Beer keg washer

Hi,
I am new to this site and really new to PLC prgramming. I use a program called DirectSoft 5.
The machines work well but there are a few things I would like to improve upon. Noiw to my question.
Is there a way to hook up a laptop to the PLC in the control panel of the washing machine and run through the washing program and actually view it onscreen as it runs in real time? This would really be helpful in locating where the glitches are?
Appreicate any help...
Brgds,
David Meadows
Brewhouse Tech
Technobrew
San Diego, CA

Yes there is, if you have a copy of the program on you laptop now you get the documation of the program but if you upload the program out of the PLC you will not. Do you have the programming cable?

Yes... short answer

Do you have the cable? do you have the software?(real not demo) and do you have a copy of the program?

You can try to click on the connect under PLC then you can click on status after you are on line, do you have the manuals?

They are very good, go to www.automationdirect.com and up load the manual for your model

A little confused

I really appreciate the quick answers. Thanks. But, I am a little confused. I do have the cable, the licensed software and all...
I have already uploaded the program onto the PLC. Do I need to erase the program from the PLC and then connect from the software GUI with the program on the harddrive?
Dave

Don't erase program from PLC. So you can connect to the PLC right, now you want to see the bits change state right. On tool bar click Debug than statis and you will watch the bits change state (a little slow)as the machine is running.

I think what you need is the Directsoft Quickstart Guide. Although this is for version 4 of Directsoft it is still applicable. See pages 17 to 27.

One more thing to add to GIT and Rich's advice.
Menu item Debug then Status or Ctrl+Shift+S
It's greyed out in my picture because I am not online.
Good luck

(oops I see they both did say to click on Status, well at least I showed you where it is

This can be a little confusing for newcomers.

Always keep in mind which device is doing which task.

When you download the program from the laptop to the PLC you are in effect copying the logic from the laptop memory to the PLC memory. When you hit "run" on the PLC it performs the I/O reads and the logic inside its own processor. The laptop still has its copy of the logic, but it isn't running it, the PLC is. You can disconnect the laptop and the PLC continues its control functions.

When you come back to the PLC and re-connect your laptop to it the prgram is still executing in the PLC. You have merely opened up the laptop's copy of the logic. When you monitor the PLC with the laptop the PLC continues to execute - it doesn't care if the laptop is there or not.

When you monitor the status of the logic on your laptop screen the laptop software is merely reading the actual status of the PLC memory and displaying it on the laptop screen. The PLC is still doing the work, and the laptop is just letting you peek in and see what is going on.

If this is a new PLC, make sure it is run mode.

survival tip:

if you have a spare system, connect to it first and play (oops! I mean EXPERIMENT) ... hook up a few input switches and just tinker around ... you'll learn a LOT more that way - once you're not concerned about messing up a working system ...

A little off topic, but if you need help finding empty kegs to test the washer I'm sure we would be more than glad to help in the emptying of the kegs. :beerchug"

Chug- a-lug

Anolther round for the guys please

I like Ron's suggestion get a spare PLC to experiment with, you can get a little DL05 starting at $99.00 US. That is dirt cheap for the learning curve, the alternatives could be very costly.!!!

Round two

Ok, I had the P:C in run mode and connected from my laptop to the PLC. I then chose status from the debug menu and ran the ptogram from the machine. I did not see anything happening on the screen? I need to see whats going on in order to pinpoint where in the code that I can make changes....
This is all very confusing to me..
Dave.

P.S. for those of you who are thirsty.......let me know when your in SD.

There are many things that can be monitored in the relay ladder program by simply clicking the​

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Status button on the online toolbar. Clicking on the Status button will either turn ON the monitor mode of the relay ladder view or turn it OFF. You can watch inputs and outputs turn ON/OFF, monitor counters and timers and the status of compare contacts. Notice that each element in the example below is backlit. The backlighted element means that the input or output is ON. ​

A good tool for monitoring the program is a​

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Data View window. Data View will allow you to monitor and manipulate the status and data for the various elements and memory locations used in the program. If you have programmed in other languages before, you may know this type of window as a Watch Window. You can access this window by clicking on Debug > Data View, and New. The following is an example of a Data View window for a typical program. When you open a new Data View, DirectSOFT32 automatically provides a title for the window. These Data View windows are by default assigned the names Data1, Data2, etc. in order. You can change these names in the Options dialog of View from the main menu bar. ​

Monitor the Ladder​

View ​

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A good tool for monitoring the program is a​

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This is from the Direct Soft Quick Start Guide. But first are you sure that you can even connect to the PLC? Did you go through the

Establish the Communication Link​

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Direct​

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SOFT32 Programming Software Quick–start Manual, 5th Edition, 8/02 beginning with section 17?





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