Upload documentations

Hi All, i'm totaly new to PLC as they've been around with me for a while. I work as a mechanic in a meat plant and got a chance to learn PLCs which happen to ALL ABs.

I managed to connect to a SLC5/03 and upload the program but, it was all plain relay ladder logic. How to upload a program with all the documentations comes with it? ( I don't have the original copy of the file).

Thank you so much

How to upload a program with all the documentations comes with it? ( I don't have the original copy of the file).

Click to expand...

CLP, the documentation is not stored on the old Allen Bradley PLCs. The only way to get the documentation is to find a copy of the original program, or to recreate the documentation by using other information from drawings, printed copies of the program, or project specifications.

Lancie that is one of my favorite ways to learn a system. Reverse documentation can take months or minutes. Either way you cab learn a lot from the original programmer.

JeffKiper said:

Lancie that is one of my favorite ways to learn a system. Reverse documentation can take months or minutes. Either way you cab learn a lot from the original programmer.

Click to expand...

Yep I have had to do this a few times -
Start with the known names
Inputs then outputs
use the description, not the symbol tags, as these can be changed while the prgogram is still running.
a good way to learn both programming and structure.
Don't hesitate to post a zipped version for help from any of us.

thanks guys, guess i have to do it bit by bit. I was told it could be done using database expot/import, can anyone guide me through this method? Thanks. Please be petient with a newbe..

"I was told it could be done using database expot/import"

No, sorry, it can't...

Documentation, i.e. rung comments, page titles, address descriptions etc., are NOT stored in the PLC, only in the project file.

There is no way you will get any of the original programmers descriptive documentation from the PLC.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that's the way it is...

benjie007 said:

thanks guys, guess i have to do it bit by bit. I was told it could be done using database expot/import, can anyone guide me through this method? Thanks. Please be petient with a newbe..

Click to expand...

The database import/export features are very useful for editing comments, and merging comments from a back up file or old copy of the program with the current one. If you have an old copy of the .rsp file with comments, you can export them from that file, and then import them into the file you have uploaded which is logically accurate.

If you have no backup file with comments, then you will be doing a lot of manual entry. Still, you can go to (in RSLogix5) Tools, Database, ASCII export, and choose the csv tab, and create a csv file with any existing address comments and symbols. Then you can edit to your hearts content, adding all the addresses and their descriptions as you see fit. Excel is a great tool for dealing with the csv file. Then import it back into RSLogix5 later.

Excel has more powerful editing tools like autofill and others that can make creating the documentation go a bit faster than working within the RSLogix editor...if you are good with excel, you will find this process quite useful.

If you import "old" documentation into a "new" rsp file, be aware that any changes that have been made over the years may lead to inaccurate documentation. If few changes have been made, this is not a big deal, on the other hand, having no documentation is often better than having wrong documentation, so go over it carefully before you trust all the comments to be true.

benjie007 what type of documentation do you have for the system? electrical prints, loop sheet, bar napkin with a rough layout on it? the more the better. do you understand the process?

OkiePC said:

having no documentation is often better than having wrong documentation, so go over it carefully before you trust all the comments to be true.

Click to expand...

OkiePC has a good point I have been in several plants where stuff was taken out and the logic was just abandoned. talk about a nightmare I have spent hours following logic that did nothing.

We had a conveyor that wasn't running. The operator has been around the plant forever. He has had every job in the plant probably twice. The HMI showed the conveyor not running and it wasn't. So I used the HMI tag and worked back to the start after hour or so of looking at messaging between plcs I found out that the RIO (PLC5 era) had been taken out several years ago.

first of all, i want to thank you guys for all the impormative replies and this site is the greatest ever.
I found an old documentations of the machine but i don't know how much modification was made over the years.
I was asked to upload the program and get all the documents and datas but it was'nt very successful because i didn't came up with comments.
Now i know how important to manage to keep an offline rss.

You are correct I keep 2 or 3 copies of everything. I like reverse engineering systems. If you are going to work at that plant for a long time get to know the system it will pay off.

Oem

I have this problem on occasion as well. Company likes used equipment or old equipment from other plants. You can contact the OEM and see if they have a copy of the original program. If they do, you can use the compare feature on RSLogix 500 and see what has changed. Sometimes it is not much. It is a good starting point.