Entries for the 'PLC' Category

PackML, or Packaging Machine Language is a programming standard defined by the Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC) as defined by the International Society of Automation's Technical Report 88. It is meant to be a convenient project template that can be used in discrete manufacturing of many products, from bottled drinks to wrapped candy. I thought it would be helpful to assemble this guide of PackML basics for anyone who is getting started with this standard. PackML h...

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Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at the 2017 SITEC National Conference. I shared my experience as the lead developer on the Siemens Open Library and demonstrated how to utilize and contribute to the Open Library. Per Siemens, the SITEC Conference aims to keep engineers and specialists up-to-date on the latest products and technologies from Siemens by providing, "specific, effective and customized training along with a certification path to ensu...

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OMAC is hosting its annual PackML workshop on May 22 at the Chicago Marriot O’Hare. The Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC) helps manufacturers and suppliers work together to identify new and innovative ways to increase the effectiveness of their production operations.  Siemens will be offering a hands-on PackML Programming and Installation workshop, led by experts in PackML implementation on the Siemens platform. DMC’s David Sestrich will be there al...

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TwinSAFE is a module of Beckhoff’s TwinCAT programming software that allows a programmer to set up safety logic for Beckhoff Safety PLC’s. I've picked up a few tips and tricks in my time working with TwinSAFE, and I hope you will find them useful. 1. SafeAND – Use A Standard Bool As you develop your safety program, you’ll notice that most of your inputs will be required to safety bool input. However, when using a SafeAND block, your first input (and only your fi...

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Every year, we look forward to sharing industry innovations and best practices at the Siemens Automation Summit. The 2017 Siemens Automation Summit will be held from June 26-29 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton, Florida. Hundreds of automation professionals will take advantage of networking and training sessions focused on interacting with the latest Siemens solutions and products. We're proud to be among the many presenters at this year's summit. If ...

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Back in 2011, DMC attained the most Siemens Certified Engineers in the United States when eight of our employees passed the Siemens Global Certification or Recertification exams. We have grown as a company since then, and so have the number of Siemens experts at DMC!  DMC is proud to continue to have the most Siemens Certified engineers in the United States. Thirty-one DMC engineers have met all of the requirements for the Global Technical Certification in the SIMATIC Technology areas...

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DMC recently provided remote support for one of our customers. We made critical updates to their PLC code as they were commissioning their machine internationally. Unfortunately, our client didn’t have TIA Portal software available at the time. They were afraid that this made it impossible to download the new version of the code to the PLC in the field. Fortunately, Siemens offers the SIMATIC Automation Tool as a free download (just sign up for an account first) on the...

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RSLogix 5000 is very intuitive and easy to use PLC programming software used for Allen-Bradley PLCs. There are a few tips and tricks that are very useful to know starting out, especially if coming from a different PLC programming language. These will help increase efficiency, improve code structure, and avoid time-consuming downloads when commissioning. Set up Quick Keys for the Ladder Editor  Clicking around to build the Ladder code for PLCs can be time consuming. Rockwell has k...

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Look at you! You’re enterprising and a real go-getter! You’ve been working on an S7-1500 and can’t get your project to connect and download, but it’s not a problem. You know that all you need is a quick factory reset and you should be good to go.  Only this time, the factory reset doesn’t work.  Updating Firmware No fear. You notice that there is some new firmware available on the Siemens Industry Support Website. Way to go! No need to freak ...

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Version 1.4 has just been released for the Siemens Open Library. This includes a V13 SP1 update and also contains a Portal V14 beta release. Explore and download the Siemens Open Library at openplclibrary.com. V13 SP1 Update 9 contains the following updates: Added dynamic fonts to all HMI faceplates for variable size HMIs Updates to several Supplementary blocks Added official blocks for SIMOCODE and SIRIUS Soft Starter Resolved bug in fbIO_AnalogInput when using RTDs Fixed ...

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Indusoft is an HMI/SCADA platform that can be used with a variety of different PLCs. At DMC, we’ve used Indusoft with several PLC platforms, including Beckhoff, Omron, and Mitsubishi. Below, I’ve outlined a few tips and tricks that I’ve used to accelerate Indusoft development.   Indusoft Tip 1: Refer to the PLC Make sure that your driver sheet I/O addresses refer to something in the PLC. If you are using symbolic tags, the tag must exist in the PLC or Indusoft wil...

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Have you ever wanted to read current, torque, or power data from your Siemens variable frequency drive (VFD) without having to change your telegram or communication configuration? Well, you are in the right place! The guide below will walk you through how to acyclic read or write any drive parameter with your Siemens PLC.  Acyclic communication to a Siemens drive may seem like an impossible, obscure language, so the goal of this article is to translate it into something more understandab...

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The Siemens Open Library marked its 1000th download this week. The free, open source function block library was launched in June 2016 through a partnership between DMC and Siemens. The library aims to be a resource for consistency, usability, and faster development for the Siemens community. The library has continued to evolve since its initial release. Updates have included the inclusion of all of DMC’s library, which included a large number of Function Blocks and Function calls. Addit...

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DMC recently discovered that there are some unique settings associated with configuring a Siemens G120 Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) with extended safety functionality using the onboard terminals. This blog is meant to be a guide for this type of configuration to avoid troublesome and difficult-to-diagnose issues. Hardware Setup In this particular situation, we used an S7-400H PLC to control a CU240E-2 VFD. The S7-400H can be configured with two CPUs in a fully redundant PLC setup, b...

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For anyone debugging a program, a scope can be an extremely efficient tool for determining the cause of an issue. A scope allows you to monitor a variable (or multiple) in real time, which is a great way of viewing and debugging specific parts of the machine process.  In Beckhoff, TwinCAT 3 offers a very straightforward built-in scope. In this article, I'll detail how to set up a scope to debug a program. Like TwinCAT 3, the TwinCAT 3 Scope is integrated into...

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Whether you are starting from scratch or adding functionality to an existing setup, B&R Automation Studio makes it easy to add and configure hardware. This article is part of a multi-part series that will guide you through the required steps to set up a new project, add a CPU and I/O modules, and map the I/O channels to variables in your code. This section will focus on creating a new project and adding a CPU, Select Unit, and I/O module. Note: The work is done using Automation Studio Ver...

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MatrikonOPC Server allows you to connect OPC clients like HMIs, SCADA systems, and other custom applications to a wide range of Siemens PLCs (S7-200, S7-300, S7-1500, etc.) via Ethernet.  This blog shows you how to configure a Siemens S7-300 PLC in MatrikonOPC Server to connect to an HMI or any other OPC client.   Configuring a Siemens PLC Channel One of the benefits of using MatrikonOPC Server is easy, step-by-step configuration through the Siemens PLCs Configuration Wizar...

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Jimmy Condon and I joined E&M on the 2016 edition of their annual New Stuff Road Show to help Siemens showcase their new Modernization Made Easy initiative that was launched this year. The two-week tour, which stretched from Sacramento to San Diego, was a great opportunity to connect vendors, system integrators, and end-users and give hands-on access to the latest in automation technology. In addition to answering a wide variety of general automation questions, drinking lots of coffee,...

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The Siemens Open Library is a great resource that includes many commonly used Function Blocks and Faceplates. However, every project is different and customer requirements sometimes necessitate changes or the creation of new things. In the Dissecting the Siemens Open Library Series (this is the first post), I plan to break down some of the methods used by the Open Library to make configuration quick and easy. One thing that the Open Library does really well is it...

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DMC and Siemens recently co-hosted a webinar on "Developing PLC and HMI Code Faster Through Use of the Siemens Open Library." I joined Carson Kennedy of Siemens in presenting a free, 45-minute educational webinar that was originally introduced at the 2016 Siemens Automation Summit.  The Siemens platforms have always encouraged the use of modular, reusable, and object oriented code. Until recently, this meant that everyone was responsible for creating and maintaining their own i...

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