AB FTV 8.1 Application Issues

Just Some Guy · Dec 10, 2015

I'm in the midst of migrating several RSView32 applications to FTV 8.1, and after smashing my head against the wall for the first one and am just one problem away from calling that one complete. I've kept them separate from each other.

1. The first updated application is very slow to update status feedback/indications from the PLC. When you hit an HMI button it is instant, but there's a 2-3 second pause prior to status update - If I run the RSView side by side, it updates instantly? I'm configured through the RSLinx Enterprise shortcuts.

2. That being said, I'm testing the second one and when running the client for the second, the application browses for tags from the first application and gives me 'Timed out reading xxxx from PLC at xxxxx.92' which was from the first application and fills up the diagnostic list?

3. With all the comms configured, I'm only able to access some data from the PLC 5/80, and nothing from the two Micro1400s and 5/40 - this shouldn't be due to limited # of connections at the PLCs since they are only talking to the one RSView application, and they often run more than one PC with the RSView.. thoughts?

4. One two of the conversions, during the migration process I get the following error and the process aborts:
ICE TagDB Synchronization failed (0x800706be)

5. On one of those two, sometimes prior to that error it aborts with this error instead:
Cannot Access a Component in the Framework

Also had an interesting issue FYI
When running the client, and one pop-up is called from the Overview page, the start/stop popup appears, but there is a pause while the hidden items load and then the computer goes white screen and various displays appear including an 'OK' button which does nothing. There is an error:
'Failed to Launch Server Application' pop-up fault but no way to close it or the application (no x) and there is no keyboard to the computer has to be hard-booted.

If editing the application in Studio and 'running' just that pop-up, the computer gets about 3/4 of the way through the status update before it hangs up.
As a comparison, if you pull up the start/stop for any of the conveyors, or equipment etc.. there will be a minor pause, but everything loads ok.

This was actually caused by small .bmps used for the buttons and indications which ran fine on 20 year old technology - RSView32... (a whopping 11k each!) For some wonderful reason the new & improved FTV software cannot process images the same way and hangs up... I had to replace several thousand images to image references manually.

ICE TagDB Synchronization failed (0x800706be).png

Just Some Guy · Dec 16, 2015

Just Some Guy said:
I'm in the midst of migrating several RSView32 applications to FTV 8.1, and after smashing my head against the wall for the first one and am just one problem away from calling that one complete. I've kept them separate from each other.

1. The first updated application is very slow to update status feedback/indications from the PLC. When you hit an HMI button it is instant, but there's a 2-3 second pause prior to status update - If I run the RSView side by side, it updates instantly? I'm configured through the RSLinx Enterprise shortcuts.

Found a thread outlining that HMI tags are slower to update, and had to change the max update speed on each display to suit.

Just Some Guy said:
2. That being said, I'm testing the second one and when running the client for the second, the application browses for tags from the first application and gives me 'Timed out reading xxxx from PLC at xxxxx.92' which was from the first application and fills up the diagnostic list?

?

Just Some Guy said:
3. With all the comms configured, I'm only able to access some data from the PLC 5/80, and nothing from the two Micro1400s and 5/40 - this shouldn't be due to limited # of connections at the PLCs since they are only talking to the one RSView application, and they often run more than one PC with the RSView.. thoughts?

Not sure what's going on with this one... if I disabled the alarms & event support, all of the tags would work, but alarms were gone. Deleted and rebuilt the alarm server and the RSLinx enterprise a couple of times and now it magically works.

Just Some Guy said:
4. One two of the conversions, during the migration process I get the following error and the process aborts:
ICE TagDB Synchronization failed (0x800706be)

5. On one of those two, sometimes prior to that error it aborts with this error instead:
Project Creation: Cannot Access a Component in the Framework

This is an outstanding issue I need an assist with... I've gone through and deleted unused graphics that were in the folders, ensured the tag db was synced prior to conversion, and still no luck?

Project Creation Cannot access a component in the framework.png

curlyandshemp · Dec 16, 2015

i feel your pain, I am going through the same thing converting an RSView32 app to FTSE.

One thing I have found, if you are using VBA to read any Contrologix tags through an OPC server, such as Rslinx, best to create derived tags and attach those derived tags to PLC tags.
For whatever reason the VBA code is very slow reading PLC tags via OPC. Even RSView32 has this issue.
Example, I have a file in the Contrologix PLC that represents up to 26 ingredients of a running recipe, to view the status on an RSView screen, VBA script loops through the Contrologix file to pick up 26 records, with each recording containing fields for Ingredient# , Bin #, Setpoint, Actual and Status.

VBA code reading those 26 records through OPC took over 20 seconds to load onto the RSView screen. When I changed the VBA to loop through memory tags that were actually derived tags connected to PLC tags, the screen only took 1 second to load.

FTSE has the same issue, so it has to be the VBA reading OPC tags.

Paullys50 · Dec 16, 2015

curlyandshemp said:
VBA code reading those 26 records through OPC took over 20 seconds to load onto the RSView screen. When I changed the VBA to loop through memory tags that were actually derived tags connected to PLC tags, the screen only took 1 second to load.

Something to consider, and I'm pulling this from a project that was done years ago so memory is a bit faded. We came into an existing RSView32 system and during some upgrades we were asked to improve the RSView32 recipe downloads to the PLC. There was a lot of batching, and recipes were stored in an SQL database. The VBA grabbed the SQL data and sent them to the PLC tags, individually.

This was incredibly slow, what you want to do is put an entire tag folder 'on scan', and set the tag values within that folder that you want to write to as pending values. Once you write all of your pending values, set the data in the entire tag folder rather than individual tags.

Prior to our changes it could take almost 3 minutes to download all the recipe values, after it was only 15-30 seconds. Still 'slow' in comparison to other methods but a substantial improvement.

Basic Example:

Code:

' --------------------------------------------------------
' This subroutine clears the lotcodes on the Batch screen
Sub ClearLotCodes(screenname)
    Dim oTags As Tags
    
    Set oTags = gTagDb.QueryForTags("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\*", roIncludeAll)
    oTags.ScanOn roWait
    
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma1lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma2lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma3lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma4lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma5lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma6lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma7lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma8lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma9lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma10lot1").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma1lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma2lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma3lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma4lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma5lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma6lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma7lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma8lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma9lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma10lot2").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma1lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma2lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma3lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma4lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma5lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma6lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma7lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma8lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma9lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.Item("Batch\" & screenname & "\Recipe\ma10lot3").PendingValue = " "
            oTags.WritePendingValues roWait
            
    oTags.ScanOff
    Set oTags = Nothing
End Sub

Just Some Guy · Dec 17, 2015

Just Some Guy said:
This is an outstanding issue I need an assist with... I've gone through and deleted unused graphics that were in the folders, ensured the tag db was synced prior to conversion, and still no luck?

Ahhhhh gotta love AB... So after trying a few other things, I rebuilt the RSView applications by importing the graphics, tags, events, macros, etc.. and what do you know? Now it converts.... SMH! Thanks for the feedback, I've gotta deal with some batching in one of the upcoming apps, so I'll keep the advice in mind

AB FTV 8.1 Application Issues

Just Some Guy

Member

Just Some Guy

Member

curlyandshemp

Lifetime Supporting Member

Paullys50

Lifetime Supporting Member

Just Some Guy

Member

Similar Topics