Controllogix & Factory Talk ME Communications

I am struggling to set up communication between Panelview 1000 Compact Plus and Controllogix PLC. I simply want to create an I/O field to send a speed reference to a drive I have setup. I am trying to communicate to the HMI via the onboard ethernet port and already have a drive communicating via Ethernet IP. The manual (which I find nearly useless) talks about different OPC server options but regardless I simply can't associate tags between the PLC and HMI.

Anyone able to point me in the right direction. I find this software(particularly factory talk) very difficult to use and not at all intuitive. Please help if you can.

Linx enterprise

Have you setup the path to the control logix in RSlinx enterprise?
In the explorer tree on left of FTVME go to RSLinx Enterprise, Communication setup

I have run the wizard associated with RSLinx Enterprise if that is what you mean. When I do I can see my development path and my runtime path. I can see devices on the ethernet network but regardless of what object I select, I can see no tags in the tag browser...just system tags.

You clicked apply on the control logix to set the path in enterprise?
Try right clicking in the tag browser and selecting refresh all folders.

I'm not sure what you mean by "clicked apply on the control logix to set the path in enterprise". This could point to a basic problem. Do I need to define my tag in RSLogix 5000 as associated with RSLinx Enterprise or something? As far as refreshing goes, I worked on this all afternoon the liklyhood is that if it was an issue of refreshing I surely would have seen it at some point.

Do I need to do anything re:RSLinx Enterprise withing RSLinx Classic...since Classic is what I have used to define all other drivers so far?

RSLinx Enterprise is the default data provider for FactoryTalk View applications. It is configured only within FactoryTalk View Studio and FactoryTalk Administration Console.

It is totally separate and distinct from RSLinx Classic, in which you configure drivers to be used with programs like RSLogix 5000.

RSLinx Enterprise Shortcuts are very similar to RSLinx Classic OPC Topics; in fact, you need to be sure that Shortcuts and OPC Topics aren't named the same.

You need to create a Shortcut in RSLinx Enterprise, and associate it with a controller both in the Development and the Runtime tabs. If you're developing on the same network you'll be running on, you can use the handy "Copy" tab to copy the RSLinx Enterprise driver and node schema from Development to Runtime.

Once you have a properly configured Shortcut, you should be able to browse the tags in the controller using the FactoryTalk Tag Browser inside FTView Studio.

You can also associate an offline RSLogix 5000 file with the Shortcut (you'll see that at the bottom of the configuration window) so you don't have to be physically connected to the network to browse for tags.

Maybe this link can help you, here you can see what Ken Roach has explained to you

Thank you for the information so far.
I have my network setup now with my development laptop, Panelview 1000 Compact Plus, ABB Drives all connected via a switch to a Controllogix integrated ethernet port. The drive is communicating with the Ethernet IP protocol. When I run the wizard and see my development tab I see all devices I am currently connected to (including the drive). Should I use the copy in this case or just manually setup the runtime tab to include only the controllogix processor (via backplane etc.)?

I suggest to use the Copy button, that makes the configuration easier... you may want to remove the unneeded nodes from the list in the Runtime tab later (suggested)

- fuzzy logic

Thank you all for your responses. One last thing before I go into the office and try this again...is there anything about my setup (as described in post #8) that may prevent the controllogix<>Panelview 1000 CP from communicating. E.g. the fact that I have the drives communicating EIP, laptop communicating to controllogix for programming/monitoring?

Short answer could be: "don't care", but it could be an hasty answer.

Really it depends by many factors, i.e number of connected Ethernet/IP nodes, type of communication between nodes and processor (multicast/unicast), traffic over the network, free(available) CIP connections in the controller, type of used Ethernet/IP switch (managed/unmaged) and its configuration if managed, etc...
One of the beasts that could harm the communication in the PVP could be the unwanted multicast traffic, generated by other nodes on the network... if there are few nodes, it could be not an issue, but it should be taken into consideration.

If the network is correctly sized and configured, no problem about the fact you will be online with the controller through programming software and other devices are also communicating with it.

More expert users will give you other infos and opinions, these are just my two cents on the matter...

- fuzzy logic

Thank you Fuzzy. I think the traffic is quite light. I have only 1 drive, 1 panel and my laptop for programming/monitoring...that's it. I only ask this question because there is the following blurb in the Factory talk manual:

"If you use RSLinx Enterprise, you cannot use Logix5000 with an Ethernet connection to connect to other Allen-Bradley devices or bridge to DH+ or Remote I/O networks. If you need to do this,use RSLinx Classic."

I see, it should be ok.

About the statement you've mentioned, it is related to a different communication, using Logix as a bridge from Ethernet to another kind of network; there are some limitations inside RSLinx Enterprise compared to RSLinx Classic... it isn't your case.

- fuzzy logic