About SteffenR-

You can import PlcOpenXml in Control plus Studio. This helps if you want to move structures, enums or FB definitions from the PLC editor into Control plus Studio. Export PlcOpenXml in the PLC editor: Then import PlcOpenXml in Control plus Studio: ... View more

Do you know that Control plus Studio has a project compare function? As most of the work in Control plus Studio is exported to files it is also possible to compare the station folder, for example with Beyond Compare. Additionally the PLC editors have a quite powerful compare function. TwinCAT has the Project Compare tool in the Windows start menu, in ctrlX it is included in the PLC editor under Project > Compare.   ... View more

Once again a topic about the BasMove object for pneumatic cylinders: The BasMove object has two commands, one for each end position. But there is also a method to set the outputs without any command. This can be used for special purposes, special initialization/cancel behaviour, etc. The method needs to be called only once, not cyclically, for example: // fill both sides with compressed air Loc103K201_PressCylinder.Unit.SetOutputs(BasMoveSetOutputMode.ALL_TRUE);   To prevent hard hitting of the end in case of empty compressed air lines there is also another solution for the homing: With the parameter ParCmd.OutputPulsing:=TRUE the valve output(s) will be pulsed if the cylinder is not in any end position. This is helpful for 5/3 or 2x 3/2 directional valves, for 5/2 directional valves it is useless. With the pulses the compressed air lines will be filled with compressed air slowly. It prevents that the cylinder hits the end hard because of missing counterpressure. It should work for almost all cylinder sizes without changing the pulse parameters in ParCmd structure. ... View more

The BasMove object is a really powerful object. "BasMove" is the abbreviation for basic movement. It can be used for any use case with digital in-/outputs, for example belt motor, fan motor, hydraulic power pack, electrical cylinders and of course pneumatic cylinders. The parameters for the object are maybe as complicated as powerful the object is. Therefore a short guide for the parameters for the default case of a pneumatic cylinder: Set the parameter ValvePreset if you have a pneumatic cylinder without special requirements. This parameter hides all parameters that need not to be parametrized for the selected valve (e.g. 5/3 directional valve). Set the parameter OutputResetOnCancel to choose the behaviour in case of a cancel (operation mode change, emergency stop, control off, opening/closing doors). If the cylinder can stop its movement YES_IF_NOT_IN_POS is recommended. If it is a gripper or can't stop its movement (for example 5/2 directional valve) the value NO is recommended. If the supply power (= compressed air for pneumatic cylinders) is switched off in some cases you should set the parameter SupplyState. By setting this parameter the outputs will be reset if the SupplyState input has a falling edge and the outputs will be initialized according to the inputs (InBasePos, InWorkPos) everytime the SupplyState input has a rising edge. In the PLC code use the object output OutImm.IsInBasPos / IsInWrkPos for calculating the home position etc. This output is only TRUE if both the output and the input are TRUE. In the chains always set the command parameters PreStartCheck and OutputPulsing. or ... View more

By default objects and add-ons do not have an output for any active error number, but they provide an array with all active events. By checking for an specific event you can program a specific behaviour. This is how to realize it in an application: Declaration:   Implementation in an waiting step after command execution:   PS: If the object or add-on do not provide a special functionality it is not possible to "mute" specific events or acknowledge them automatically.     Source code for copying: VAR   /// temporary FB instance with list of currently active events   _eventQuery : OpconEventQuery;   /// flag if a special event is currently active (found in query)   _eventFound : BOOL;   /// temporary counter of FOR loop   _i : DINT;   /// compared OOIDs are equal   _equalOoids : BOOL; END_VAR -------------------------------------------------------------- IF( Station.PcdAccess.ExecState = OpconExecState.DONE ) THEN   Station.PcdAccess.Execute := FALSE;   _retVal := OK;   ELSIF( Station.PcdAccess.ExecState = OpconExecState.ERROR ) THEN   Station.PcdAccess.Execute := FALSE;     // get currently active errors   Station.PcdAccess.GetPendingEvents(OpconEventQueryType.ERROR, _eventQuery);        // search for error "unkown identifier"   _eventFound := FALSE;   FOR _i := 1 TO _eventQuery.UsedEntries   DO     IF( _eventQuery.Entry[_i].Number = PcdAccessServerEvents.ERR_UNKOWN_ID )     THEN       // OOID must also be compared because event numbers are not unique       _equalOoids := OpconObjectIdIsEqual(_eventQuery.Entry[_i].ObjectId, PcdAccessConstants.OOID);              IF( _equalOoids )       THEN         _eventFound := TRUE;         EXIT;       END_IF            END_IF   END_FOR     IF( _eventFound )   THEN     // create new part if it doesn't exist on PCD server     _retVal := JUMP1;   ELSE     // any other error -> stop automatic chain     _env.ChainControl := OpconChainControl.ERROR;     END_IF END_IF      ... View more