We bought a second case packer from the same OEM and it turned up on the same addresses as the first. CompactLogix 5069-L320ER at 192.168.1.10, PanelView at .11, two PowerFlex 525 and a Cognex reader. I checked, both PLCs really do sit on .10.
Packer 1 is on the plant network with FactoryTalk View SE, the historian and the line 3 PLC all talking to it. I plugged packer 2 in on Monday and packer 1 went unstable, SE lost its tags and the produced tag went to 16#0204. Pulled the cable and everything came back.
I've asked the OEM for a re-addressed program and they quoted three days of engineering plus a site visit. Do we really re-address a whole machine? Packer 3 is on order. Is there a way to leave them both on .10 and still have SE see them as two machines?
We ship every machine on 192.168.1.x and I'll admit its on purpose, the test bench and the drawings stay the same that way. Most end users drop a NAT box between the machine and the plant. Did the quote actually say re-address, or did nobody mention NAT? Ask them what they do for other multi-machine sites.
Before you buy anything, count what actually has to be seen from the plant side. SE, the historian, the line 3 produced tag. That's the PLC and maybe the HMI. The drives and the reader only ever talk to their own PLC. Re-addressing a whole machine is the upgrade nobody enjoys, and packer 3 will turn up exactly the same way.
> Ask them what they do for other multi-machine sites
Asked them. Answer was "most customers use a NAT router" and nothing else, no part number. IT's idea was a second NIC in the SE server and a separate cable to packer 2. That does nothing for the line 3 produced tag, and there'd be a fourth NIC waiting for packer 3.
NAT is the answer and I'd let a Rockwell part do it, 1783-NATR. One to one, 32 rules if I remember right, every packet gets the same treatment and there's nothing to configure on the machine. Don't let anyone talk you into two subnets on the packer PLC instead. The OEM's next program download would put the old addresses straight back.
Same job on our two filling lines from one OEM. SCALANCE S615 on the Siemens side, the 1783-NATR Lou named on the Rockwell side. The machine keeps its addresses and the plant sees a different one per machine. One rule per device you need from outside: private 192.168.1.10 to whatever plant address you give the packer 2 PLC, private 192.168.1.11 to another one for its HMI.
Line 3 consumes from the plant address and never learns the machine is on 192.168.1.x. Drives and reader stay unmapped. One thing to watch, keep the produced tag unicast, I'm not sure multicast goes through the NATR. Someone did a decent article on the addressing side: https://plctr.com/advanced-plc-networking-and-communication-protocols/
1783-NATR went in on Wednesday. Two rules, PLC to 10.40.3.10 and HMI to .11. SE points at the public address, historian too. Line 3 consumed tag repointed to 10.40.3.10 and went green in under a second, 20ms RPI, unicast.
All of it came down to the OEM shipping every machine with the same addresses onto a flat network, both PLCs sat on .10 and packer 1 lost. A NAT box per machine did it, the machine keeps its own addresses and the plant sees unique ones. Packer 3 gets its own NATR on 10.40.4.x.
Only thing left over is the Cognex reader's web page, I can't reach it from the plant since it isn't mapped. Third rule when I get a minute. Thanks petra66, louk, ollyb.
Ask us for the NATR with the machine next time, we do fit them.