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View Studio – Error: Tag Database Not Found

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I discuss the new “Tag Database Not Found” error you get when you try to open a project created in v10 of FactoryTalk View Studio Machine Edition.

I was recently given a version 8 .MER runtime file which I wanted to take a look at in FactoryTalk View Studio Machine Edition version 9.

I first used the Application Manager to restore the .MER to a application, and then proceeded to open the project in View Studio.

Towards the end of opening the application, I received the error, “Tag Database not Found,” as shown below:

Turns out that while the .MER was compiled for a v8 PanelView Plus, the version of ViewStudio used was v10.

And when you create a .MER file with v10, you are warned that to restore and open the project in a previous version of View Studio you’ll need to install the latest patch roll-up for that previous version:

For more information, as well as a link to the patch, click HERE.

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 46 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:

If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI, or SCADA training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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View Studio – Error: Tag Database Not Found (M4E46)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I discuss the new “Tag Database Not Found” error you get when you try to open a project created in v10 of ViewStudio Machine Edition (Episode 46 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

View Studio – Error: Runtime Creation in v10

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I discuss the new error message that pops up when you create a runtime for a pre-10 version of FactoryTalk View Studio.

Recently, a student asked me why he was getting an error message when he created a version 8 .MER runtime file in version 10 of FactoryTalk Machine Edition.

To find out, I booted View Studio v10 up and attempted to create a v8 runtime.

Doing so resulted in the following error message:

At first glance, you may think this message is instructing you to install a patch for v10.

But a closer inspection reveals the error message is actually saying to restore this .MER file using View Studio 9 or earlier will require those older versions of View Studio to be patched.

For more information, as well as a link to the patch, click HERE.

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 45 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI, or SCADA training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

View Studio – Error: Runtime Creation in v10 (M4E45)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I discuss the new error message popup when you create a runtime for a pre-10 version of ViewStudio (Episode 45 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

Message (MSG) – MicroLogix 1400 Writing Data over Ethernet to a MicroLogix 1100

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I walk you through how to Message data from a MicroLogix 1400 to a MicroLogix 1100 over Ethernet using the MSG instruction.

Note: In this example I have a MicroLogix 1400 at IP Address 192.168.1.66, and a MicroLogix 1100 at IP Address 192.168.1.63. Both have the same subnet address, and are attached to the same network via an Ethernet switch. Each program also had the N7 file expanded to 10 words, and the MicroLogix program has a free running Timer in Rung 0 of Program File 2 as seen below:

Step 1) My first step is to add a new Rung to Program File 2 of my MicroLogix 1400 program. Then I add a MSG instruction to that rung:

Step 2) Next, I assign a MSG File to the MSG Instruction. In this example I chose MG10:100:

Step 3) Now in the MSG Setup Screen I set the Channel the MSG instruction will use to 1 since that is the Ethernet channel on the MicroLogix 1400:

Step 4) And since I’m writing data from this MicroLogix 1400 to a MicroLogix 1100, I change the Communication Command to 500CPU Write:

Step 5) Next I need to set the Data Table Address in the MicroLogix 1400 that I’ll be messaging to my target MicroLogix 1100 controller. In this example I chose N7:0:

Step 6) Next I need to set how many “Elements” I’d like to send, starting from the previously chosen Data Table Address. In this example I chose a size of 3 words.

Step 7) Now under Target Device I set the Data Table Address I want to write the data to in the target PLC, which in this example is also N7:0:

Note: The Target Device’s Data Table Address does not have to be the same address as the Source Address.

 Step 8) The final setting I need to fill in on this tab that is the Routing Information File, which for this example I use file RI11:0:

Step 9) Now I navigate to the MultiHop tab:

Step 10) Where I fill in the IP address of the target MicroLogix 1100 in the To Address field. Then I close the Message Setup Screen:

 Step 11) Back in Ladder File 2, I place an XIC in front of the MSG instruction. For the XIC instruction’s address I use the Done Bit of my existing two second free running Timer. This will trigger the message every two seconds, a slow enough period that I’d be able to see the resulting status of each message attempt before the next message attempt is made:

Note: Since A-B Programmable Controllers have limited buffer space for MSG instructions, it’s typically not recommended to have multiple unconditional MSG instructions in your program. Instead, consider interlocking messages or triggering them based on timers, to insure you never overfill your controller’s message buffer. Doing so can also eliminate unwanted network traffic that unconditional / continuous Messages can generate.

Step 12) With my program now complete, I download it to my MicroLogix 1400 and run it.

Step 13) Now any value I enter into N7:0, 1, and 2 in the MicroLogix 1400 is messaged to, and shows up in N7:0, 1, and 2 in the MicroLogix 1100 after a short delay:

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 44 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI, or SCADA training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Message (MSG) – MicroLogix Reading and Writing Data over Ethernet (M4E44)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I demonstrate how to message data from a MicroLogix 1400 to an 1100 over Ethernet using the MSG instruction (Episode 44 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

Message (MSG) – MicroLogix Writing Data Over Ethernet to a SLC-5/05

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I walk you through how to Message data over Ethernet using the MSG instruction from a MicroLogix 1400 to a SLC-5/05 .

Note: In this example I have a MicroLogix 1400 at IP Address 192.168.1.66, and a SLC-5/05 at IP Address 192.168.1.47. Both have the same subnet address, and are attached to the same network via an Ethernet switch. Each program also had the N7 file expanded to 10 words, and the MicroLogix program has a free running Timer in Rung 0 of Program File 2 as seen below:

Step 1) My first step is to add a new Rung to Program File 2 of my MicroLogix 1400 program. Then I add a MSG instruction to that rung:

Step 2) Next, I assign a MSG File to the MSG Instruction. In this example I chose MG10:0:

Step 3) Now in the MSG Setup Screen I set the Channel the MSG instruction will use to 1 since that is the Ethernet channel on the MicroLogix 1400:

Step 4) And since I’m writing data from this MicroLogix 1400 to a SLC-5/05, I change the Communication Command to 500CPU Write:

Step 5) Next I need to set the Data Table Address in the MicroLogix 1400 that I’ll be messaging to my target SLC-5/05 controller. In this example I chose N7:0:

Step 6) Next I need to set how many “Elements” I’d like to send, starting from the previously chosen Data Table Address. In this example I chose a size of just 1 word.

Step 7) Now under Target Device I set the Data Table Address I want to write the data to in the target PLC, which in this example is also N7:0:

Note: The Target Device’s Data Table Address does not have to be the same address as the Source Address.

 Step 8) The final setting I need to fill in on this tab that is the Routing Information File, which for this example I use file RI11:0:

Step 9) Now I navigate to the MultiHop tab:

Step 10) Where I fill in the IP address of the target SLC-5/05 in the To Address field. Then I close the Message Setup Screen:

 Step 11) Back in Ladder File 2, I place an XIC in front of the MSG instruction. For the XIC instruction’s address I use the Done Bit of my existing two second free running Timer. This will trigger the message every two seconds, a slow enough period that I’d be able to see the resulting status of each message attempt before the next message attempt is made:

Note: Since A-B Programmable Controllers have limited buffer space for MSG instructions, it’s typically not recommended to have multiple unconditional MSG instructions in your program. Instead, consider interlocking messages or triggering them based on timers, to insure you never overfill your controller’s message buffer. Doing so can also eliminate unwanted network traffic that unconditional / continuous Messages can generate.

Step 12) With my program now complete, I download it to my MicroLogix 1400 and run it.

Step 13) Now any value I enter into N7:0 in the MicroLogix 1400 is message to, and shows up in N7:0 in the SLC-5/05 after a short delay:

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 43 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI, or SCADA training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

shawntierney avatar
Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

Message (MSG) – MicroLogix Writing Data Over Ethernet to a SLC-5/05 (M4E43)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I demonstrate how to message data from a MicroLogix 1400 to a SLC-5/05 over Ethernet using the MSG instruction (Episode 43 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

shawntierney avatar
Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

Message (MSG) – SLC-5/05 Writing Data Over Ethernet to a MicroLogix 1400

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I walk you through how to Message data from a SLC-5/05 to a MicroLogix 1400 over Ethernet using the MSG instruction.

Note: In this example I have a SLC-5/05 at IP Address 192.168.1.47, and a MicroLogix 1400 at IP Address 192.168.1.66. Both have the same subnet address, and are attached to the same network via an Ethernet switch. Each program also had the N7 file expanded to 10 words, and the SLC-500 program has a free running Timer in Rung 0 of Program File 2 as shown below:

Step 1) To start, I add a new rung to Program File 2 of my SLC-5/05 program, and then I add a MSG instruction to that rung:

Step 2) Since I’m writing data from a SLC-5/05 to a MicroLogix 1400, I next change the Read/Write type to Write:

Step 3) Next I leave Target Device and Local/Remote at their default states:

Step 4) And then I assign a Control Block starting address for a block of 51 unused integers. In this example I chose a starting point of N10:0, and the MSG instruction will use N10:0 through N10:50 for it’s control words:

Step 5) Now in the Setup Screen I set the “This Controller” Data Table Address that I’ll be messaging from our SLC-5/05 to our target MicroLogix controller. In this example I chose N7:0:

Step 6) Then I set how many “Elements” I’d want to send, starting from the previously chosen Data Table Address. In this example I chose a size of just 1 word.

Step 7) The next selection is the setting for the SLC Communication Channel the MSG instruction will use. In this example Channel 1 is chosen as that is the Ethernet channel on the SLC-5/05:

Step 8) Moving on to the “Target Device” settings, I set the Data Table Address I want to write the data to, which in this example is also N7:0:

Note: The Target Device’s Data Table Address does not have to be the same address as the Source Address.

Step 9) Here, because I’m messaging a MicroLogix over Ethernet, I also need to change the MultiHop setting to Yes. Note: If this setting is not changed, the message will fail.

Step 10) With MultiHop now enabled, I move to the new MultiHop tab:

Step 11) Where I fill in the IP address of the target MicroLogix 1400 in the To Address field. Then I close the Setup Screen:

Step 12) Back in Ladder File 2, I place an XIC in front of the MSG instruction. For the XIC instruction’s address, I use the Done Bit of my existing two second free running Timer. This will trigger the message every two seconds, a slow enough period that I’d be able to see the resulting status of each message attempt before the next message attempt is made:

Note: Since A-B Programmable Controllers have limited buffer space for MSG instructions, it’s typically not recommended to have multiple unconditional MSG instructions in your program. Instead, consider interlocking messages, or triggering them based on timers, to insure you never overfill your controller’s message buffer. Doing so can also eliminate unwanted network traffic that unconditional / continuous Messages can generate.

Step 13) With my program complete, I now enter a value into N7:0 which will be written to the MicroLogix controller when the MSG instruction executes. Then I download and run the program:

Step 14) Now any value I enter into N7:0 in the SLC-5/05 is messaged and, and shows up in, N7:0 in the MicroLogix 1400 after a short delay:

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 42 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI, or SCADA training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

shawntierney avatar
Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

Message (MSG) – SLC-5/05 Writing Data Over Ethernet to a MicroLogix (M4E42)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I demonstrate how to message data from a SLC-5/05 to a MicroLogix 1400 over Ethernet using the MSG instruction (Episode 42 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

SkyCAD Demo! (D002/P44)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

Alain Moisan, President of SkyCADSystems, demo’s his product in Episode 2 of The Automation Demo (originally Episode 44 of The Automation Podcast.)

Watch the Podcast:

Listen to the Podcast:

You can now support the show on TheAutomationBlog.com/join!

You can now support The Automation Blog, Podcast, and Show with a small monthly pledge! To become a Patron, visit us at https:// TheAutomationBlog.com/join.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

RSLinx, MSExcel – Get A-B Programmable Controller Data into Microsoft Excel using RSLinx Classic

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I’ll walk you through how you can bring Allen-Bradley Programmable Controller Data into Microsoft Excel 2016 using RSLinx Classic.

NOTE: The below procedure works with any licensed copy of RSLinx Classic, including Single Node, OEM, and Gateway shown below. However, it will not work with the free “Lite” version.

Step 1) Locate the Programmable Controller you’d like to get data from in the RSLinx Classic RSWho window, then right click on it and choose, “Configure New DDE/OPC Topic” as shown below:

Step 2) Now give your Topic a name. In this example I name my new topic “L61”:

Step 3) Next, select the Data Collection tab and review the default settings:

Step 4) When done reviewing the default settings and making any changes, click on the Apply button. Note that in this example I changed the Polled Message rate from 1000ms to 50ms:

Step 5) When prompted, select Yes to update the topic with your changes:

Step 6) Now select Done to close the Topic Configuration window:

Step 7) Now from the Edit menu (only available in licensed versions of RSLinx Classic as noted previously,) select Copy DDE/OPC Link…

Step 8) Then browse for the address or tag whose value you’d like to display in Microsoft Excel:

Step 9) And click on OK when done:

Step 10) Now in Excel, right click on the cell where you’d like the data to appear and select Paste Special:

Step 11) Then choose Paste Link:

Step 12) And select OK:

Step 13) At first you may see “#N/A” as the data is being fetched from RSLinx:

Step 15) However, after a few seconds you should see you Programmable Controller’s live data appear:

Step 16) This procedure works for ControlLogix, CompactLogix, PLC-5, SLC-500, and MicroLogix as shown below:

Step 17) If you’d also like to learn how to create a button to upload or download many tag values, search RSLinx Classic’s Help on the word “Excel” for example macros:

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 41 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI, or SCADA training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

shawntierney avatar
Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

RSLinx, MSExcel – Get A-B Programmable Controller Data into Microsoft Excel using RSLinx Classic (M4E41)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I demonstrate how to use RSLinx Classic to get data from Allen-Bradley Programmable Controllers into Microsoft Excel (Episode 41 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

TIA Portal, S7 – Exchange Data Between Simatic PLCs on Different Subnets

By
Oleksandr Husiev
-

Easy data exchange between two Siemens Simatic S7 PLCs on different Ethernet subnets using a PN/PN Coupler

Suppose you have two Simatic S7 PLCs, like a S7-1200 and S7-300, on different Ethernet subnets and you need to exchange some data between them.

An extremely easy way to do this is to use a PN/PN coupler device.

The PN/PN Coupler is a device with two PROFINET interfaces, which helps to interconnect two different PROFINET subnets.

More information about it you can find on its Siemens Mall’s product page: https://mall.industry.siemens.com/mall/en/se/Catalog/Product/6ES7158-3AD10-0XA0

In this hands-on article, I will walk you through the steps of how to setup a data exchange between two CPUs via new modern version of PN/PN coupler 6ES7158-3AD10-0XA0 with Firmware V4.0.

Between IO controllers (our CPUs) you can exchange up to 1440 bytes for input data and up to 1440 bytes for output data, including user data and user data quality markers.

Generally saying you can couple up to four IO Controllers (CPUs) via PN/PN Coupler with Firmware V4.0.

For S7-1200 configuration, we will use TIA Portal Step7 Basic V14 SP1 software. And for S7-300 configuration we’ll use Step7 Professional V5.5 SP4.

In Step7 Basic, in the Device configuration editor, we add a PLC CPU 1214C DC/DC/Rly (6ES7 214-1HG40-0XB0, Firmware V4.2) and set its network properties to IP address 192.168.1.25, etc:

Then we add the PN/PN coupler X2 as IO device.

Our S7-1200 PLC will be connected to X2 side of the Coupler, and our S7-300 PLC will be connected to the X1 side.

For the PN/PN coupler X2 side, we set the IP to 192.168.1.26 and assign a PROFINET device name which is generated automatically.

Then we add one 32 byte input module, and one 32 byte output module, to the configuration of X2 side.

The Input module has one additional diagnostic byte, so total input data length is 33 bytes:

Next we interconnect our S7-1200 PLC to the PN Coupler’s X2 side in the Network view tab, and assign the PN coupler X2 as an IO Device to the PLC S7-1200 as IO Controller:

Then we compile and download configuration to the PLC S7-1200 and to PN Coupler X2 device.

If your devices are just out from the box, you should first set their IP addresses and PROFINET Devices names via Accessible Nodes and Online and Diagnostics Tool.

Now we move on to configuring a S7-300 PLC.

In Step7 Professional V5.5 we add a CPU 315-2PN/DP (6ES7 315-2EH14-0AB0 Firmware V3.2,) and assign it an IP of 192.168.179.110.

As you can see, this CPU will be connected to a different Ethernet subnet than S7-1200 is.

The next step is to add the PN/PN Coupler X1 v4.0 to the configuration.

As you can see below, we have only v1.0 – v3.0 available in the list:

So then, we need to install the appropriate GSD file for the PN/PN Coupler V4.0 which we can download using the below link:

https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/document/23742537/profinet-gsd-files-%3A-gateway?dti=0&lc=en-WW

Unzip the downloaded file, and then in the Step7 HW Configuration Editor go to Options – Install GSD File:

Now select the unzipped GSD-file from the directory you uzipped it to, and press the Install button:

If you receive the following messages during GSD file installation, press Yes in every cases:


After successfully installation of GSD file, you will receive the following message:

Next, go to the PROFINET IO devices branch and find the newly installed PN/PN Coupler V4.0:

Now drag the PN/PN Coupler X1 device onto PROFINET IO System Subnet in the configuration area:

Then in the lower area of configuration window, add 32 bytes output module into 1-st slot, and 32 bytes input module into 2-nd slot:


And in the Properties window of PN/PN Coupler set an IP address: 192.168.179.111 for it. All other setting we can leave as they are by default:


Now we save and compile configuration and download it to the devices.

As it was mentioned above, if we use our PN/PN Coupler just out from the box, we should set it IP address and PROFINET device name first.

To do this in Step7 v5.5 we use PLC – Ethernet menu, and select Assign Device Name and Edit Ethernet Node points:

After downloading the programs to both PLCs, data exchange starts immediately. If everything goes well, we can test it via watch tables.

Let’s for example send a HEX constant 16#AB from S7-300 to S7-1200 and then send another HEX constant 16#CD from S7-1200 to S7-300.

Via PN Coupler an address QB0 of S7-300 CPU X1-side gets into address %IB2 of S7-1200 X2-side and an address %QB2 of S7-1200 X2-side gets into address IB0 of S7-300 CPU X1-side.

Online watch table in TIA Portal Step7 Basic V14 SP1

Online watch table (VAT) in Step7 Professional V5.5

In addition to guaranteed stable work of both PLCs, we should add in their programs several Organization Blocks for possible faults handling as the PN Coupler serves as an PROFINET IO Device. These OBs are the following:

You can find more information about necessary OBs here:

https://support.industry.siemens.com/cs/document/19350076/which-organization-blocks-do-you-have-to-load-into-the-cpu-to-ensure-that-the-cpu-does-not-go-into-the-stop-status-when-a-remote-i-o-fails-?dti=0&lc=en-WW

Conclusion: We have successfully implemented data exchange between two PLCs in different Ethernet subnets via PN/PN coupler device.

About the author:

Oleksandr Husiev
Lead Automation Engineer at Azov Controls LLC
Company web site: http://azov-controls.com/en/
Mariupol, Ukraine

I am a fan of Industrial Automation and IoT. I’ve work with the Siemens Simatic S5/S7 PLC platforms since 2001, and with the Allen-Bradley Logix PLC platforms since 2006.

Editors Footnote:

I just wanted to thank Oleksandr for taking the time to write the above article as well as for sharing it with the rest of us.

Having written many similar articles myself, I know first hand how much effort goes into documenting a procedure like the above, so in appreciation I’d like to ask anyone who finds this helpful to please take a moment and share it on social media.

And if you’ll like to join the ranks of our guest bloggers, please let us know using our contact form here.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Automation Q & A Show for May 18th, 2018 (qa180518)

By
Shawn Tierney
-



Note: Automation Q & A is a member/supporter perk. Learn more about our membership/supporter options here.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

PanelView Plus – Changing Screen Saver Image (3.0 to 5.1)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I’ll walk you through how to change the Screen Saver Image used on the original PanelView Plus (old models without Windows CE desktop access)

Part 1: Enable the Screen Saver Image on your PanelView Plus

Step 1) From the PanelView Plus Configuration Menu, choose Terminal Settings:

Step 2) Next select Display, and then select Enter:

Step 3) Now select Screen Saver, and then select Enter:

Step 4) Here select Advanced Settings:

Step 5) And now insure that “Screen Saver Image” is set to Enabled. Then exit this screen and the previous one by clicking on “OK” to insure your settings are saved.

Step 6) Now when the Screen Saver time elapses, you’ll see the default A-B screen saver image:

Part 2: Copying your new “custom” Screen Saver Image to the original PanelView Plus

Step 7) Copy your custom 80 pixel by 80 pixel bitmap screen saver image to the root directory of a compatible Compact Flash memory card or USB flash drive, and then rename your bitmap image to ssfloat.bmp

Step 8) Now in the root directory of the same memory device, create a text file named autorun.bat (be sure it’s not named autorun.bat.txt)

Step 9) Next, edit your autorun file and add the following line three lines of text:

ECHO ON

COPY “USB Storage\ssfloat.bmp” \windows\ssfloat.bmp

PAUSE

UPDATE 2020) You also need to add the additional line before PAUSE so the Screen Saver Image won’t be replaced upon reboot:

COPY “USB Storage\ssfloat.bmp” \”Storage Card”\windows\ssfloat.bmp

Note: For a $1 donation you can download my PanelView Plus Script bundle (which includes an expanded version of the above script) from theautomationblog.com

Step 10) Now insert your memory card or USB drive that contains the above files into your PanelView Plus:

Step 11) After a few moments your autorun.bat file will run and copy your new ssfloat.bmp over the default A-B ssfloat.bmp file on your PanelView Plus:

Step 12) Now when your screen saver turns on, you’ll see your custom image in place of the default A-B Logo:

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 40 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from PanelView Plus training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

PanelView Plus – Changing Screen Saver Image (3.0 to 5.1) (M4E40)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I show you how to change the Screen Saver image used on the original PanelView Plus versions 3-5.1 (Episode 40 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)

UPDATE: See new information here


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

PanelView Plus 7, 6, CE – Changing Screen Saver Image

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In Today’s article I’ll walk you through how to change the Screen Saver Image used on the PanelView Plus 7, 6, and CE:

Part 1: Enable the Screen Saver Image on your PanelView Plus 7, 6, or CE

Step 1) From the PanelView Plus Configuration Menu, choose Terminal Settings:

Step 2) Next select Display, and then select Enter:

Step 3) Select Screen Saver, and then select Enter:

Step 4) Now select Advanced Settings:

Step 5) Here insure “Screen Saver Image” is set to Enabled. Then exit this screen and the previous one by clicking on “OK” to insure your settings are saved.

Part 2: Copying new Screen Saver Image to the PanelView Plus

Step 6) Copy your custom 80 pixel by 80 pixel .bmp (bitmap) screen saver image to the root directory of a compatible memory card or USB drive.

Step 7) Insert your memory card or USB drive into your PanelView Plus 7, 6, or CE HMI:

Step 8) Exit the Configuration Menu to access the Windows CE desktop:

Note: On some models you will need to know the Desktop Access password:

Step 9) Use Windows Explorer to copy your BMP image from your memory device to your PanelView Plus’s \windows directory:

Step 10) Now launch Windows Control Panel:

Step 11) Open Display Settings, and then select the Screen Saver tab:

Step 12A) On the PanelView Plus 6 and 7, remove ssfloat and add you image:

Step 12B) On the PanelView Plus CE and VersaView CE, select your image from the \windows directory by using the Browse button:

Step 13) Click on OK to save your settings, and when the PanelView Plus next goes into screen saver mode you should see your custom image in place of the A-B logo:

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 39 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from PanelView Plus training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

PanelView Plus 7, 6, CE – Changing Screen Saver Image (M4E39)

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In this episode I walk you through how to change the Screen Saver Image used on the PanelView Plus 7, 6, and CE (Episode 39 of The Automation Minute Season 4:)


If you’ve found this video helpful, checkout my training courses here.

Check out our Video Collection #1 here, which includes the first five seasons of our shows for just $30!

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

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Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

PanelView Plus 7 – Reset to Factory Defaults

By
Shawn Tierney
-

In today’s article I’ll walk you through resetting your PanelView Plus 7 to Factory Defaults:

Step 1) Plug a USB Keyboard into your PanelView Plus 7:

Step 2) Cycle Power to your PanelView Plus 7 while holding down the F1 Key:

Step 3) When the Maintenance Menu comes up, press the down arrow key once to select “Special BOOT Option – None”

Step 4) Now press the right key until you see “Special BOOT Option – Factory Defaults”

Step 5) Now press the up arrow key to select “Reboot With Selected Options” and press enter:

Step 6) At this point your PanelView Plus 7 will reboot and reload the default firmware it came with, which in this case was 7.0:

Step 7) This also reset the units desktop access password back to the default password of “password”

To watch a video demonstration of the above, check out Episode 38 of The Automation Minute Season 4 below:


If you found this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Goggle Plus!

And if you know anyone who would benefit from PanelView Plus training, please let them know about my affordable courses over at TheAutomation School.

You can also share your own thoughts and opinions on this subject by clicking on the “post a comment or question” link below.

Until next time, Peace ✌️ 

If you enjoy this episode please give it a Like, and consider Sharing as this is the best way for us to find new guests to come on the show.

Shawn M Tierney
Technology Enthusiast & Content Creator

Eliminate commercials and gain access to my weekly full length hands-on, news, and Q&A sessions by becoming a member at The Automation Blog or on YouTube. You'll also find all of my affordable PLC, HMI, and SCADA courses at TheAutomationSchool.com.

shawntierney avatar
Latest posts by Shawn Tierney (see all)

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