Troubleshooting in Profacy Machine Edition (Pic)

AutomationTechBrian

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I'm getting my bearings using Profacy ME as a troubleshooting tool (like I do with other PLC programs). What I'd like to do is look at a "Q" output on a card and follow it back through the program, which is similar to what I'd do in AB.

I have the file I uploaded from the PLC and I'm trying to figure out how to do it. There must be a way to accomplish this. Here's what I'm looking at (below). Any tips? Can you point me in a direction?

ProfacyOutput.png
 
Expand the "Find" item on the ribbon and select "Find in Target" (assuming that the PLC is your currently selected target). Type in the address and search. Doing so will open the "Search Results" tab in the "Feedback Zone" window with a list of places where that address is used.

Alternately, in your navigator window, select the "fx Variables" tab. Locate the %Q0009 variable there. The variables can be arranged alphabetically or by address. Once you have located and selected the variable you want to trace, click the "References" tab in the Feedback Zone window. The advantage to this method comes when you also have an HMI target along with the PLC as part of the same project. This method will show all the places the variable is used in the HMI in addition to the PLC locations.

If the Feedback Zone window is not already open, the "Find in Target" procedure will open it. You can also open it by first clicking the "View" tab and selecting the Feedback Zone window.
 
Great! I'll be able to look at this tonight when I get home. I'm looking forward to getting more familiar with this software.

Question: Exploring this software... it appears that I could create an HMI application on a dedicated PC and use it to interface with a PLC, without buying any other program or hardware. Is that correct??
 
The same software is used for both the PLC and the HMI, but you need to be properly licensed. In other words, you could have a license for PLC programming only, or a license for HMI programming only, or a combined license.
The HMI application could run on a PC or on a Quick Panel HMI. To run on a PC requires a runtime license which is not necessarily included with the HMI development license. Quick Panel HMIs come with a runtime license. If your HMI development license does not include runtime, there will be a two hour runtime limit after which the HMI application will shut down. You will need to restart it to get another two hours.
 
Can you tell if I have this capability from the attached picture of the quote? I'm sorry for bugging you without researching it first. I've got an hour and a half drive home, and I'm going to be thinking about it all the way.

20190311_183905.png
 
It has been almost 20 years since I worked for a GE distributor, so I'm not current on the pricing and descriptions of the software option packages.
Since the quote references "700 points", it sounds like it includes a runtime license for an HMI application with up to 700 PLC variables.
Having said that, based on my memory of pricing levels, at that price you may be limited to the 90-30 and VersaMax PLCs and not the Rx3i.
The 90-30 is a mature product, similar in functionality to the SLC 5/xx line. The VersaMax micro and nano models are similar to the MicroLogix lineup. The Rx3i is similar to the Compact Logix line.
When you get home, start a new project with a 90-30 PLC and try to save it. If it won't let you save, then you don't have the correct license. If it lets you save, reopen the same project, add an HMI target and try to save it with both a PLC and HMI. If you aren't licensed for the HMI, you won't be able to save it.
That assumes it has been more than four days since you installed Proficy Machine Edition. For the first four days after installation, the software is fully functional. You could also uninstall/reinstall to reset the clock for another four days.
 

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