Practical Tips and Techniques
We will use an MQTT broker in Node-RED to communicate to the productivity PLC clients. MQTT stands for Message Queuing Telemetry Transport. This simple ‘publish and subscribe’ communication protocol does not take too many resources. Constrained devices with low bandwidth are ideal for MQTT. This protocol provides machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity, perfect for the Internet of … Read more
The Productivity Suite Software allows us to modify our existing program and execute the new code without stopping the scanning of the PLC. This is referred to as online programming or editing. We change the ladder logic code and when we save it to the PLC, the current scan of the PLC is held until … Read more
The Machine Simulator (MS) is part of the EasyPLC software suite. It has many built-in machines that are used to show different programming techniques. The robotic cell example is one of these machines. This will demonstrate a sequencer example. In this case, an engine is lifted and placed onto a rack. The logic will step … Read more
The Do-More Designer Programming Software (2.9) or higher includes a Modbus I/O Scanner with some profiles for Modbus Server (Slave) devices. This will greatly reduce the time it takes to implement and troubleshoot communications in your projects. Modbus communications are done independent of the PLC scan time and will have little or no ladder logic … Read more
The Productivity Series 2000 and 3000 CPUs and remote controllers have OLED/LCD displays. The data can be system errors and information or user-defined messages programmed through ladder logic. Operators, maintenance, or programmer can use this information for running conditions, troubleshooting, or other items for the PLC system. We will be looking at the CPU OLED/LCD … Read more
The Machine Simulator (MS) is part of the EasyPLC software suite. It has many built-in machines that are used to show different programming techniques. The robotic cell example is one of these machines. This will demonstrate a sequencer example. In this case, an engine is lifted and placed onto a rack. The logic will step … Read more