Connecting Red Lion to Allen Bradley

Dylan.Concord

Member
Join Date
Jan 2018
Location
Mead CO
Posts
8
Hey guys, We recently acquired a station that is controlled by an Allen Bradley PLC and HMI. We want to keep the same system running the way it is but install a Redlion Graphite controller with web server to the PLC as well so the station can be ran by the AB HMI on site and the Graphite remotely. We have a G15 HMI laying around and have been trying to connect it to the PLC to see if we can get it to work. Once connected we will swap it out for a controller.

Here is the problem, I plugged the G15 into the same switch that the PLC and AB HMI are on and ran a network scan to verify that they are all showing up on the same network. I then imported the L5K file that is on the PLC and pulled all the tags related to tank level and dragged them onto the main display to see if i can get the same tank level that is on AB HMI. But I am only getting dashes.

I have inserted 3 snips of my screen to see if you guys can notice anything not looking right.

Thanks!
Dylan

Network Devices.jpg Network Settings.jpg Protocol 1 Settings.jpg
 
Once you've loaded the L5K file, you also have to pull the tags you are actually using over into the box on the right. Have you done that yet?
 
I'm not very familiar with Redlion, but I would think you would need to add something to the routing path of your driver since you are using a 1756 system. The IP address only points to the network card, not the processor, so you will have to tell the driver what slot the processor is in on the backplane.

On the only Redlion project i have done, i used the AB TAG NAMES driver and it seemed simple to setup (to me). I'm not sure what all the difference are and what the preferred method though.
 
Create a flag tag called "Comms" or something like that at assign its source to IsDeviceOnline(x) where x is either the PLC number or name from the Communications page.

IsDeviceOnline is a system function that will return a 1 when comms are good and a 0 when comms are not working. I normally format it as two-state with the state names as "Lost" and "Okay", the label is something like "PLC-123 Communication " and set up an alarm for active off with a 5000 ms delay. Then when comms fail your will get "PLC-123 Communication Lost" as an alarm.

I have only done one Crimson 3.0 application with a Compactlogix and that was in 2012, so I don't remember if there was anything in the path. It is also possible that the latest and greatest A/B firmwares have broken something in the L5K driver in Crimson.

In any case, until you get IsDeviceOnline() to return true, there is something wrong at the driver or settings level.
 
Okay Thanks Helliana we didnt have to RS5000 before but will have it next week and will try to add a routing path. I really like like your plan OkiePC. We will try that next week. Thanks for all your help so far guys. We will keep you updated
 
Hi Dylan,
I noticed your location as Mead, I am a Colorado Area System Integrator have done a lot of Red Lion to AB stuff over the years. If you need some on site help please Personal Message me.

If you want to tackle it yourself that is good too, lots of us on the site. Okie is one of the best.

Once you create the IsDeviceOnline(X) tag just drag it from the right lower panel onto the screen. You should see it say ON or OFF. If it is ON then you have communications and the dashes are caused by either the wrong data type set up in the tag.

You can submit your Crimson Database file to the Forum for us to look at if you want. You will need to zip it first. We can get a look at what you have and maybe find a solution.
 

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