1769-L32E vs 1769-L23E-QB1B

[r_mclinn]

Hello all,
I have a question concerning the differences between two A-B controllers.
I used a 1769-L32E to test a project. The project consists of a Keyence 3D laser sensor reading the profile of a weld, the output from this sensor will be fed to a Fanuc robot. The plc was used because the Keyence sensor is 32 bit and the Fanuc robot is 16 bit. Basically I took the information from the sensor did a little math to convert from a DINT to an INT that the robot could read. This all worked very well in testing. For the project however we used a 1769-L23EQB1B, I can still see the data from the sensor and the data sent to the robot, but the robot cannot see the data. Is there something different between the two controllers that would cause one to map data differently from the other? I used the same program the only change was the controller. Any ideas?
Thank you,
Robert

 

[Ken Roach]

The controller type is almost certainly not the problem. The -L23 and -L32 controllers are nearly identical under the hood.

INT and DINT array tags are a fundamental part of the Logix 5000 operating system and they haven't changed since the beginning.

Are there a lot of other connections over Ethernet to the -L23 controller ? I think those had a little less CIP connection capacity than the -L32E controller, so if you have multiple HMIs or connections to other I/O devices the controller might have run out of capacity and refuse to make a connection to the Fanuc robot.

Does the Fanuc robot perform some sort of "electronic keying" where it has to see the exact same product code (the controller model number) ?

Exactly how is the connection made with the Fanuc robot; is it a Produced/Consumed Tag, or a MSG instruction, or a Generic Module instance in the Fanuc controller, or something else ?

 

[r_mclinn]

The robot and the Keyence sensor are setup as generic ethernet modules. I take information from the sensor and feed it into the robot, again with a little math. I couldn't figure out why the L32E would be any different from the L23E, but if I plug in the L32E everything works. As far as connections there are only the sensor the plc and the robot connected to an unmanaged switch. I still feel like it has something to do with the mapping to the robot, but I didn't change anything in the plc only the controller.
Thank you for taking time to reply!
Robert

 

[Ken Roach]

Since the project is small, I recommend creating a new RSLogix 5000 project with the L23 controller and re-creating the Generic Modules from scratch, then importing the user program code by Exporting->Importing the Program, or just copy-paste the rungs.

Are there any error codes associated with the Generic Module objects for the robot ?

I've encountered a handful of issues with Generic Modules where they got "corrupted" when copied from one project to another. Some hidden module flags (the Keying flags, in my case) got set inadvertently and couldn't be changed via RSLogix 5000. The process of changing the controller type might have done that too.

It's a little superstitious to create a new project, but it can't hurt.

 

[r_mclinn]

I will definitely try that. I hadn't considered that changing the controller would cause these issues. I am rewriting the project now and I will post the results shortly.
Thank you!
Robert

 

[r_mclinn]

Ok an update. I rewrote the project using the 1769-L23E controller, reinstalled the generic ethernet modules for the Keyence sensor and the Fanuc robot. In RsLogix 5000 I can see the data in and out but the robot still doesn't receive any data. I am at a loss here. Not sure how to proceed. I still think it is a robot issue but I am meeting much resistance. I will post when I figure out what the problem is.
Thanks
Robert

 

[Usireland]

Ok an update. I rewrote the project using the 1769-L23E controller, reinstalled the generic ethernet modules for the Keyence sensor and the Fanuc robot. In RsLogix 5000 I can see the data in and out but the robot still doesn't receive any data. I am at a loss here. Not sure how to proceed. I still think it is a robot issue but I am meeting much resistance. I will post when I figure out what the problem is.
Thanks
Robert

Robert,

This might be a stupid question, but is the IP address of the L23 the same as the L32? If they are different then RSLogix will not tell you and the Robot will not probably not receive anything. Best to verify you network settings on both AB PLC´s and make sure their the same.

Regards
Ian

 

[Plastic]

Controller vs Program scoped tag

Perhaps in your migration, the tag that the Fanuc is looking for was changed to Program Scoped.

Many third party devices have trouble drilling for Program Scoped tags.

Try making it a Controller scoped tag.

 

[r_mclinn]

First let me apologize for not replying sooner.
As Ian suggested I set the IP address of the L23 the same as the L32, it still wouldn't work. It took a little work to recognize the L23 after the address change. I think Linx still thought it was the L32. I just saw a reply from Plastic and checked the tags. Since they Robot and sensor are generic ethernet modules the tags are predefined. I only point the information into the proper register for the Robot. So at this point I am still looking bad. I hate it when that happens!

 

[cwal61]

Possible Firmware Revision is Different between the 2 processors? I know we had a problem with Top Server when we changed from Ver. 18 to Ver 20. Had to upgrade Top Server to communicate with Ver. 20.

Never hurts to throw stuff at the wall to see if it will Stick.

Good Luck!