Simple program change S7 (yeah right!!)

Hello everyone...

I have got another customer... (someday it will take more the one hand to count them ) they asked me could I make a program change to an older S7 314, sure I told them, what they asked me to do would be simple

So I bought a MPI cable and I purchased the software, the time for the change came, I pluged in the laptop, search for the settings

The only MPI that I can find is for the Simulator??

I don't have the program, I only need to change the address on two inputs

I went to options/set PG/PC interface the screen pops up and no interface for the MPI, so I click on the select (add/remove)and I thought I needed the CP5611?? but when I click on it I can not install it (see pic below)

So.... how screwed up am I?? is there an easy way to go on line?

many thanks (again)
Mark

PC Adapter or plug in dongle

Hi! If you have a RS232 to MPI cable then you need to install the PC Adapter - if you have a 5611 then put the dongle and then try and install - somehow the card isn't recognized until the dongle is plugged in??? Hope that helps

sylent said:

Hi! If you have a RS232 to MPI cable then you need to install the PC Adapter - if you have a 5611 then put the dongle and then try and install - somehow the card isn't recognized until the dongle is plugged in??? Hope that helps

Click to expand...

Yes I have a RS232 to MPI cable, how do I install the adapter?? not sure what the 5611 is but I don't have a dongle, the license was transferred to the hard drive, (if thats what you are talking about)

I will go search siemens website....

thank you

OK so no I don't have the 5611

I do think I need to install the MPI adapter, just need to figure out how...

I tried looking there for the MPI as that is where I choose the PPI for the 200's so I just thought that the MPI would also be there

I will keep looking thanks

In Simatic Manager go to Options -> PG/PC Interface then go to the SELECT button and add the PC Adapter - once that is a selection for you go to properties and select com port or USB - if you have the USB cable there should have been a CD that came with the drivers. You may want to select PC Adapter(Auto) make sure that PG/PC is the only master in the properties - but Auto will kind of do a baud rate check on the network typically MPI is 187.5, but can be altered... Also on the side of the PC Adapter there is a baud rate switch - nearly invisible that selects your LOCAL RS232 side baud rate which can be either 19.2 or 38.4 you set that up under properties(Local Port)

WHOHOOOO!!!

Thank you very much

I looked at that one but I thought it would of said MPI...now to the easy part

Thanks again
Mark

Have I told you how much I have PLCs with non standard interfaces today?

I don't see why you guys put up with it. So much time and energy wasted. Today there is no excuse for using something other than RS232 ( obsolete but standard ), USB, or Ethernet for programming. So how many millions of dollars are these non-standard programming leads ( I like the English term ) costing the world? What benefit do they have over Ethernet or USB?

I know I am not any help but perhaps you should consider charging more for programming PLCs with non-standard interfaces to offset the cost of the special leads and the extra hassle it takes to make them work.

Over the life time of a product using non-standard leads what is the cost of using non-standard leads? Could it be mroe than the PLC itself. In that case you couldn't give me the PLC that uses non-standard leads.

I just get tired of seeing these self inflicted wounds. I get tired of customers sharing the pain of their screwed up communications systems with me. Keep it simple, keep it standard. The future belongs to USB and Ethernet.

I have felt your pain. You know I have but I don't feel sorry for you in the least bit. Hopefully you charged more for your pain and agony.

Hi Peter, (we have not crossed paths for a while)

I could not agree with you anymore but we are at the mercy of the manufactures, they make the toys and we play with them, since the MPI is the only standard communication with the 300 series I have no choice

The Mitsubishi is the only PLC that I know of that uses just the standard USB cable, if you need one you can go to any store and get one, I am torn on this as I make cables and sell them so this could kill my business (long term) but from the programming service stand point it would be nice and it would keep my backpack weight down to a minimum


Thanks for your empathy...the bad part, it’s a free-bee, I want to get into here so its to show them that I can fill their programming/automation needs

Mark

geniusintraining said:

Hi Peter, (we have not crossed paths for a while)

I could not agree with you anymore but we are at the mercy of the manufactures, they make the toys and we play with them, since the MPI is the only standard communication with the 300 series I have no choice

Click to expand...

No you aren't!!!! You can't believe the influence that this forum can have.

Here is an example.

As you know I make motion controllers. We are a small company of about 25 people that competes with the world. We see Bosch Rexroth as being the biggest competitor. How is that for big? Any way I like to stick a finger in their eye whenever I can. I know they are bigger and have sales all over the world but I know we can win where ever we compete. For years Bosch has sold non-linear valves. These valves were a major pain in the rear because we would always get tech support calls when the system didn't tune up right. We told the customers it was due to Bosch Rexroth's valves. Back in 2004 or maybe 2003 we developed auto tuning. As far as I know we are the only ones that have a true hydraulic auto tuning. Rockwell has auto tuning for the M02AS and HYD02 but it uses a motor algorithm for the M02AE which may not work in the more diffcult cases. Auto tuning requires a linear valve. Since we developed auto tuning the customers put a lot of pressure Bosch Rexroth to make linear valves that can be auto tuned. Now Bosch Rexroth sells linear valves as an option and it cost little if any more.

You can't believe the pressure I have had from our sales marketing guys and engineers to make our controller work better with the non-linear Bosch Rexroth valves. My marketing guys told me that that Bosch Rexroth had a controller that would compensate for the non-linearity of the valves. This was like selling the disease and then selling the cure. We could make valve linearization tables so that our controller could compensate as well as the Bosch Rexroth controller but that would screw up the auto tuning. Our marketing guys look at Bosch Rexroth and see a giant that can swallow a Delta with little effort yet I have have stood my ground for the past years because it was the right engineering decision and right for the customers. The customers agreed with me and voted for linear valves that could be auto tuned. I don't see why Bosch couldn't make linear valve when others could like Moog or HR Textron.

This battle has been waged by me alone. My marketing guys didn't and haven't agreed with me yet, I have engineers that have made valve linearization tables that work to conform with the non-linear Bosch Rexroth valves but I have refused to make it part of our product. The customers have backed me up where my own people have not. Yes I am pig headed and stubborn as a stump, but I think I have won on this point. I have distributors that sell both my product and Bosch Rexroth and they say they will buy the linear valves.

This forum can have a lot on influence on the PLC manufacturers but you all must be united. By yourself you are only one customer. I had a big advantage with my battle with Bosch Rexroth. I/we controlled a large percentage of the market in north america so I/we couldn't be ignored even though I had to drag the 'we' along with me.

At some point the customers are going to know that they are being screwed and being sold an inferior ( non-linear ) product.

Now I challenge any of the PLC manufacturers to provide a good reason to have proprietory PLC leads. The Siemens management in Germany like the Bosch Rexroth people know who I am. I am sticking a finger in their eye because I think we all deserve a response for why they insist on wasting our time and money.

You must be all be stubborn as a stump and insist the product works for you and not the other way around.

The post is triggered by the non-intuitiveness of dialogs in STEP7. I cannot see the direct relation to that "MPI is bad", to my opinion MPI is obsolete but for its time it was a choice Siemens had to make, and the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.
Basically MPI is at it is because it had to be RS485, and it had to be able to be run without adding a dedicated communications co-processor to the main CPU.
The customers have allready voted, and the outcome is that the combination of S7-300 and MPI is (was ?) a winner.

Today Siemens cannot dump MPI, even if they wanted to.
S7-300 is one of their core automation products, and on the S7-300 MPI is part of the backplane bus.
It is noticable that on the ET200S CPUs there is not this constraint, and lo and behold, they have just released an ethernet-only CPU, the IM151-8.

I do genereally not aggree that the everything from the PC world should be copied into the PLC world. Though it seems inevitable that in the long run PLCs will become PCs.

RS232 belongs to the history books.
MPI also belongs to the history books, but it will be on the S7-300 platform forever.
USB is not a good idea for PLCs.
Ethernet is a very good idea for PLCs and should be mandatory.

Yes, Ethernet is now a good idea. And as far as I see, most of the newer PLC have that option.
But the thing is, that we still don't know what will it be in 2 years... or more... the next thing is to start complaining that the PLC didn't come with wireless, because my laptop don't come anymore with a connector for a wired Ethernet.... and so on...

I rarely use anything else other than ethernet to connect these days.

I'm off to a job this week, where on-site last week I used their PC, this communicated via Modbus on a network shared between 6 PLC's with global data being bandied about.

This was very slow and coupled with using Proworx to program was very risky (it screwed up 1 network with corruption, well thats Proworx for you).

This week, I'm going plug an ethernet card in, just for the programing changes I have to make, faster and easier.