EtherNet/IP - PLC Programming & Automation

Textile Warper and Stenter: Draw Ratio and Break Stops

Ladder rung for the yarn break latch: Break_Sensor examined on with a parallel Break_Latched seal-in branch, in series with Reset_PB examined off, driving the Break_Latched output coil

What a warper, a sizing line and a stenter need from a PLC: draw ratios, dancer and load cell loops, yarn break stops and recipes on S7-1500 or Logix.

PLC Networking: Switches, VLANs, DLR Rings and Ports

by PLC

Timing chart of a DLR ring during a cable break: link A drops, the beacon times out, the ring fault flag sets, and the I/O connection stays up throughout

PLC networking done properly: switch features that matter, an address plan, VLANs, DLR rings with 1783-ETAP, PROFINET RT and IRT, NAT and port numbers.

PLC Communication Protocols for SCADA: What to Pick

by PLC

Timing chart comparing polled Modbus TCP requests and responses at 25 ms against cyclic EtherNet/IP I/O packets at a 10 ms RPI

Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA and MQTT compared by how they move data, with ports, poll rates and the mistakes that cost SCADA update time.

PLC Robot Integration: Handshakes, Safety and Cycles

by PLC

Timing chart of a pick cycle handshake between PLC and robot: cell ready stays high, part present rises, the PLC raises start cycle, the robot answers with busy and leaves home, then sets cycle done while the PLC drops start cycle

Map FANUC, ABB and KUKA signals into a PLC, build a pick cycle handshake that cannot drop, select the program by number, and set a sane RPI.

RFID PLC Integration: Read and Write Tags from Ladder

by PLC

Timing chart of an RFID read cycle: the trigger bit, the reader busy bit, the done bit, and the UID landing in the UDT before the trigger is cleared

Pick HF or UHF, connect the reader over EtherNet/IP or Modbus, map the data into a UDT, and run a trigger, busy, done handshake that does not drop reads.

Predicting the Demand Peak and Shedding Load from the PLC

by PLC

Ladder rung for load shedding: predicted demand high in parallel with the shed seal-in bit, in series with the shed permit and the chiller alarm contact, driving the shed output for chiller 2

Wire a power meter into Logix or S7, totalize kWh in Structured Text, hold the demand peak with priority load shedding, and check if a VFD retrofit pays.

PLC Motion Control: Kinetix 5700 and Logix MAM Moves

by PLC

Timing chart of one MAM move: the execute pulse, the accelerating, at-speed and decelerating phases, then the process complete bit

PLC motion control step by step: motion group setup, coarse update period, axis scaling, MSO and MAM moves, homing, gearing and position error faults.

SCADA PLC Integration: Connect Ignition to ControlLogix

by PLC

Timing chart of a one second SCADA tag group: the group tick, the CIP read request, the controller reply about 60 ms later, and the historian insert

Pick the protocol, prepare the controller tags, add the device in Ignition, set a sane tag group, then prove the link survives a network drop.

PLC Cybersecurity: Hardening a Logix Cell Step by Step

by PLC

Timing chart of a controller restart: run mode drops while the download happens, then the first scan bit pulses, the restart timestamp is written and the unplanned download alarm latches on the SCADA

Zones and conduits, the controller key switch, FactoryTalk Security, firewall rules for 44818 and 502, and a backup you have actually restored.

PLC vs DCS Integration: Getting a Skid onto the DCS

by PLC

Timing chart of a DCS to PLC heartbeat: the DCS counter steps every second, the PLC echoes it, and the Comms OK bit drops three seconds after the counter freezes

How a packaged skid PLC gets tied into DeltaV, Experion or PCS 7: link protocol, Modbus register map, heartbeat, engineering units and alarm ownership.

EtherNet/IP PLC Communication: Setup, RPI and Faults

by PLC

Timing chart of EtherNet/IP implicit I/O at 10 ms RPI showing producer and consumer packets against a 25 ms periodic task scan

Set up EtherNet/IP between a Logix controller, remote I/O and a drive: RPI, unicast vs multicast, MSG paths, and the fault codes you will really see.

EtherCAT PLC Systems: Cycle Time and Distributed Clocks

by PLC

Timing chart of a 1 ms EtherCAT cycle showing the task window, the frame on the wire, and the SYNC0 pulse that applies outputs on every slave at the same instant

Set up an EtherCAT bus in TwinCAT 3: ESI files, scanning the line, picking a cycle time, distributed clocks and the CRC counters that find a bad cable.