More GE Fanuc and VersaPro questions

rsdoran

Lifetime Supporting Member
Join Date
Apr 2002
Location
Birmingham, AL
Posts
7,371
I have 2 questions.

1. I am using VersaPro ver 2.02 and a 90-30 311, my laptop is using WinXP. I have upgraded the firmware for the CPU 311. I havent had problems overall making online edits or storing the program when I need too BUT there have been 2 instances where after a change the outputs stop working, I dont really know how I got it to start working the first time and now its done it again. What could cause the program to disable the outputs? What dumb thing am I doing wrong?

2. This is a sealer machine. I have incorporated a pulse sequence, using 2 timers, to the beginning of the program to help "warm" the wire on startup and maintain a constant "temp" per se. I would like to have the pulsing just work at startup then when production is running look at maybe pieces per minute and disable the pulsing as long as there are say 10 pieces per minute. This is kind of variable, I just want to make sure the pulsing resumes if their is no production flow for a period. I am brain dead on how to approach this with GE VersaPro, maybe the weekend will give me time to look closer at the instructions and think how I might do this.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am sure most of you know I dont actually program very often but seek the opportunity to do it. If anyone would like to see what I have done so far I can send or post the ladder in whatever format is needed. Its not pretty but I dont think its spaghetti, I will clean it up before its final. The machine is running but these are the only 2 issues left to fix, the first being the most important.
 
One other little thing, I am trying to figure out how to determine the time the program cycles.

Maybe I am looking too hard at this stuff.
 
Outputs not working:

Did you inadvertently download a different configuration, or worse, clear the configuration? Did you stop the PLC from running when you downloaded the program changes and forget to restart it again? Could you have somehow caused a fault? If you stopped the PLC, you won't be able to reststart it until the faults are cleared. Are you using MCR instructions in the program that could be keeping the coils off?

Wire heating logic

If I remember correctly from the logic you posted a few weeks ago, you have an on-time and an off-time for the wire heating. Under the correct conditions, you could move a value of zero into the off-time preset, to make the wire heater be on all the time.

If you're looking for an approach to the logic for when to switch between continuous and pulsed, how about measuring the time between packages? If it is less than some value, keep the wire energized continuously, longer than that value, go to pulsed heating.

What do you mean by "the time the program cycles"? If it's time of day, CPU311s don't have a real-time clock.
 
Steve you are a godsend, you know how to ask the questions I need to ask myself.

1. I have made changes to the existing program. You have to stop it to do the store (this seems to be proper procedure) then goto RUN to make it start again, I have done this. I removed the MCR and found no faults...thats why I am at a loss to why I can see the pulse when online but no output led flashes, like it normally does.

2. Yes that was the start program for this project, it uses the on/off timer sequence. I dont need it to be continuous, I need the pulsing to stop when certain conditions exist..ie production is running an X number of pieces are there per minute. A ghost of an idea is forming for this now. Thats what I need to do is measure the time between packages or something similar but I seem to be brain dead now.

3. Program cycle: I want to know, as close as possible, what the time is from package entering to package leaving. I attempted some of this but couldnt figure out how to "capture" this time value, a timer value would be close enough for my purposes.

I appreciate this immensely. I would appreciate any suggestions on a path and/or instructions to use.

Thanks
 
Here's something I've done in the past when I needed to figure out exactly when things happened during a cycle. I would set up a free-running timer and use one-shots triggered by the events I was interested in to copy the timer's ACC value into another register.

In your case, move the ACC value into %R101 when the package blocks the photocell and move the ACC value into %R102 when it clears the photocell. %R102 minus %R101 equals the time between the two events. Reset the timer whenever it's convenient.

You could also use the 'package entering' event to set a latch instruction, and have the 'package leaving' event reset the latch. While the latch is ON, enable a retentive timer (ONDTR) instruction. You have to be sure to reset the timer before the next package enters or you'll measure the time for multiple packages.

On the subject of the outputs. Is it just the pulsing output for the wire heating that doesn't seem to be working or are all of the outputs dead? If it's just one output, can you force it on to see if it works? Could the on time be too short for you to see the LED?
 
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