live monitoring in excel

hi there.

i have herd that you can monitor your I/O in Excel, i am running logix 500 can enyone tell me how i can do this.

Many Thanks

Corey

petespad said:

hi there.

i have herd that you can monitor your I/O in Excel, i am running logix 500 can enyone tell me how i can do this.

Many Thanks

Corey

Click to expand...

You can do it by setting up DDE through RSLinx. AB encourages using OPC these days, but I am not sure if Excel supports that yet. However, you will need a licensed version of RSLinx to do this, RSLinx Lite does not support DDE/OPC.

So, a couple of questions. What version of Excel are you using, and do you have a licensed version of RSLinx Classic or similar?

Stu....

Hi Stu
I am running a licensed version of RSLinx Classic and Excel 2007.

Cherrs

petespad said:

Hi Stu
I am running a licensed version of RSLinx Classic and Excel 2007.

Cherrs

Click to expand...

Ok, you are in good shape then. The first thing that you need to do is create a DDE/OPC Topic for the PLC you want to gather data from. Open RSLinx, and click on DDE/OPC on the Menu Bar, then select the first choice on the Drop Down "Topic Configuration". It will bring up a Browse Window, drill down to the PLC you want to gather data from, and select that. I am at home, so I am doing this from memory, but I think you have to Right Click the PLC, and look for something like New Topic.

That is far as I can take you right now. I should have asked you what version of RSLinx you are using. I think the newer versions will allow you to monitor the PLC Data Tables, and allow you to select them and do a copy and paste into Excel. I can do a better job on Monday, where I have a PLC to actually do the steps on. There is a way to get RSLinx to create the Path for you, but I can't remember the sequence of steps. It is getting late here, and the old memory isn't what it used to be.

In the mean time, the RSLinx Help might give you some clues. A search here will probably find some examples, if you are in support as AB says, you can search their Knowledgebase, and last but not least Google it.

Stu....

RA also has a technote with a sample application on how this can be done through Excel VBA.

Here is another thread that I found from a quick search here. I can't vouch for its accuracy, but at first blush it seems reasonable.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showpost.php?p=360982&postcount=6

It is from this thread;

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=53107&highlight=slc500+excel

Stu....

Thats really great guys, this is going to make life a bit easier when i am doing commissioning. Works a treat

Just another thing do you think you could Wright back to the PLC through Excel? Like Put a 1 into B3:1/0 from Excel. Just a thought.

Once again Many Thanks.....

petespad said:

Thats really great guys, this is going to make life a bit easier when i am doing commissioning. Works a treat

Just another thing do you think you could Wright back to the PLC through Excel? Like Put a 1 into B3:1/0 from Excel. Just a thought.

Once again Many Thanks.....

Click to expand...

It is possible, but I think you need VBA for that. I have never tried, something else for me to play with on Monday. Use with caution however, maybe try experimenting on an unused Data Area until you get the hang of it.

Stu....

Thanks for that Stu. Look forward to your findings on Monday

thanks.
Corey

The application demo from RA has write feature.

petespad said:

hi there.

i have herd that you can monitor your I/O in Excel, i am running logix 500 can enyone tell me how i can do this.

Many Thanks

Corey

Click to expand...

Hi Corey, if monitor means check I/O values, you can try archie´s approach. it´s free and graphical.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=42656&highlight=archie

Of course you can use excel & rslinx if you desire.

widelto said:

Hi Corey, if monitor means check I/O values, you can try archie´s approach. it´s free and graphical.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=42656&highlight=archie

Of course you can use excel & rslinx if you desire.

Click to expand...

I second this motion. No need for Excel or Linx.

petespad said:

Thanks for that Stu. Look forward to your findings on Monday

thanks.
Corey

Click to expand...

Corey:

As usual, my Monday didn't go as planned. I did get a chance to confirm that you could Right Click the Processor in RSLinx, and Monitor Data. I am not sure when this was added, but I was using RSLinx Version 2.54. I also confirmed you could do a Copy, and then a Paste Special into Excel. If you haven't configured a DDE/OPC Topic, it will create one, but it uses a stupid name. If you have one already, it will use that.

I also found this VBA Code for writing to a PLC from Excel. Again use with caution.

Create a DDE Link to read from the PLC (to see the download take place)

Enter data in the cell or cells you wish to download (in this example, the single cell A1 is used).
Create a button to trigger the download. If you want to use something else to trigger the download, configure it in VBA.
Create a module with the following code and assign it to the button. Substitute the your Linx topic name and source for the ones in the example. ("PLC" and "N7:0")

Sub DDE_Write_RSLinx()
DDEChannel = Application.DDEInitiate(app:="RSLinx", topic:="PLC")
DDEItem = "N7:0"
Set RangeToPoke = Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1")
'Set RangeToPoke = ActiveCell 'Replace above line of code w/ this one to be able to highlight the cell w/ the value to poke
Application.DDEPoke DDEChannel, DDEItem, RangeToPoke
Application.DDETerminate DDEChannel
End Sub

-or-

Sub DDE_Write_RSLinx()
Icomchan = DDEInitiate("RSLinx", "PLC")
DDEPoke Icomchan, "N7:0", Range("[DDETest.xls]RSLinx!A1")
'DDEPoke Icomchan, "N7:0", ActiveCell ' Replace above line of code to be able to highlight the cell w/ the value to poke
DDETerminate (Icomchan)
End Sub

5. Press the button and watch the values download.



Do you have access to the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase? There are a number of examples on there.

Stu....

widelto said:

Hi Corey, if monitor means check I/O values, you can try archie´s approach. it´s free and graphical.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=42656&highlight=archie

Of course you can use excel & rslinx if you desire.

Click to expand...

Archie has created a fantastic Application, and when I get time, I am going experiment with it some more. The only drawback so far, is the limited number of Communications Protocols supported at the moment. I know Archie and others are working hard on this, but it is not a simple thing to do. For instance, I have yet to see good documentation on DH-485. Still, I am very excited about where it is going.

Stu....