Problems with PLC sending info to a live display

[Tony_P]

Hello,

This is my first time posting here, and I am also fairly fresh to the world of PLCs, but I would really like to learn more and get practice. This brings me to a problem we have been having at work (a winery):

We have a display that should show real time what production is looking like (e.g. cases so far, cases in current hour, etc.) but it is just displaying 0 for all the values. It used to work, but hasn't since someone changed out a PLC in the palletizer (this person, unfortunately does not work here anymore and I have no other resources to tap at work). My guess is that the previous palletizer PLC was tied to a photo eye that took the case count that was being displayed on the screen. Now I am trying to figure out how to get the controller to communicate with that PLC again.

Here are the specs on what I believe is relevant to the issue:

Display: InView 2706-P72C
Controller: Logix5561
Palletizer PLC (new): SLC 5/05


I am using InView Messaging Software to communicate to the display, and RSLinx to crawl the industrial network. I have been able to locate the controller on that network, but it is not responding to a Station Diagnostic query.

If there is any more information or clarifying needed, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[DamianInRochester]

Do you have the RSLogix5000 software for the Logix5561 plc?
Do you have the RSLogix500 software for the SLC5/05?

I am confused as to how the Logix5561, SLC5/05, and Display all tie in together. What is connected to what and how? What purpose is the Logix5561 serving?

 

[Tony_P]

I do not have the RSLogix5000 or RSLogix500 software to look into the 5561 or the 5/05 respectively. The laptop that holds that specific software is in another department and things are a little political here, so getting my hands on it would take some time. All I can use right now is RSLinx and the InView Display program.

The SLC5/05 is connected by ethernet cable to a switch that the Logix5561 also connects to. The computer with RSLinx also has a connection to that switch as well (directly or indirectly)

My understanding of the matter is that the SLC5/05 is supposed to send the data it collects from the palletizer (in this situation, case count) to the Logix5561, and the display is supposed to be pulling that data from the Logix5561. That is what seems to make sense to me so far, but I may be totally wrong. I am still figuring this out as I go along.

 

[DamianInRochester]

Without the PLC software and being able to view the messaging routines it will be very difficult for you to be able to make much headway. The Inview software isn't likely to get you very far unless the info in the display was hosed.

 

[Tony_P]

I looked at the InView messaging software, and it references variables that USED to work but not since the new PLC was installed. How does this typically work? Is the PLC programmed with counters that the Logix would be pulling from to send to the display?

In this case, could it be that after the 5/05 was installed, the variable that kept case count was either named something else or non existent, so the Logix does not have that information to work with?

I am going to see about getting that laptop so I can look at both modules, so anything to at least point me in the right direction would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[MarkNightingale]

In this case, could it be that after the 5/05 was installed, the variable that kept case count was either named something else or non existent, so the Logix does not have that information to work with?

Or the communications path has changed.

What processor was removed and replaced by the 5/05?

Mark

 

[Tony_P]

The previous one was also a 5/05. It was having I/O errors so it was swapped out for a working PLC of the same variety.

So when you say the communications path has changed, what do you mean?