Third-party ethernet module and EDS issue

[DRB]

Hey all,

I'm having issues with an EDS file supplied by a third-party manufacturer in Studio 5000...

I manage to install the EDS without any issues. but when I then try to create the module, one of these situations occurs :

1. A dialogue box asks to re-register the EDS because of a mismatch (Image 1)
2. Another box recognizes the device, but still asks me to register the EDS (Image2)
3. A dialogue box opens, but stays jammed while creating the module (Image 3)
4. A message appears saying there is not enough storage to create the module (Image 4)
5. I finally manage to create the module

Note that all these situations happen randomly, in no specific order, and either online or offline.

Now, once the module is created, if I try to open it to go back to its configuration, I still get EDS register issues and doesn't allow me to open the module, or I'll get a fatal error and Studio5000 will crash (Image 5). But if I don't try to open the module, it runs fine and I can read data from the device.

I tried all this on 2 different PLCs, and get the same problems.

I called Rockwell, and they suggested to repair/reinstall Studio5000, which I'd like to avoid, or they suggested an issue with the EDS.

I opened the EDS with EZ-EDS, without any prior experience in EDS configuration, and I saw that the EDS can create up to 16 Input/Output assemblies of 496 SINT each, which is way more than I need as I only need 2 assemblies for this. I thought that it might be the issue, that it would require too much memory, so I deleted 12 assembly groups and their connections, created a new EDS from that, deleted the original one from Studio and registered the new one.

It worked. There was no more crashing or registering issues with my module... But another issue appeared. Every 2 minutes or so, the module loses the connection for a few seconds with the device (error 16#0204) and then comes back online by itself... I don't know if it's related to the EDS file itself.

The manufacturer isn't much help right now to help me resolve this. The easiest workaround would be to use a Generic Ethernet Module, but as I need to get more than one Input/Output assembly, it's not possible.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Ken Roach]

Welcome to the PLCTalk forum community !

When I read your post, but before I opened the screenshots, I thought to myself: "I'll bet this is an Atlas Copco interface". I have a history with them being unhelpful with 3rd party network interfaces. To my knowledge they never fixed the defect I identified in their 1st generation EtherNet/IP interface a decade ago.

Historically I have recommended that clients fall back to their Modbus products, because those are common enough that their support efforts are worthwhile.

Can you point to the original source of the EDS file, and any examples or guides that the vendor supplies ?

I wouldn't have thought that an EDS-based Module Profile would be capable of crashing Studio 5000. It may be a coincidence.

Do you have access to a network tap/mirror port and Wireshark ? The 16#0204 connection failure sounds like an ordinary timeout.

 

[DRB]

Hey Ken, thanks for taking the time to answer.

I have to say that I'm relieved that I'm not the only one having problems with Atlas and their tech support...

I believe that my comm loss is an Ethernet card issue. I installed my modified EDS on a second PLC at my client's site, and it hasn't failed once. It was actually failing at a frequent interval, every 2 minutes or so, for about 5 seconds each time (see trend)

I don't feel confortable posting publicly the EDS and documentation that was given to me, but I could send it to you in private if you'd like.

Thanks.