RMA
Member
I'm back in Rossendorf this week, trying to make a bigger bang, as usual and I've noticed our ProTool HMI PC has developed a strange quirk. Actually, it's had the quirk since day one, but it's suddenly got worse.
This is the second screen of the login sequence -
On this screen the two Logon Buttons, the Logoff Button and the "Zurück" (go back to previous screen) Button have low priorty levels. All the others have various levels above the normal user Logon level of "3". The visibility of these other buttons is also linked to the Priority Level the User logs on with. From day one, if a User logged on with a high priority, which like any other logon caused a jump to this second screen, regardless of the priority level, the high priority level buttons remained invisible. To make them visible, it was necessary to logon using one of the two red Buttons and then use the "go back" Button on the new screen to come back to this screen where - lo and behold - the high level Buttons were now visible.
I never found either the cause or a cure for this behaviour, but since it was absolutely dependable, decided to live with it and passed it off as a feature
during the commissioning phase!
Now, however, the situation has deteriorated to the point where it is necessary to move back and forth between the screens and then to react swiftly when the protected Buttons occasionally blink briefly onto the screen.
The curious thing is that the Laptop Ethernet access Station has developed a similar behaviour. Buttons allowing access to certain parts of the system which are only available above level 8, blink briefly onto the screen for one or two seconds before disappearing again. If you're quick enough, they still work, but it doesn't make life more comfortable!
In my opinion, the fact the problem is apparent on two different HMIs would seem to indicate a programming problem in the PLC, but:
1) I ain't been here for six months
2) The PLC is Password protected (during the guarantee period)
3) The Online/Ofline compare throws up no differences
4) The problem appears only to have been around for a few weeks or maybe a couple of months
Has anybody ever seen anything like or have any idea where the problem might lie?
One think I'm wondering about is whether the PC may be overloaded. It hasn't been defragged since it was delivered to site about a year-and-a-half ago and the CPU never goes under about 50% load, which I've never seen before - however, I can't remember how it looked a year ago.
I'll be grateful for any suggestions.
Cheers
Roy
This is the second screen of the login sequence -
On this screen the two Logon Buttons, the Logoff Button and the "Zurück" (go back to previous screen) Button have low priorty levels. All the others have various levels above the normal user Logon level of "3". The visibility of these other buttons is also linked to the Priority Level the User logs on with. From day one, if a User logged on with a high priority, which like any other logon caused a jump to this second screen, regardless of the priority level, the high priority level buttons remained invisible. To make them visible, it was necessary to logon using one of the two red Buttons and then use the "go back" Button on the new screen to come back to this screen where - lo and behold - the high level Buttons were now visible.
I never found either the cause or a cure for this behaviour, but since it was absolutely dependable, decided to live with it and passed it off as a feature
during the commissioning phase!Now, however, the situation has deteriorated to the point where it is necessary to move back and forth between the screens and then to react swiftly when the protected Buttons occasionally blink briefly onto the screen.
The curious thing is that the Laptop Ethernet access Station has developed a similar behaviour. Buttons allowing access to certain parts of the system which are only available above level 8, blink briefly onto the screen for one or two seconds before disappearing again. If you're quick enough, they still work, but it doesn't make life more comfortable!
In my opinion, the fact the problem is apparent on two different HMIs would seem to indicate a programming problem in the PLC, but:
1) I ain't been here for six months
2) The PLC is Password protected (during the guarantee period)
3) The Online/Ofline compare throws up no differences
4) The problem appears only to have been around for a few weeks or maybe a couple of months
Has anybody ever seen anything like or have any idea where the problem might lie?
One think I'm wondering about is whether the PC may be overloaded. It hasn't been defragged since it was delivered to site about a year-and-a-half ago and the CPU never goes under about 50% load, which I've never seen before - however, I can't remember how it looked a year ago.
I'll be grateful for any suggestions.
Cheers
Roy
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