Hello, first post. Love the site and learned allot since finding it.
On to the problem I have.
I am the only maintenance mechanic at a small company with pretty much free reign. We have a box conveyor run by a Compactlogix 1749-L32E. It sends boxes to 16 diverts to packing stations. Very basic stuff. When there is a jam or motor fault it sounds a horn and lights a light on the control panel no matter where the jam is or which motor faulted. The maintenance shop is on the floor below and I cannot hear the horn when a fault occurs, not to mention the fact that I have to walk the system to see where it occured.
I am looking for a way to monitor the system from the shop. I have looked at Advanced HMI found in these forums but am unclear whether it will connect and play well with a compactlogix. (something like that would allow me to monitor individual jam sensors) The PLC is not on the network but I can run a network cable to the shop without any trouble. I have access to PC's and sofware as our IT department is very helpfull and not budget conciuos. The production department is another story. No budget for hardware such as a panelview or hardware HMI. I don't need to control anything, just monitor.
Any ideas would be highly appreciated.
On to the problem I have.
I am the only maintenance mechanic at a small company with pretty much free reign. We have a box conveyor run by a Compactlogix 1749-L32E. It sends boxes to 16 diverts to packing stations. Very basic stuff. When there is a jam or motor fault it sounds a horn and lights a light on the control panel no matter where the jam is or which motor faulted. The maintenance shop is on the floor below and I cannot hear the horn when a fault occurs, not to mention the fact that I have to walk the system to see where it occured.
I am looking for a way to monitor the system from the shop. I have looked at Advanced HMI found in these forums but am unclear whether it will connect and play well with a compactlogix. (something like that would allow me to monitor individual jam sensors) The PLC is not on the network but I can run a network cable to the shop without any trouble. I have access to PC's and sofware as our IT department is very helpfull and not budget conciuos. The production department is another story. No budget for hardware such as a panelview or hardware HMI. I don't need to control anything, just monitor.
Any ideas would be highly appreciated.