Happy new year 2014!
I have just started working on a 12-120kL/day WWTP that has been run down over a couple of years and has almost no documentation. So like Hercules cleaning the stables I am rolling my sleaves up and digging in. The WWTP is controlled by a Schneider PLC, with access via a Schneider Magelis XBTG2330 HMI. I have never worked with PLCs before so may need to call for expert help in the future when I think about reconfiguration and tuning the WWTP operation, but before I did I wanted to get my head around a really simple issue of data collection.
I have perused a number of manuals but the Schneider website is a minefield to search and locate "how to" information and the manual for the HMI is not clear to me. The HMI has both USB and Ethernet ports free. I would like to be able to collect data off the HMI on how the WWTP is performing.
Q1-If I was to plug a formatted FAT32 USB drive into the HMI would it automatically data dump onto the stick? Q1a - If not do I have to use Vijeo Designer to reprogram the PLC to do data dumps to an "optional" drive such as a USB?
Q2 - Does the data come out in .dat format that I need to convert to .csv so that I can look at it? Q2a - Do I use Vijeo Designer for that conversion also?
Q3 - Does the HMI need to be turned off to disconnect the USB, or can it be unplugged on the fly?
Q4 - If I plug an Ethernet cable in and connect it to a local network, will I be able to interrogate the HMI and obtain data that way? Q4a - Do I use Vijeo Designer to interrogate?
Thankyou for your time for a complete PLC newbie. Any suggestions to a PLC for dummies guide would be handy, though I suspect it Is one of those fields where multiple references and lots of trial and error is involved.
I have just started working on a 12-120kL/day WWTP that has been run down over a couple of years and has almost no documentation. So like Hercules cleaning the stables I am rolling my sleaves up and digging in. The WWTP is controlled by a Schneider PLC, with access via a Schneider Magelis XBTG2330 HMI. I have never worked with PLCs before so may need to call for expert help in the future when I think about reconfiguration and tuning the WWTP operation, but before I did I wanted to get my head around a really simple issue of data collection.
I have perused a number of manuals but the Schneider website is a minefield to search and locate "how to" information and the manual for the HMI is not clear to me. The HMI has both USB and Ethernet ports free. I would like to be able to collect data off the HMI on how the WWTP is performing.
Q1-If I was to plug a formatted FAT32 USB drive into the HMI would it automatically data dump onto the stick? Q1a - If not do I have to use Vijeo Designer to reprogram the PLC to do data dumps to an "optional" drive such as a USB?
Q2 - Does the data come out in .dat format that I need to convert to .csv so that I can look at it? Q2a - Do I use Vijeo Designer for that conversion also?
Q3 - Does the HMI need to be turned off to disconnect the USB, or can it be unplugged on the fly?
Q4 - If I plug an Ethernet cable in and connect it to a local network, will I be able to interrogate the HMI and obtain data that way? Q4a - Do I use Vijeo Designer to interrogate?
Thankyou for your time for a complete PLC newbie. Any suggestions to a PLC for dummies guide would be handy, though I suspect it Is one of those fields where multiple references and lots of trial and error is involved.