Wireless PLC Programming

Is anyone using an In-Plant wireless network between their laptop and PLC's, or LAN system, to program or on-line edit programs?

I was wondering if there were any problems with it?

Loosing DATA, fully operational, any lag time?

I am also a little concerned about the on'line edit aspect, with safety issues. Though, a well designed machine would have stops, and e-stops, if something went errant. I suppose the worst thing would be to have to go into a plant and "kick start" a machine.

Programming robots would be a bit ticky I think, but I've only done those at the robot, itself.

regards.....casey

I used a wireless link to some of our machines until the IT manager banned them. We had no problems with them until that time.

One day the IT manager walked around and confiscated all the wireless switches, didn't tell us he was doing it either, just unplugged them and walked off with them. It didn't matter that they were not a part of the plant network.

We went the rounds with IT over it, but we lost. That was the day we learned to spend the extra money for the industrial rack mount units that don't look like a piece of office network equipment, but we stil don't have any wireless anymore.

The biggest hazard to any well designed industrial control netork is going to be the guys that went to those three month long IT schools who have no clue how to control a piece of equipment coming along and messing with the system. You know the saying: You cannot idiot proof something because idiots are so ingenous.

Just started using it have not had any trouble so far and its good to be able to see what is wrong with a machine when sat in your office and tell a guy such and such sensor has not been made.
Will never do any changes on any machine from the office though will always go to the machine and stand next to it when I hit that enter button.
End of day I would not want someone sat 200 feet away messing about without my knowledge so why should they have that worry.
As for the It issue using they bought it for us and as they dont have to install a load of 10 base points for me to plug into their reasonably happy

Alaric said:

You know the saying: You cannot idiot proof something because idiots are so ingenous.

Click to expand...

IDIOTS: I wish some of the maintenance people could figure out some of the stuph the operators have, when it comes to modifying some machinery.

IT Guys: I am hard pressed to remember if I have ever met an IT guy that I really liked, or at least trusted.

Equipment Removal: I think the taught a class or at least had a magazine artical on it. I have heard of "confiscations" of all types.

One day, they removed ALL non-essential stuph out of the computers at one of the GM plants.

Regularly, they raided the computers in person, or via LAN.

So, for solitare, we brought in the files from home, renamed them, and gave them a different extension, such as rem.1, rem.2, rem.3. A simple batch file would copy the files as sol.exe, etc.

When the game was closed, the bat file would run it's last line of "del sol.*" and everybody was happy.

Guys played solitare, IT didn't find any, and managers had no complaints to deal with.



regards.....casey

I use a wireless LAN whenever possible to do programming and troubleshooting. On one project, I even came up with a special maintenance GUI that runs on a laptop dedicated to the maintenance team. They can walk around the machine (it is enormous, and there is no way to have access to it from one fixed HMI) and perform all manual funtions and read the status for any part of the machine they want. They love it, and it allowed me to get rid of about a dozen touch panels that were in the original design.

I use it regularly and recommend it.
It's great for commissioning/troubleshooting large machines or conveyor systems as you can be 'at the scene' rather than stuck in a control room tethered to the PLC.
Uploads, downloads, edits, firmware upgrades - all OK.
I haven't been able to detect any performance difference between 802.11g wireless and 100Mb wired.

S7Guy said:

On one project, I even came up with a special maintenance GUI that runs on a laptop dedicated to the maintenance team.

Click to expand...

S7Guy,

What did you program the GUI with? VB,C or a RSView type program?

I used it for the first time in early july. The I was working on a customers line with servo drive spaced all along it. I brought along an access point and was able to say online with the PLC while walking around the machine and hooking up to the servos. Worked great and flawlessly.

It was only for a week.

I have several customers around the world who use wireless with no problems whatsoever. We regularly dial into their wireless networks and have even done robot program mods on a dial up via their wireless network!(Yep we're that brave!)
However, I fully reccommend purchasing an ethernet webcam if you plan on doing this on a regular basis, I find it's useful to run through stuff and be able to see what it's doing before handing control back to the customer.
We've been doing this for a couple of years now and with careful planning and plenty of phone calls, we've managed to never screw up anything so bad as to cause damage (Yet).

Good luck.

Do ya mind me asking what wireless hardware you fellas are using? I have an isloted SLC-5/04 mounted on a mobile cart. We'd like to be able to connect our programming laptop to the SLC without having to walk with the machine.

In my case we added the 1785-enet module to the PLC-5 and a switch. With the 5/04 is will be more complicated unless you replace the processor with a 5/05.

Hi Rick,

We normally connect to the SLC using our PCMCIA KT card. I suppose what I'm looking for is reliable point to point wireless hardware that'll tx/rx DH+. Any suggetions?

wildswing said:

Do ya mind me asking what wireless hardware you fellas are using? I have an isloted SLC-5/04 mounted on a mobile cart. We'd like to be able to connect our programming laptop to the SLC without having to walk with the machine.

Click to expand...

Contact your AB distributor. I believe there are AB encompas partneres that offer wireless DH+ solutions. Or you can go with wireless RS-232 adaptors - there are a variety of vendors that offer those.

Wireless ethernet is by far the easiest, but as Rick indicated, you'll have to replace the 5/04 with a 5/05.

glaverty said:

S7Guy,

What did you program the GUI with? VB,C or a RSView type program?

Click to expand...

It was programmed with both VB and VC++, and uses a proprietary driver. But the concept would remain the same even if we used WinCC or an OPC Server, or whatever. Once you have an ethernet connection, it can be done with wireless. I even used an MPI-Ethernet adapter to connect wirelessly with a machine that didn't have a CP card.

To me it seems like the "euphoria" of troubleshooting. To be able to walk down onto the floor and activate a limit, prox etc... and actually watch it in the program would be priceless. I just need to find a laptop case where the guy on shift can carry it around strapped to his tool bag.

I haven't tried it yet because I am afraid of noise in my environment (lots of very big HF equipment everywhere) but plan on trying in the future, when I have time to breathe.