Internet PLC Forum

I wrote a bunch of custom functions using the tab key to indent the code so the program was easy to follow.

Kind of like this....

  if testio(no_weld) and testio(no_pick) then
        setlcd 1,1,"WELD & PICK BYPASSED"
        else
                if testio(no_weld) then
                setlcd 1,1,"  WELDER BYPASSED  "
                else
                        if testio(no_pick) then
                        setlcd 1,1,"  PICKER BYPASSED  "
                        else
                                setlcd 1,1,"   RING WELD-BOT   "

                        endif
                endif
        endif

It looked great on the screen, but the printout only displayed square boxes for each tab. This made it even harder to follow on the printout.

So I had to replace all of my tabs with spaces so the printout could be followed by those lesser experienced can tell me how to program...lol

So is it me or is it the software?

WinXP printing to a HP Laserjet 8000 via lan.

It would be nice to have the old TRACE feature.

Remember those old BASIC days....lol

I am currently on the road near Omaha and the 2 manuals are sitting in my suitcase. Another engineer back at the office in Chicago needs to use them to modify some code.

Do you have the manuals available in .pdf or other format for download so he can get them ASAP? (Oh maybe they are on the install disk, just thought of this)

Do you wonder why are they in my suitcase? It is because this is the coolest PLC around!!!! When in Connecticut I was writing software and uploading from the hotel to the new machine in Chicago.

I was wireless using the laptop during lunch in Detroit testing and monitoring. So the manuals sit in my suitcas for reference! ha ha

Speaking of Lantronix checkout their X-PORT product.

If you you do not want to do the minimal glue electronics, order 2 development boards (The boards are well done, compact, and very friendly). You can have point to point serial over ethernet using two boards with them simply setup in serial modem mode. One on the PLC taking serial and passing directly to ethernet (IP based), the other board converting the ethernet back to serial at the other end either on your PC or another PLC.

Or use one board on the PLC and use an utility they give for free that converts your ethernet traffic from the xport to serial type traffic on the PC end to look like it is actually coming in on a com port (virtual port). Great for com port based software like tlserver.

I have not tried it, but I believe it should work!

The X-PORT also has three discrete IO lines, which you could tie to the PLC IO. Since the X-PORT can send email, imagine just flipping an output on the PLC to send an alarm via email.

The X-PORT also has many other features, which might enable you to built a mini web based scada front end for your PLC.

Tim,
If you are looking for an Ethernet to serial converter look into:

http://www.lantronix.com/index.html

Their UDS-10 device server is around $75 and I have used it very successfully with TL server and the T100MD series PLC's

I have been trying to use one of these plc's in a project for more then a year. Well I finally had a customer who agreed to let me try one. So this is my first experience with your product, and I have to agree with Joel. Those connectors real suck big time.

Not only getting them off is hard, but putting them back on securely on a board sitting on standoffs worries me. I heard some major creaking noises coming from that board while putting them back on. I have a feeling that this could easily lead to a cracked board.

My designs are always a full panel where all I/O are brought to terminal blocks whether used or not, just incase of future changes. I am glad I did it with this job. If I had to remove those connectors more then a couple of times, I feel I would have a broken PLC on my hands.

I also noticed that you cannot tighten the screws too much or the connectors distort horribly.

JC

One thing that I don't like about the T100MD888+ I've been working with this week is the style of connector used for the I/O. ?The main problem is that they are very difficult to pull off -- especially once the board is mounted inside a cabinet and there's no place to fit a screwdriver to pry up the connector.

I seriously worry that I'm going to damage the board -- either the header pins or else a nearby component.

I suppose Phoenix connectors are pricey options but there has to be something better than what's on there now that is still somewhat affordable.

Anyway, just a thought.