Rockwell - Tag Retention Tool?

Happy Friday All!!

Question:
Does anyone know of a Rockwell tool available that will retain tag values during a PLC download?

Scenario:

Where I work we have several processes that build up important data that's stored in the controller in different tables.
Current controller = L83 5580

This data is used for more accurate part placement or for part treatment optimizations. - I'll set up a range and over time the process will be driven to the best value within that range.

The plant runs 24hrs - and frequently, when the machines **** the bed, one of the responding technicians will download the code from our software repository.

At that point we take a step back in process refinement (sometimes 6 months, sometimes years) to whenever the last upload was taken.

Ideally I'd like to specify a few hundred tags that don't get overwritten in a download.
Or even a tool to upload those specific values prior to the DL to retain the "last known" good data.

Thanks----Mike

Assuming that the PLC is not the cause of the mess when it happens, and that the battery backup is working so the program is not lost, then why do the technicians re-download the same software and expect it to fix anything?

That is your root cause: fix that; they are costing the business money by their poor choices.

If those data tables are important, pull them out to electronic storage, ala a database/historian and provide a means to re-download just those values.

It would also give you some level of visibility into changes, trends.

Level said:

Happy Friday All!!

Question:
Does anyone know of a Rockwell tool available that will retain tag values during a PLC download?

Scenario:

Where I work we have several processes that build up important data that's stored in the controller in different tables.
Current controller = L83 5580

This data is used for more accurate part placement or for part treatment optimizations. - I'll set up a range and over time the process will be driven to the best value within that range.

The plant runs 24hrs - and frequently, when the machines **** the bed, one of the responding technicians will download the code from our software repository.

At that point we take a step back in process refinement (sometimes 6 months, sometimes years) to whenever the last upload was taken.

Ideally I'd like to specify a few hundred tags that don't get overwritten in a download.
Or even a tool to upload those specific values prior to the DL to retain the "last known" good data.

Thanks----Mike

Click to expand...

You can set up an OPC server with a DB to always historize the values on an external PC. When you are in trouble, use the DB to then write these values back to the PLC.

There are also automatic backup options possible. Assetcentre is one, but takes a lot of infrastructure.

Also, you seem to have a top of the line PLC. What FW are you running? Rockwell is releasing a Logix Designer SDK for V34+. You can contact them for a pre-release preview if you like. This will allow you to do "programmatically open, close, save, download / merge upload, upload to a new project, and change the controller mode programmatically"

Also, if you have a plantwide factorytalk directory setup, you can also restrict people from downloading by their windows logon/password.

drbitboy said:

One other thing: assuming that the PLC is not the cause of the mess when it happens, and that the battery backup is working to the program is not lost, then why do the technicians re-download the same software and expect it to fix anything?
.

Click to expand...

At my first job, this used to be a big problem. When ACD files get too far away in age to the processor with online changes, they fail to correlate and the techs are forced to upload. Due to a likely lack of training or experience, they end up doing a download by mistake, causing the program to be overwritten by an outdated ACD file.

drbitboy said:

Assuming that the PLC is not the cause of the mess when it happens, and that the battery backup is working so the program is not lost, then why do the technicians re-download the same software and expect it to fix anything?

That is your root cause: fix that; they are costing the business money by their poor choices.

Click to expand...

+1


What exactly happens that a program download is needed? Whatever the answer, fix that.

Working for another company, I implemented a script in Crimson (Red Lion HMI software), that would save the PLC tag values to HMI tag values before the PLC program download, and then another script to load those saved values back to the PLC tags, after the PLC download.
I think there's a PLC software that lets you decide if want to overwrite tags values or not during the program download. Is that Productivity Suite?