Practical Tips and Techniques
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 … Read more
If you want to install a USB to RS485 adapter on your computer, you’ve come to the right place. We will use the CH340/341 USB to Serial port, an adapter that translates USB data into RS-485 communication. There is no need for an external power source or a head-scratching setup. It’s as easy as insertion, … Read more
The Click Plus PLC has now been released. This can only be programmed with version 3.00 or higher of the Click Programming Software. Version 3.00 will program all of the Click PLC CPU units and add additional features to the Click Ethernet CPU units. Features of the new Click PLUS PLC (C2-0xCPU) includes the following: … Read more
A PID (Proportional, Integral, and Derivative) control is possible with the Click PLC. A sample program was written for this PLC by Bernie Carlton in the following thread from the Automation Direct Forum. This was based on the math/process presented by Tim Wescott on is paper titled PID without a Ph.D. We will be using … Read more
A dusk to dawn sensor usually is discrete on/off of the lighting control. If we want to vary the lights to mimic more of the sunset and rise, we would use an analog output to control the lights. I was recently asked about such a program. Every day they wanted the lights to go off … Read more
Firmware is usually PLC operating system code that is written into a read only memory. The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of a PC (personal computer) is a good example of firmware. It provides the low level interface between the hardware and software. The Click PLC firmware comes with the programming software. https://support.automationdirect.com/products/clickplcs.html We will … Read more