AutomationTechBrian
Lifetime Supporting Member
Tomorrow morning I have to use a rented Siemens PC to troubleshoot a Siemens HMI, programmed with WinCC, communicating to a couple of ABB drives over Profibus. The rented Siemens PC with has Step 7 on it, as well as WinCC flexible advanced.
This is what I experienced today:
1. Values entered on the HMI "entry screen" were not writing to the ABB drives. We know this because those values would normally show up on the "main screen".
2. The "main screen" has graphics that normally open up the "entry screen" when touched. These are not working, while other links to the "entry screen" still work.
3. The ABB ACS800 drives have a RPBA-01 Profibus Adapter, linking them to the HMI. There are four indicator lights. The "on-line" light is blinking green, and the "off-line" light is off. The problem is, the manual doesn't have a "blinking light" option or "on-line". ABB Tech Help doesn't know why it's blinking.
So, at this point, it looks like there are three possibilities:
1. I have a communication issue between the HMI and the drives.
2. The HMI program file is corrupt.
3. The HMI is bad.
Complicating factors:
The customer can not find the flashdrive with the original project. He does have a paper printout of the project to use for reference.
I've only used Step 7 one time before to troubleshoot an S7-300, with phone help.
I'm hoping to use this laptop with Step 7 tomorrow to look for faults. There is a chance that the HMI will need to be replaced. Since I don't have a back-up project file, I'm thinking I may need to re-create the HMI from scratch. I don't program HMIs very often, but when I do I like to use the RedLion HMIs.
So my questions are:
1. Does anyone know why the "on-line" indicator light is blinking?
2. Can I diagnose the Profibus network just by plugging in the pass-through cable on the back of the HMI and choosing: PLC -> PROFIBUS -> Diagnose, Monitor/Modify Node in Step 7 (SIMATIC Manager)?
3. If the HMI needs replacing, what is your opinion about switching to the RedLion HMI since I don't have the original project file. ...I don't know what I don't know, since this is not the type of thing I do everyday. I suspect I'll find the correct drivers for the PROFIBUS network, through the 9-pin D serial connector in the RedLion software. I'm a little fuzzy about mapping the drive addresses... any words of caution or encouragement are appreciated.
There might be more questions tomorrow. These are just the ones I'm pondering tonight as I download manuals and such.
This is what I experienced today:
1. Values entered on the HMI "entry screen" were not writing to the ABB drives. We know this because those values would normally show up on the "main screen".
2. The "main screen" has graphics that normally open up the "entry screen" when touched. These are not working, while other links to the "entry screen" still work.
3. The ABB ACS800 drives have a RPBA-01 Profibus Adapter, linking them to the HMI. There are four indicator lights. The "on-line" light is blinking green, and the "off-line" light is off. The problem is, the manual doesn't have a "blinking light" option or "on-line". ABB Tech Help doesn't know why it's blinking.
So, at this point, it looks like there are three possibilities:
1. I have a communication issue between the HMI and the drives.
2. The HMI program file is corrupt.
3. The HMI is bad.
Complicating factors:
The customer can not find the flashdrive with the original project. He does have a paper printout of the project to use for reference.
I've only used Step 7 one time before to troubleshoot an S7-300, with phone help.
I'm hoping to use this laptop with Step 7 tomorrow to look for faults. There is a chance that the HMI will need to be replaced. Since I don't have a back-up project file, I'm thinking I may need to re-create the HMI from scratch. I don't program HMIs very often, but when I do I like to use the RedLion HMIs.
So my questions are:
1. Does anyone know why the "on-line" indicator light is blinking?
2. Can I diagnose the Profibus network just by plugging in the pass-through cable on the back of the HMI and choosing: PLC -> PROFIBUS -> Diagnose, Monitor/Modify Node in Step 7 (SIMATIC Manager)?
3. If the HMI needs replacing, what is your opinion about switching to the RedLion HMI since I don't have the original project file. ...I don't know what I don't know, since this is not the type of thing I do everyday. I suspect I'll find the correct drivers for the PROFIBUS network, through the 9-pin D serial connector in the RedLion software. I'm a little fuzzy about mapping the drive addresses... any words of caution or encouragement are appreciated.
There might be more questions tomorrow. These are just the ones I'm pondering tonight as I download manuals and such.