Upload program to PLC w/o using Trilogi

[Joel Moore]

We are currently using the T100MD888+ PLC in a simple machine we sell.  We've written our own Windows application that communicates with the PLC (and some other devices) using serial ports.  We're not using TLServer since we have no need for it (and we want to simplify things as much as possible).

However, one thing we can't do easily is upgrade the PLC's program if required.  The only way to do that now is to use TLServer and Trilogi however it would be nice to make the upgrade transparent to the customer.  When we send a software patch or upgrade they simply install it like they would any Windows program and then when they start our application it handles updating the TriPLC if necessary.

I sniffed out what was going on over the COM port and noticed that the commands used during the transfer are simply undocumented Host Mode commands.  It doesn't seem like it would be a major feat for our program to follow these same steps (with the help of some tips and guidance by you).  However we'd obviously need Trilogi to output some sort of compiled binary file that our main application can upload.

Any thoughts on this?  Any other users out there who think this would be useful?

[support]

At the moment, you can only use TRiLOGI for compiling the .PC5 file and perform downloading to the PLC.

In future we will try to release a download only utiltiy program that can take a .PC5 file, compile it and transfer to the PLC without needing to use TLServer or TRiLOGI software. As this is not a priority demand for the software development folks there is no clear schedule for release date. Hopefully this will be done before end of 2004.

[support]

As per popular request, a standalone TL5 Uploader is now available that works with the latest TRiLOGI version 5.32.

TRiLOGI 5.32 can output the compiled code to a separate file which you can then distribute to your end customer along with a licensed copy of TL5 Uploader that you obtain from us. TL5 Uploader is written in VB6 and therefore does not require Java JRE to run.  Your end user only need to install the TL5 Uploader in their Windows PC and they will be able to upload your compiled code to update the program in the device easily.