Some background: We have two assembly machines in house that make a part that gets crimped by deforming the top of a cylinder. We use a LVDT with some tooling to examine the step height from the top of the crimp to the next component that is captured by the crimp and our operators use gauge pins to examine the diameter all to ensure compliance within limits.
I want to install a 3D sensor to perform the checks. I have a few picked out that show promise. The issue is the current level of communication on the machines which is DH-485 (currently only between an HMI and PLC). We have SLC 5/03's installed with some remote I/O as well. The leading sensor candidate that we are considering to purchase uses ASCII protocol over either ethernet or serial communication.
How do I get actual values from the sensor to the PLC for display on the HMI? I spoke to our controls engineer yesterday and he thinks a 'Basic' module like 1746-BAS-T would likely have to be added to the rack to capture the data and communicate with the sensor.
The goal is for an operator to examine the HMI for maybe a running average of the crimp or a measurement history so that they would be able to tell if the tooling is hitting too hard or not hard enough.
The controls engineer was also considering the possibility of swapping the 5/03's for 5/05's and upgrading to ethernet. Is there an advantage to this other than speed?
If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Any help is appreciated! My apologies in advance if I don't respond to questions directly. We're pretty busy here.
I want to install a 3D sensor to perform the checks. I have a few picked out that show promise. The issue is the current level of communication on the machines which is DH-485 (currently only between an HMI and PLC). We have SLC 5/03's installed with some remote I/O as well. The leading sensor candidate that we are considering to purchase uses ASCII protocol over either ethernet or serial communication.
How do I get actual values from the sensor to the PLC for display on the HMI? I spoke to our controls engineer yesterday and he thinks a 'Basic' module like 1746-BAS-T would likely have to be added to the rack to capture the data and communicate with the sensor.
The goal is for an operator to examine the HMI for maybe a running average of the crimp or a measurement history so that they would be able to tell if the tooling is hitting too hard or not hard enough.
The controls engineer was also considering the possibility of swapping the 5/03's for 5/05's and upgrading to ethernet. Is there an advantage to this other than speed?
If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Any help is appreciated! My apologies in advance if I don't respond to questions directly. We're pretty busy here.