Codesys HMI with AB PLC

Using Codesys HMI with AB PLC



I'm sure this somehow possible to do this but how practical is it to do this and has anyone done it?

What model HMI and Software are you using? What model PLC is it? I have done this using an Eaton HMI and Galileo with ease. It's just a matter of selecting a different driver, but I was also using a tag based CLX type system over Ethernet.

Vanilla Codesys Linux Runtime, or maybe IFMs new Codesys HMIs

Well we use Compact Logix, so it is all tag based.

Yeah I'm wondering if I can do it all based on Tags, and also if I can import tags from the PLC or from a .l5X file. Also are Structs/UDTs supported over EIP in codesys?

When I tried it, I was using native tag types. I don't have an answer on structures and UDT's, but I think that also comes down to your programming environment.

what do you mean native tag types? Native to Codesys? or just that they aren't user-defined?

Not user defined. Now that I think about your question a little more, Do you mean using the Visualisation in CoDeSys to communicate with AB PLC's?

Well using Codesys Visualization as an HMI for another PLC. In this case a AB Compact Logix PLC.
So yeah it would need to communicate with the AB PLC with Ethernet/IP

Ok, disregard what I've posted. My experience was with V2 and V3.5 SP7, prior to the addition of the CoDeSys HMI line of features. The in-built visualisation would not have done it in 2 and 3 though, because it did not support external targets or relevant drivers.

Hello theColonel26: Codesys supports both EtherNet/IP scanner and EtherNet/IP adapter. The EtherNet/IP scanner function is supported with the basic license but the EtherNet/IP adapter requires an additional license. You can configure the EtherNet/IP adapter with the maximum IO that the CIP specification allows I think (500 bytes or so both ways). When you write the Codesys program, the adapter IO configuration has the option to generate a customized EDS file for the configuration of the CompactLogix scanner. I found this configuration very easy to do. I have not done the opposite (CompactLogix as an adapter and Codesys as the scanner), but I guess it should be possible. Neither of these are tag based solutions, so you have to write code to move data from your CompactLogix tags to the desired location on the Coodesys adapter's IO tags.


Another option is to use a software such as Softing's dataFEED which can talk to Codesys' OPC UA server (supported by default) through dataFEED's OPC UA Client, and to CompactLogix though EtherNet/IP symbolic messaging. dataFEED can do this client to client communication and has a very good data exchange function to exchange data between two dissimilar data sources, triggered y by timers, etc. Really powerful. This would be tag based communication, but of course if you do not have already a Windows PC as part of the system this one solution is not that cost effective.
I hope you may find this useful.

Thanks Alfredo, for clarity can you elaborate on what the difference is between the Include E/IP Scanner and the add on E/IP Adapter?

OK, I try to elaborate. If on Codesys you add the EIP Scanner option, then CompactLogix must be the target of Codesys EIP scanner. I have never done this so I do not even know if it is possible. I would only recommend you to try to do this if you cannot buy the additional license for Codesys. One of the screenshots (20200522_PLCTALK01.png) elaborates on this option **not yet tested by me**, so there is much to figure out, and I do not recommend this approach, because normally CompactLogix is a scanner.
The other approach I have tried and find this works. In this case Codesys is the target of any EtherNet/IP scanner such as CompactLogix. The screen shots 20200522_PLCTALK02.png explains a little the configuration for Codesys. As I said, I have purchased the EIP adapter license for Codesys EIP and was able to confirm this works. I also upload a sample Codesys program for you. Unfortunately the documentation for this functionality is not the greatest 3S document, as you will notice. it took me a while to get it right the first time. I will be happy to further explain if this information is not enough. I am not sure this one EIP adapter option works in demo mode, but I think it does not. I hope this is useful for you.

By the way, the required license for the Codesys Ethernet/IP adapter functionality is EUR 100.00. Details in link below:
https://store.codesys.com/codesys-ethernet-ip-adapter.html
Datasheet available in link below:
https://store.codesys.com/attachments/files/download/id/8692/

ooooh ok the difference makes sense now, thank you.


I don't think there would be anything wrong with using the Codesys EIP Scanner (Master) and having the PLC act as the slave. That relation is done on a per connection basis as far as I know. This is how most HMIs interact with Compact Logix PLCs.


Thanks I will keeping looking in to it.

Hello. Good to know this was helpful.

Please note, the HMIs I have worked with act as a CIP client using Logix symbolic messaging, which is explicit messaging (either connected or unconnected). The scanner adapter communication is implicit messaging and would require configuration of the adapter connection on logix. With symbolic tag messageing there is no need to do configuration in logix for the communication with the CIP client. Further, whereas a normal HMI can access all tags in logix, the scanner can only access the tags for the adapter connection.

I hope this helps.

As AlfredoQuintero noted, connections from an HMI are USUALLY explicit connections, in effect peer-to-peer connections. There really is no master/slave relationship. I don't know what your system comes with for native drivers. Often, the connection is run through a tag server of some type, especially when the HMI is "third party" and needs to support multiple protocols from multiple manufacturers. My guess is this is the way that the Codesys HMI is designed to interface with a non-Codesys plc. I just don't know if the install you are using comes with a stand-alone com server, if the functionality is built in to the install or if no com server is provided at all.

Keith