A human-machine interface (HMI) is present in some form for every PLC. The HMI connects a user to a machine system to exchange information or control data. This interaction with the system can be through hardware or software.
HMIs offer different people information and control in many ways for the automated system. Operators, supervisors, mechanics, electricians, engineers, and programmers all have different needs. The machine HMI(s) must provide or make the information easy for all the people who use the system.
We will now look at some of the ways that human-machine interfaces (HMI) are used in automated systems today. Let’s get started. Keep on Reading!
Category Archives: IoT Software
ACC Automation 2021 Review – Industrial Control
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In this Covid-19 world, we are continuing to adapt. Social distancing, mask-wearing, hygiene, etc are the way we currently live. Video conferencing with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet are the norm in business today. Information is knowledge, and everyone more than ever wants to be able to see, control and summarize production data on a regular basis. Open intuitive technologies are available to communicate like never before. Industrial plant data is rapidly changing. Factory 4.0 benefits are being seen and everyone wants to take advantage. We are looking forward to the New Year and new possibilities for implementing your control solution.
Each year we like to take a few minutes and reflect on the past, current, and future of ACC Automation. You have helped us to build the site that you see today through questions, comments, and suggestions. Thank you. Keep on Reading!
PLC Training Series – Tutorial for Everyone
Invented in 1968 by Dick Morley, the programmable logic controller (PLC) is a simple rugged industrial computer. This free plc training series is designed for everyone to learn about these controllers. PLCs are constantly evolving and continue to be the best option for a variety of industrial automation applications.
Even though the PLC is changing, core items remain the same. We will be discussing this in more depth for each of the components mentioned in the picture above. Let’s get started learning about PLCs. Keep on Reading!
Raspberry Pi Serial Port Programming
Node-RED will be used on the Raspberry Pi 4 to communicate serial Modbus RTU to a Solo process temperature controller and Click PLC using twisted pair RS485. This will be done on the same serial network so the devices will be daisy-chained together on the two wires.
We will be reading the PV (present value) and SV (set value) of the Solo temperature controller and then writing these values into the Click PLC. An SV value will then be read from the Click PLC and if it has changed, the value will be written to the SV of the Solo controller. Let’s get started. Continue Reading!
Node-RED Modbus TCP Handling Errors
Node-RED Modbus TCP can recover from communication errors automatically. Options are available to you the programmer to continue the Node-RED flow upon detection of these errors.
Broken Ethernet cable, Modbus Server power, and Node-RED Client offline are just a few of the errors that can occur on the industrial plant floor. Our Node-RED program must account for and be tested for each of these conditions.
We will be communicating Modbus TCP (Ethernet) to our Click Plus PLC. Using the catch node we will detect and display errors that may occur. Let’s get started. Continue Reading!
Simple Click Data Logging – Node-RED
We will now be looking at simple data logging using a Click PLC with an Ethernet port. Node-RED will be used to communicate to the controller via Modbus TCP protocol. Information collected will be then stored in an SQLite SQL database. A Raspberry Pi 4 single-board computer will be used for the Node-RED collecting and storing. The update time will be two times a second (500 mSec). This method is ideal for quickly determining how things are operating.
Analysis or display of the information will be done with a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will be run on a windows computer. Let’s get started. Continue Reading!