required, not just for PLCs, but programming in general.

PLC ConsiderationsWhen selecting a PLC or similar control engine there are many questions: How much I/O?

What type of I/O?

What type of control logic -- simple ON/OFF or is there PID and data analysis?

What type of data is monitored and captured?

How much signal conditioning will be required? Are recipes (databases) required?

Are operator interfaces required? Are there special communication interfaces required? For example, flow meters, scales, thermocouples, or other signals that are not a regular discrete or analog signal.

Does the application require links to an external network, database, or some type of MES system?

Does the application require motion control, bar coding, machine vision, etc?

PLC and / or ComputerIf the application is small (less than 50 I/O), no databases (only a few choices), and simplistic HMI then use a PLC and simple HMI. If there are large amounts of I/O (over 100) or you need fast, real-time response, then you will probably want both -- the PLC handling your real-time and direct I/O tasks and the computer handling the non-real-time tasks (such as HMI, databases, etc). There are a lot of gray areas in between.Although todays Pentiums running Windows NT or 2000 at 1 GHz with 512 KB RAM is very fast in comparison to technology only three years ago, it is still nice, in large systems, to use a PLC to help segment the system functionality. You can write subroutines to segment functionality -- you can also segment using different controllers.

Allen Bradley Micrologix 1100 Ethernet Configuration

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Newsflash! Configuring the Ethernet port can be difficult because of firewalls, blocked ports, Anti-Virus and VPN software. You can now assign IP Addresses to these PLCs in seconds. No computer required! Visit PLC Tools and check out the IP Explorer for an alternative to the following method

Before we can connect to the Micrologix 1100 through the Ethernet port we must assign it an initial IP address. There are two ways to do this.

1. Go online with the Micrologix through the serial port and configure it. For this method see the Micrologix 1100 Serial Configuration article, follow the instructions, then come back to this article.

2. Use a BootP or DHCP server RsLinx comes with a BootP server so below is an example of configuring it with the BootP server that you should already have

1. Connect your Micrologix 1100 and your PC to an Ethernet switch

2. Go to Start Menu > Rockwell Software > BOOTP-DHCP Server and select the program BOOTP-DHCP Server. Your shortcut may vary on your computer but this is the default for this shortcut.

3. Within a few seconds you will see your device begin to make requests for an address

4. Select one of the requests out of the Request History and press the Add to Relation List. Enter the IP Address you wish to assign to the device and press OK For this example the IP Address is 192.168.210.100 but yours will be different depending on your network configuration

5. In the lower half of the screen you will now see your device added to the Relation List

6. Within a few seconds you will see your device request an IP Address again only this time you will see the IP Address you assigned in the IP Address Column. You are now ready to configure RsLinx.

7. Note that this is only a temporary assignment of the IP Address and you still must assign the device a permanent IP Address. You may now close the BootP Server. I would not worry about saving your changes on the BootP Server as these setting were temporary just to set the IP Address so that you can connect to the device with RsLinx

Now that we have initially set the IP Address using one of the above methods we are ready to configure RsLinx to connect to the device. First lets open RsLinx. This program is already running as a service and all you need to do is find the RsLinx icon in the bottom right hand corner and click on it

There are two drivers that can be used in RsLinx to connect to the device

1. Ethernet/IP Driver This driver is by far the easiest to use because it requires no configuration. Each device broadcast information across the Ethernet network with RsLinx uses to discover device. The downside to this method is depending on your network setup Firewalls and VPN configurations may block these broadcast. If you cant see your device using this method use the Ethernet Driver described in method 2

1. First lets see if you already have an Ethernet/IP driver configured

2. From you menu at the top of RsLinx go to Communications > RsWho. Look at the pane to the left and look for a driver saying ETHIP-1. If you see this driver then you are all set, go to step e. If not proceed to step c


4. Under Available Drive Type select Ethernet/IP Driver and click Add New. The default name for the device is ETHIP-1. If you wish to change it you may do so now and click OK. Close the Configure Drivers dialog

5. From you menu at the top of RsLinx go to Communications > RsWho. Look at the pane to the left, find your ETHIP-1 driver, and select it. In a few moments you should now see your device in the right pane.

6. If you do not see the device, verify that you have followed the previous steps. If you have then try the Ethernet Driver below as you may have something on the network blocking the request.

2. Ethernet Driver This driver is not plug and play like the Ethernet/IP driver. You must configure the IP Addresses you wish RsLinx to look for devices on.


2. Under Available Drive Type select Ethernet Devices and click Add New. The default name for the device is AB_ETH-1. If you wish to change it you may do so now and click OK.

3. Now you will see the Station Mapping dialog come up

4. Enter the IP Address of your device and click OK

5. From you menu at the top of RsLinx go to Communications > RsWho. Look at the pane to the left, find your ABETH-1 driver, and select it. In a few moments you should now see your device in the right pane.

3. All that is left now is to set your communications path in RsLogix 500.

1. From the top menu of RsLogix 500 go to Comms > System Comms.

2. Select the Ethernet driver in the left pane that you chose to configure in step 2 and click on your device in the right pane


4. Now you are online with your device but we may not have permanently set the IP Address. You may do this by either setting the IP Address in your offline file and then downloading it or you may set it while online with the processor. The steps are the same. The only difference is if you do it with your offline file then dont forget to download it.

1. Open your file in RsLogix 500

2. On the left pane go to Project > Controller and double click Channel Configuration.

3. Select the Channel 1 tab and configure the IP Address, Subnet and Gateway. Uncheck the BOOTP Enable and click Ok. Your IP Address is now permanently set

Allen Bradley Micrologix 1100 Serial Configuration

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The first thing that must be addressed before we begin connecting using the serial port is PC serial ports or better stated the trend towards PCs not having serial ports. In these cases most USB to Serial converters will work fine. I would suggest you go to Allen Bradleys website and see which USB to serial adapters have been tested with their products. For the purpose of this article we are using a Belkin F5U103.

Second is your cable. The cable for connecting a PC to all of Micrologix family is an Allen Bradley 1761-CBL-PM02. You may also construct your own but before you go to all of this trouble I would suggest you purchase The Automation Store's version of the cable. It is of the highest quality, comes with a limited lifetime warranty, and is less than a third of the price of the OEM cable. We will be using this cable for this article. Find out more at the following website.

http://www.theautomationstore.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=82&category_id=47&option=com_virtuemart

1. Connect your PC to your Micrologix 1100

2. First lets open RsLinx. This program is already running as a service and all you need to do is find the RsLinx icon in the bottom right hand corner and click on it


4. Under Available Driver Types select RS-232 DF1 devices. The default name is AB_DF1-1. You may change it now if you wish then click OK

5. You will then see the configuration dialog

6. Select the Comm Port that is assigned to your serial port or your USB to Serial converter. Many converters will be assigned to higher Comm Ports such as 4

7. Select SLC-CH0/Micro/Panelview in the dropdown beside of Device

8. Now all you will have to do is hit Auto-Configure. In the textbox to the right of the Auto-Configure button you should see Auto Configuration Successful!

9. Now on the top menu bar of RsLinx go to Communications and click RsWho. Select your AB-DF1 driver in the right pane and in a few seconds you should see your device in the right pane

10. Open RsLogix 500 and from the top menu go to Comms > System Comms.

11. Select the AB-DF1 driver in the left pane and click on your device in the right pane


Allen Bradley Micrologix 1100 Data Logging

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As many of you know the Micrologix 1100 and 1500 have a new data logging feature that allows is acquire data from these units using only the Micrologix DataLog Extract Utility and RsLinx Lite , both which are downloadable free of charge from Allen Bradleys website.

To be free, this is one of the most straight forward methods I have seen for acquiring data from a Programmable Logic Controller. Below is a step by step rundown on how to do it.

1. First we will create a new project with the processor type of a Micrologix 1100 Series A

2. The on the left pane scroll down to Data Logging and double click Configuration

Right click Data Log Configuration and click New

3. For this example we will record 10 records. This is a first in, last out system so if we continue to write data the oldest records will be overwritten.

4. For the Separator Character that will delimit our data we will use Comma

5. For most applications, time stamping is desired so lets check the Date Stamp and Time Stamp fields

6. Now we will enter the addresses we wish to log. Note: The data must be in form of a word or double word. If you wish to log B3:0/5 then you must log the entire word, B3:0. Well get into how to extract the bit later. Also floating point data is not supported.

So lets enter B3:0 and press the select key. You will now see it added to the Current Address List

7. Lets also add T4:0.ACC, C5:0.ACC, R6:0.POS, and N7:0

8. Now go ahead and click OK. We have successfully completed our Data Logging Configuration. We can trigger our logging based off of practically anything. So lets throw some code in there to vary our data and trigger the logging. Below is mine. There I no logic to it and you dont have to copy it. The main thing is that you vary your data and trigger the DLG instruction for this example. Download your program a let it run long enough to trigger the Data Logging several times

9. Open up the Micrologix DataLog Extract Utility

10. Go to the Configuration menu and click Select Devices

11. Select your Micrologix. The path will vary depending on your network configuration

12. Press the right arrow button to send it over to the Selected Devices and press OK

13. Now we are ready to read our data. Go to the File menu and select Read DataLog

14. You will now see your data in the right pane

15. Now we may save this data to Excel and manipulate it as we need or import it into our data system as we need too.

While this is a manual method of data logging it doesnt take much to modify the GetDataLog.exe file to make it fairly automated. You can already schedule automatic polls of the data under the Configuration menu. With a few modifications to the exe file you can customize the column descriptions and add your paths of your PLCs permanently into the file.

_1381521814.unknown

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allen bradlley plc

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