Rockwell Software Stinks

[James Mcquade]

dmroeder,

what is Windows UAC?
james

 

[Frost999]

Bulk of our customers demand ladder, and their ladder is clunky. In my experience RA is the best with ladder, has been for quite some time.

I have 20 years in controls... 5 of it in the middle I was a SI for a robotics packaging and palletizing firm. I have gone back to being a plant-guy in the last year. This week is actually the first time that I have ever used / modified Mitsubishi controller code and I HATE the ladder tool. It's infuriating (at least, as installed and configured on my notebook). A simple rung with 1-2 qualifiers and 4-5 outputs manages to wrap itself into 3 screens. THREE SCREENS.. Don't bother looking at the screen as you scroll (through ladder) either; it just freezes until you stop moving the slider.

I could stand around and complain some more as well

 

[Mark-]

what is Windows UAC?
james

User Account Control

 

[parky]

Not if you use the GXWorks2, you can do ladder in FBD & combine the ladder with FBD it is so flexible.
Again if you use the latest versions & you spend time doing it most become easy.
The pic took me about 30 seconds to do those two rungs.

 

[Phrog30]

Not if you use the GXWorks2, you can do ladder in FBD & combine the ladder with FBD it is so flexible.
Again if you use the latest versions & you spend time doing it most become easy.
The pic took me about 30 seconds to do those two rungs.

What if you want to paste ladder? I rarely actually write ladder, I import or paste from a text editor.

30 seconds is a long time for that.

 

[LadderLogic]

Start Edits -> Accept Edits -> Test Edits -> Assemble Edits... whew. Honey, I just changed an NO contact to an NC one!

Sorry, but no programming software that requires so many steps/mouse clicks to do a simple online change can claim the honor to be "the best". Even if it is excellent in many other respects. I am not familiar with Siemens to make comparisons, but Omron is just as bad.

 

[Phrog30]

Start Edits -> Accept Edits -> Test Edits -> Assemble Edits... whew. Honey, I just changed an NO contact to an NC one!

Sorry, but no programming software that requires so many steps/mouse clicks to do a simple online change can claim the honor to be "the best". Even if it is excellent in many other respects. I am not familiar with Siemens to make comparisons, but Omron is just as bad.

If you are doing that in studio 5000 you need retrained.

Hit enter or double click rung, you are in edit mode, make changes, hit assemble button. Not sure how you can get simpler than that.

 

[dmroeder]

If you are doing that in studio 5000 you need retrained.

Hit enter or double click rung, you are in edit mode, make changes, hit assemble button. Not sure how you can get simpler than that.

Indeed. Or CTRL+SHIFT+F

Edit, though I think LadderLogic's post is the only for RSLogix500 and 5

 

[LadderLogic]

Not sure how you can get simpler than that.

By eliminating the first step. Just type your changes in, then hit "Assemble/Compile/Commit/whatever" key - done.

There is always room for improvement, you know

 

[parky]

@ Phrog: Copy & Pasting is easy or copy a rung or even copy a block, function etc. even in the old GXDeveloper copy/paste was simple. So you think 30 seconds is slow to put that many contacts on two rungs ??????
As for download simple mod it, hit button for on-line change done so simple (there are exceptions i.e. new function or very large change).

 

[drbitboy]

OP's original comment was directed at RA software startup problems, requiring uninstall/reinstall cycles. From reading this forum over the last year and then some, I'd say they have a point: a lot of solutions for failures starting and/or running RA software involve obscure, presumably undocumented actions (uninstall/reinstall, which, as we all know, is a Hail Mary; load this version/package before that one; run as admin; put your left pinky in your right ear and hold your breath while crossing your eyes; etc.), and a fair few of those also come from techconnect I.e. from RA itself. Often things break if local IT gets their mitts on a laptop they should not be allowed to touch and put it into DLL Hell, indicating the RA software is not at all robust. Anecdotally, I have not seen as much of that class of complaint about other vendor's software, but that could be due to sampling.

Maybe it was not part of OP's topic, but as far as UI goes, all are pretty bad, but, as Frost999 mentioned, RA gets less wrong (excluding Fisher-Price-style CCW): more logic on the screen at once; obscure things kept hidden; even summat so simple and minor as being able to copy a tag or register reference via drag and drop from one instruction parameter source to another destination without removing it from the source is so obviously right you have to wonder if Siemens comes from the same planet

 

[parky]

I doubt many in US have used Mitsubishi or for that fact Siemens or other Japanese IDE's, it seems CLX is almost exclusive, It has been a major player in the UK as well, that is probably many of the larger companies were owned by US businesses, as for ease, in Mitsubishi nothing could be simpler than drag a window over the logic required control C then Control V.
I used AB from PLC2 to CLX many times in my 40 years of programming, there is very little in regards to speed of programming between most of the major players , however, I do find RW software a bit clunky, does fall over sometimes certainly in my experience more often than other platforms, I also found that TIA to be a bit problematic as well.

 

[Phrog30]

So you think 30 seconds is slow to put that many contacts on two rungs ??????

I do, compared to Studio 5000 at least. Compared to other software, not necessarily.

I can put a ton of contacts on a rung with quick keys.

 

[parky]

I could probably do the same, however, I was not putting the contacts to obtain a speed test, the 30 secs was approx. & did not intend it to be a race, you were the one who threw up the speed after the fact, my point was in the first post was in the later IDE you can put as many contacts in a rung, with multiple loopbacks of the power rail & even zoom out til it's almost unreadable, also the spacing horizontal or vertical is only restricted to the size of the element & it's symbol not like the older systems where enabling comments or labels expand it by a multitude of x lines. You said it yourself, this week is the first time using Mitsubishi, so now you are an expert ?, I don't think so, try modifying the settings on the IDE, there are many options & shortcut keys a little hard sometimes to get your head round but then again practice is the key.

 

[Phrog30]

I could probably do the same, however, I was not putting the contacts to obtain a speed test, the 30 secs was approx. & did not intend it to be a race, you were the one who threw up the speed after the fact, my point was in the first post was in the later IDE you can put as many contacts in a rung, with multiple loopbacks of the power rail & even zoom out til it's almost unreadable, also the spacing horizontal or vertical is only restricted to the size of the element & it's symbol not like the older systems where enabling comments or labels expand it by a multitude of x lines. You said it yourself, this week is the first time using Mitsubishi, so now you are an expert ?, I don't think so, try modifying the settings on the IDE, there are many options & shortcut keys a little hard sometimes to get your head round but then again practice is the key.

You are confusing people, I'd recommend going back and reviewing who said what. But I'll say this, at the end of the day I really don't care. I have opinions and I like to use what I know best and what I think works best, but I'll use what the customer wants or needs first.

I obviously haven't used all software, but I've used enough to think ladder in RA software is the best I've used. RA software is terrible on many other levels though, I agree with the OP and share the frustration. RA HMI is in my opinion the worst out there.