Proficy Machine Edition Inquiry

Hey everyone,

I am working with a LM 90/30 PLC, and I have programmed that already. However, I have a Quick Panel Control (6" TFT) that is hooked up to the PLC to display happenings in the PLC. I have used ethernet to connect between the PC and QP, and serial for QP to PLC connections. I am programming the QP using Proficy Machine Edition. I have set the QP as my target.

Now, my question is that I have 200 register values, and they are constantly changing because of a one-shot trigger used to collect 200 samples of an analog input. The analog input is from a function generator. I want to create a line graph that shows values from register 201 to register 400, since I am storing the 200 analog input samples in these registers. Is there a way to do this in Proficy? I called Tech Support and they told me that I would have to program each variable one at a time and create my own graph using lines, and it seemed overly tedious for such a simple task. I look forward to any suggestions.

There is a trend object that can do what you want, but it displays logged data rather than a series of PLC registers. You link the pen in the trend object to the analog input variable and set up the variable for logging. You don't need to do the logging in the PLC.

Since you're using Logicmaster, there is a trick that I've used in the past, but it doesn't display on the QP. I used Logicmaster's macro recorder to open up a page of register data and print the page to a text file. Then I open the text file in a VB script in Excel and extract the register data from the text file and write it into cells in the spreadsheet. I have an Excel graph that displays the data from those cells.

Hi Steve, where would I find the macro recoder? sounds very interesting to me. Used lm90-30 /90-0 for 10+ years and never seen the macro recorder.


Cheers

I'm pretty sure it's covered in the Logicmaster 90 manual.

At any rate, you start recording keystrokes by hitting <ALT> + t (think "teach"). You end recording by hitting <ALT> + q (think "quit"). When you first hit <ALT> + t, you are prompted for a playback key. You enter 1 - 9. After that, every keystroke is recorded until you hit <ALT> + q.

Once you've recorded the sequence of keystrokes, you can play it back by hitting <ALT> + the number you entered when you first started recording. Fot it to work properly, you need to be on the same Logicmaster screen that you were on when you recorded the macro.

Thanks I will check it out

Steve, how do we use the macro recorder to record to a text file? I know how to use the teach mode because I used it to create multiple instructions of the same type without having to type it in over and over. Is the file created under the LM90 folder, which stores teach files, or is it something else?

Why not import the PLC and QP into the same project in Machine Edition?

The macros are easily visible in ME, and you have the bonus of your complete project in one place.

Oh. It's because I don't have the capability to communicate Proficy Machine Edition to the PLC, I only have a serial connection that links LogicMaster and the PLC together. Could I use that same serial port to communicate from Proficy to the PLC?

Proficy ME does everything. Make a PLC target, and check the connections in the properties. You can select serial.

Maybe his CPU does not have the correct firmware.

I don't know where rkc109 got the impression that Proficy Machine Edition was limited to ethernet communications. Of course it's possible he only has the software module for creating HMI targets and not the PLC programming piece, but if you have Machine Edition software available for both the HMI and the PLC, by all means, use it! Machine Edition includes a trend chart tool where you can track one or more variables over time. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you the ability to save a chart once you've defined the pens, so you have to redo everything from scratch each time you start up.

One key point to be aware of is that with either the trend object in view or the chart tool in ME, you will not get fresh data every PLC scan. You probably shouldn't expect to get updates any more often than once per second. If your application is simple enough you might get better results than that, just don't count on it.

Now, if you really are stuck with using Logicmaster: To create a Logicmaster macro to make a text file, you need to record the keystrokes required to define the printed output as the range of reference table addresses you need. Deselect printing ladder logic and anything else you don't want included in the file. Select printing to a file instead of the LPT port and name the file. I suggest practicing a few times without recording until you get the data you want included in the file.

"One key point to be aware of is that with either the trend object in view or the chart tool in ME, you will not get fresh data every PLC scan."

Does that mean that the results I will be displaying on the QP will not reflect the analog samples being passed in under real-time? How will I know what the trend tool is graphing if the update time is different than the scan time?

Another question I had deals with analog outputs. The two variables I am displaying on the QP are two selected registers. I want to pass these register values to 2 separate analog output channels so that I can display the values through an oscilloscope. The oscilloscope, my boss suggests, will display the change in the variable at a quicker pace. Even if it doesn't, this is the next step in what I need to do. Any suggestions on how to do this?

P.S. Thanks for the Proficy Edition info. I will check on whether the cable I was given can work for both HMI and PLC.

Does that mean that the results I will be displaying on the QP will not reflect the analog samples being passed in under real-time? How will I know what the trend tool is graphing if the update time is different than the scan time?

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The PLC gets fresh data from the analog input module every scan. The HMI requests that data as fast as possible, but it waits for a response to its first request before sending another request. The total time from when the HMI sends a request to the PLC for data and when the PLC actually transmits that data to the HMI is going to be longer than a single scan. The HMI gets whatever value the PLC happens to have at the momoent it respondes to the HMI's request. Any changes in the data between requests from the HMI are lost.

You should also take a look at the specs for the analog input module. For example, an IC693ALG223 module takes 13 mS to update all channels. If your PLC scan time is 6.5 mS, you really only get fresh data every other scan.

You could copy the analog input data to an analog output and monitor the analog output with your scope. It would make more sense to simply monitor the analog input signal directly.

I tried hooking up the oscilloscope to monitor an analog output channel from a dual-channel analog output module but the signal is not showing up. I look at %AQ0001 in the LogicMaster reference table and the value is changing constantly because of the single-shot. Is there something I am doing wrong or should I be getting a signal?

What is the part number of the analog output module? Analog output modules in a 90-30 require external 24 VDC power.