Cimplicity OPC and Control Logix

Hello,

I am currently investigating how to establish a connection between an AB Control Logix 5555 PLC and Cimplicity via RsLinx OPC. The goal is to read/write one tag from Cimplicity to the Control Logix PLC. We are running Cimplicity v4.x and RsLogix Gateway along with RsLogix 5000. The current documentation I have available for the Cimplicity and RsLinx programs are limited to the help included in the program. I was wondering if anyone has some references that could guide me through this process or provide me with the information necessary to achieve this task.

Thanks,
Brian

The first thing to do is create a topic in RSlinx (under "DDE/OPC" choose "Topic configuration" then "New"). The topic sets up who (Device) and how (ethernet, serial, etc) you will communicate to with OPC. I am not familiar with simplicity but most OPC clients allow you to browse the OPC server to get tag names. In National Instruments the connection looks like "PLC01.Online.LOOKOUT.'LOOKOUT.DOWNLOAD_001'" where PLC01 is the Topic name Online is the online PLC (vs offline) and LOOKOUT.DOWNLOAD_001 is the actual tag in ControlLogix that you are communicating with.

Sekeeley,

Thanks for the response. The problem I am currently having is the configuration required within the Cimplicity application. I found some documentation on how to setup OPC within RSLinx via DDE/OPC -> Topic Configuration ... menu. However, I do not have any documentation on an OPC connection in Cimplicity through RSLinx. Any other advice?

Sorry, I've never worked with Cimplicity. Doesn't GE have a support hotline that you can call???

The Cimplicity manual you should have is GFK-1181. It's on your Cimplicity CD. At the 4.x level of Cimplicity, the current version of that manual was GFK-1181g. Chapter 19 deals with setting up your Cimplicity application as an OPC client.

If you don't still have your CD, contact me by PM and I can send you a copy of the manual. It's just under 3 meg.

Steve,
Thanks for the info. I just checked out the manual and found that it states the following products are supported:

The following Allen-Bradley devices are supported locally via an Ethernet link:
• Allen-Bradley PLC-5 processors with a built-in Ethernet interface
such as the PLC-5/20E™, PLC-5/40E™, or PLC-5/80E™
• Allen-Bradley PLC-5/250 Pyramid Integrator Systems with an
Ethernet Interface Module (5820-EI)
The following Allen-Bradley devices can be accessed through a 1784-KTX card:
• PLC-5 Family PLCs
PLC-5/12 (1785-LT3), PLC-5/25 (1785-LT2)
• SLC-5/04
The following Allen-Bradley devices can be accessed remotely through a
Pyramid Integrator via a Resource Manager Module (5130-RM1, RM2), or a
KA Data Highway / Data Highway Plus Interface Module (5130-KA).
• PLC-5 Family PLCs
PLC-5/12 (1785-LT3), PLC-5/25 (1785-LT2)
• PLC-2 Family PLCs
PLC-2, 2/20 (LP1), MINI PLC-2, 2/20 (LP2), PLC-2/15, 2/16,
2/17, 2/30, 2/02, 2/05
DH/DH+ interfaces: 1171-KC, 1171-KD, 1771-KA2, 1771-KA,
1771-KA4, 1771-KE, 1771-KF, 1770-KF2, 1771-KG, 1771-KGM,
1785-KA3
• PLC-3 with one of the following DH/DH+ interfaces: 1771-KA,
1775-SA, 1775-SR5, 1775-KA-232, 1775-S5, and 1775-SR5 (new
revisions)
• PLC-5/250
• Supported PLCs via a 1785-KA Bridge using off-link addressing
• SLC-5/04


I don't see the Logix5555 PLC in there at all. Therefore, how should I read the manual to communicate with the Logix5555?


Thanks,
Brian

You can try checking newer versions of the manual for specifics on connecting with ControlLogix. The Cimplicity version you're talking about is around three years old. I don't know exactly when they introduced ControlLogix connectivity. It's possible that you may need a version upgrade.

Try posting your question at the GE Fanuc forum here. There are people there whose knowledge of Cimplicity is deeper and more current than mine.

Steve,

Thanks for all of the help. I will pursue this topic on the GE Faunc website. If anyone else has some input, it would be appreciated. I'll also post a follow-up if I can get this situation figure out.

Thanks,
Brian