AutomationTechBrian
Lifetime Supporting Member
At the end of the day today I did my first program edit in my customer's Simatic Manager project. It was the simplest of edits... add a bit with a symbolic address to the PLC program, along with a few Network edits. Download.... done! Tested... works!
Now I needed to add an on/off switch to the MP277 HMI. I couldn't find the symbol library, so I copied and pasted a switch element from another page and changed the tags to reference the new bit. I wasn't quite sure the tag was referenced in the right spot because it was different than the videos I watched last night. But the copied switch was referencing a bit in a DB, so I assumed that was the right place to put the new tag I created. I quickly checked the settings that might hide the switch, and nothing was enabled. So as you see in the video, I did the steps I saw them do in the video last night. Compiled, saved, and downloaded. I assumed the IP address that came up was from previous edits, so I accepted it. It looked like it went through all of the steps to download, but the guys on the floor said the RT screen never changed. I tried closing the HMI program before "Transferring" the new file, but still nothing changed.
I checked the HMI and the switch graphic is not on the screen. I'm wondering if I have to take the laptop to the HMI and hook up to it directly. The PLC edit had no issue over the network, but I know the HMI considerations are different than the PLC... just like AB. Anyway, I'm hoping someone with some experience can easily see what I'm doing wrong. I'm just learning the Siemens way of doing things, and some of it is pretty cool, ...and some not-so-much. Either way, I really like this opportunity to get to know the Step 7.
Here is the video I took before leaving the plant for the day: https://youtu.be/ayX2jF0fPYU
Finally... yes, I probably do sound like a dork on the video.
Now I needed to add an on/off switch to the MP277 HMI. I couldn't find the symbol library, so I copied and pasted a switch element from another page and changed the tags to reference the new bit. I wasn't quite sure the tag was referenced in the right spot because it was different than the videos I watched last night. But the copied switch was referencing a bit in a DB, so I assumed that was the right place to put the new tag I created. I quickly checked the settings that might hide the switch, and nothing was enabled. So as you see in the video, I did the steps I saw them do in the video last night. Compiled, saved, and downloaded. I assumed the IP address that came up was from previous edits, so I accepted it. It looked like it went through all of the steps to download, but the guys on the floor said the RT screen never changed. I tried closing the HMI program before "Transferring" the new file, but still nothing changed.
I checked the HMI and the switch graphic is not on the screen. I'm wondering if I have to take the laptop to the HMI and hook up to it directly. The PLC edit had no issue over the network, but I know the HMI considerations are different than the PLC... just like AB. Anyway, I'm hoping someone with some experience can easily see what I'm doing wrong. I'm just learning the Siemens way of doing things, and some of it is pretty cool, ...and some not-so-much. Either way, I really like this opportunity to get to know the Step 7.
Here is the video I took before leaving the plant for the day: https://youtu.be/ayX2jF0fPYU
Finally... yes, I probably do sound like a dork on the video.