#118 - Chat with Diego Moreira [Part 2]

(English version at the bottom)

Na última terça-feira 12 de Outubro, tive o prazer de bater um papo com meu amigo Diego Moreira, especialista técnico em acionamentos elétricos que possui uma sólida bagagem em inversores de frequência. Diego trabalha com clientes de diversas indústrias, auxiliando setores como mineração, açúcar e álcool. O foco da nossa conversa foi sobre dicas práticas para comissionamento e monitoramento de inversores de frequência e sistemas de acionamento. 

#109 - Rockwell Automation Fair from Home

This year it is possible to attend virtually the Rockwell's Automation Fair from November 16 to 20, by registering in this link. 

That's a great opportunity to learn and to see the state of the art in automation. 

#77 - Rockwell PLC firmware flashing

Flashing the PLC’s firmware is part of the routine of an automation engineer. Manufacturers are constantly updating their firmware, as part of continuous improvement but also to correct bugs and cyber security flaws.

#72 - Rockwell PLC change version of project

In this post a project version upgrade in a Rockwell PLC is described. This could be useful to keep the project in sync with the latest corrections done by the manufacturer, such as improvements related to cyber-security.

#71 - Checking TCP/UDP ports and applications

In industrial networking it is important to know the TCP/UDP protocols that the devices are using to communicate. In this post two interesting websites are shown that can be useful during configuration of the rules in a firewall and to increase the cyber security of the factory.

#69 - Rockwell PLC searching inside program

On this post two options that exist on the Search tab menu are shown. They are called "Go to..." (shortcut Ctrl+G) and "Browse Logic..." (Ctlr+L).

#61 - Backup Managed Switch

The Rockwell Stratix Layer 2 managed switches have a dedicated slot to install a  special Secure Digital (SD) card. The role of this SD card is to simplify the device replacement and also the device configuration, particularly in cases where several switches have the same configuration. 

#54 - Rockwell PLC FIFO instruction with Load and Unload

FIFO (First-In First-Out) is a concept widely used in logistics and it means that the first item that enters the stock, must be the first item to leave the stock.

#49 - Rockwell PLC array to stack data

In this post we will create a simple routine that will stack data in an Array. The main instructions used were LEQ  for comparison , a CTU counter that increases the storage index and is reset with RES, and MOV to move the data according to the index. 

#48 - Rockwell PLC BTD Bit Field Distribute and Bit Mask on Word

The Bit Field Distribute (BTD) instruction can be used to copy bits from one variable and write those bits to another variable. A practical application is in identifying the status of a process, when only some of the 16 bits of an INT variable are used. In the example below, the last 4 bits of value_1 are copied and written to the first 4 bits of value_2.

#45 - Rockwell PLC PIDE programming in Function Block Diagram

In this post we will show a PID temperature control application programmed in Function Block Diagram. This language is practical to be used in the process industry, due to the facility in visualizing the process and in manipulating the instructions of digital, analog signals, alarms, operating mode, among others.

#44 - Converting an analog signal using both TIA Portal and RSLogix5000

In this post we will convert a 4-20mA analog signal to an engineering unit in TIA Portal and RSLogix5000.

#42 - Rockwell PLC find instructions within a program

A practical way to find where a particular instruction is used in the program is to click on the Controller (to direct the search to all routines) and then click on Search> Find ...

#40 - Rockwell PLC MSG instruction

In this post we will see some examples of the MSG (message) instruction from the Input / Output group, to read and write data on two simulated CPUs on the same backplane in the RSLogix5000 simulator. The same concept can be applied to CPUs installed on an industrial network. The MSG can also be used to communicate data between previous generation CPUs, such as establishing a message exchange between  generation 5000 PLCs with  the PLC5 or SLC500.

#39 - Rockwell PLC GSV and SSV instructions

The GSV and SSV instructions are the PLC getters and setters of the PLC and are part of the Input / Output instruction group. Through them it is possible to get / set system data such as time, scan times, failure status, among others. In this post we will show some common applications.

#38 - Rockwell PLC ASCII command tips, Quick Keys and Bookmarks

In this post we will show you some tips that help increase the speed of programming using keyboard shortcuts and writing commands in ASCII. In addition, we will configure bookmarks that help during troubleshoot complex programs with efficient navigation between the marked rungs.

#37 - Rockwell program with Servo Motor

In the previous post,  we configured two virtual servo motor axes to simulate one axis in rotation and the other in translation. In this post we will make a program with two rotating axes in RSLogix5000 and use the available Motion Control commands. As we are using axes whose Data Type is VIRTUAL_AXIS, with no real hardware present, the available commands are limited. Virtual axes can be used in a project for several purposes, such as synchronizing axes, multiplying input and output ratios (virtual gear box) and even to do virtual tracking of objects in applications in motion.

#35 - Rockwell Servo motor configuration

In this post we will configure and send commands to two servo motor axes using the simulator in RSLogix5000. One will be a rotating axis and the other will be a translating axis. 

#33 - Rockwell PLC difference between Tag Base vs Alias while Online editing during continuous production environment

Two types of tags are widely used in Rockwell PLCs: Base Tags and Alias ​​Tags. 

An advantage of using Alias ​​is the possibility to alias a Software Tag with a Hardware element, for example digital inputs and outputs.

However, this method has a limitation that is important to remember and may not be adapted to all production processes. This is due to the fact that it is not possible to edit the Alias with the PLC Online.

#32 - Rockwell PLC using Added-On Instructions (AOI)

Added-on Instructions, also called AOI, is an important tool for programming Rockwell PLCs. To better understand, we can make an analogy with the functions in Object Oriented programming (OOP) languages, as there are some similarities, such as the ease of reusing code avoiding copy paste, a modular architecture and the parameters that are passed ByValue or ByReference.