PanelBuilder32 PV1000 Touch

Can I overlap a momentary pushbutton with a multi-state indicator?

I want to be able to use a single pushbutton to send a bit to the PLC, let the PLC decide what is the appropriate state for the device and send a display value (integer) to the multi-state indicator.

There will be five states, "Not Selected", "SELECTED" "RUNNING FWD" "RUNNING REV" and "INHIBITED".

I don't want to use a multi-state pushbutton because the PLC will use a lot of other variables to control which state the device displays.

When the system is in MANUAL MODE, the operator will be able to toggle between "Not Selected" and "SELECTED" by touching the button for each conveyor which are laid out graphically to visually match the equipment.

At the bottom of the screen, there are SELECT NONE and SELECT ALL buttons which will affect the state of all of the conveyors. There are also JOG FWD and JOG REV buttons, so the operator can select multiple conveyors and jog them all at once.

Any time a conveyor is moving, the indicator will show the direction, even when the system is running in automatic.

If other factors prevent the motor from being jogged, the INHIBITED state will be displayed when she/he attempts to jog.

I have created one with the momentary PB hidden behind the multi-state indicator, and validated the application without any errors, but I don't want to go test it and find out it won't work correctly.

If the button is hidden behind the indicator, will it still work?

I have about 16 more of them to create in this fashion, but it would be nice to know if I am doing this right before I proceed.

Thanks,
Paul

It's been awhile since I used PB32, but try making the pushbutton "invisible", drag it on top of your multi-state indicator and then use the "send to back" feature which should layer it in behind the multi-state.

I know this works on our PV1500 and iFix scadas, but don't recall using the method on the smaller PV1000C's we have. The 1200 and 1400's were funny about overlapping buttons and multistates--

Good Luck.

Thanks pw3.

I have already handled the graphic aspect without any issues, I just wonder if my hidden button will actually function when I touch the cell. I know from experience that if it's invisible, it won't work, so I did not do that.

I went ahead and finished all my edits offline, and made enough of the PLC changes to test it. I will dump it in the PV1000 tomorrow, (if my Fanuc robot programming goes well and I have the time)...

I will post the results here within a day or two...

Paul

OkiePC said:

Thanks pw3.

I have already handled the graphic aspect without any issues, I just wonder if my hidden button will actually function when I touch the cell. I know from experience that if it's invisible, it won't work, so I did not do that.

Click to expand...

The "goto config" screen pushbutton, I remember, functions while it's invisible. We typically hide them on our main screens. I just don't recall if they can be overlapped with other graphics. Placing a textbox for example on top of a button doesn't typically work, the screen will not validate.

I'll look at it as well next week--we have PB32 loaded on a PC I use.

I made a test screen where I had a numeric overlapping a momentary pushbutton. I used the "send to back" function to layer the button behind the numeric.

I then went into the button's properties (Options-->Turn Object View ON) and turned the object view OFF. The screen validated ok--give it a try.

You could also play with the button's colors, making it the same as the background color so it blends in--

Good Luck!

I stand corrected...invisible buttons DO still function...still haven't downloaded my application with the button behind a multi-state indicator.

I spent the past two days wrestling with Fanuc PalletTool and I am still not done with one of our robots.

Plus, I thought of a more user friendly way to present the graphics but I am not sure if I can make it happen with Panelbuilder...Darn I miss having PanelMates.

It may be a few more days before I can post a fully confirmed result.

Thanks again...