| Mitsubishi MX4 SCADA V6.1 | |
| is out now and you can see it for free.. MX4 is a fantastic software package from Mitsubishi. It delivers real productivity gains while reducing operating costs in a flexible, scalable and reliable package. Version 6.1 adds to the great features and functionality of Version 5 - see what's new. But you don't have to take our word for it because we have a number of Free Demo/Developer CD's to give away, so you can see for yourself. Simply e-mail marketing@lca.co.uk with your full company details and mailing address for your free copy (Please note MX4 Energy is NOT included on the demo CD). MX4 is available in 4 different variants (click the headers to download each specific PDF datasheet):
MX4 - product benefits include:
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Mitsubishi MX4 SCADA V6.1
SIEMENS Simatic
SIEMENS Simatic - Working with STEP7
In this manual you will learn the basics of SIMATIC STEP 7. It shows you the most important screen dialog boxes and the procedures to follow using practical exercises, which are structured so that you can start with almost any chapter.
Each section is split into two parts: a descriptive part, marked in gray, and a process-oriented part, marked in green. The instructions start with an arrow in the green margin and may be spread out over several pages, finishing in a full stop and a box containing related topics.
Previous experience of working with the mouse, window handling, pull-down menus, etc. would be useful, and you should preferably be familiar with the basic principles of programmable logic control.
The STEP 7 training courses provide you with in-depth knowledge above and beyond the contents of this Getting Started manual, teaching you how entire automation solutions can be created with STEP 7.
Contents of manual:
1.) Introduction to STEP7
2.) The SIMATIC Manager
3.) Programming with Symbols
4.) Creating a Program in OB1
5.) Creating a Program with Function Blocks and Data Blocks
6.) Configuring the Central Rack
7.) Downloading and Debugging the Program
8.) Programming a Function
9.) Programming a Shared Data Block
10.) Programming a Multiple Instance
11.) Configuring the Distributed I/O with Profibus DP
Appendix A
Filename: Simatic-Working-with-STEP-7.pdf 1.8Mb
SIEMENS Simatic - Programming with STEP7
This manual provides a complete overview of programming with STEP 7. It is designed to support you when installing and commissioning the software. It explains how to proceed when creating programs and describes the components of user programs.
The manual is intended for people who are involved in carrying out control tasks using STEP 7 and SIMATIC S7 automation systems.
In order to understand this manual, general knowledge of automation technology is required.
In addition, you must be familiar with using computers or PC-similar tools (for example, programming devices) with the MS Windows 2000 Professional, MS Windows XP Professional or MS Windows Server 2003 operating system.
Contents of manual:
1.) Introducing the Product and Installing the Software
2.) Installation
3.) Working Out the Automation Concept
4.) Basics of Designing a Program Structure
5.) Startup and Operation
6.) Setting Up and Editing the Project
7.) Editing Projects with Different Versions of STEP7
8.) Defining Symbols
9.) Creating Blocks and Libraries
10.) Creating Logic Blocks
11.) Creating Data Blocks
12.) Parameter Assignment for Data Blocks
13.) Creating STL Source Files
14.) Displaying Reference Data
15.) Checking Block Consistency and Time Stamps as a Block Property
16.) Configuring Messages
17.) Controlling and Monitoring Variables
18.) Establishing an Online Connection and Making CPU Settings
19.) Downloading and Uploading
20.) Testing with the Variable Table
21.) Testing Using Program Status
22.) Testing using the Simulation Program (Optional Package)
23.) Diagnostics
24.) Printing and Archiving
25.) Working with M7 Programmable Control Systems
26.) Tips and Tricks
Appendix A
Filename: Simatic-Programming-with-STEP-7.pdf 5.5Mb
Looking for Complete SIEMENS BOOKS >> CLICK HERE !!!
Basics of Motors and Drives
Selecting the right motor and drive combination can save energy and improve performance.
The venerable electric motor that was the muscle of the industrial revolution is becoming the smart muscle of the computer-controlled plant and commercial facility of the future. The advent of powerful, reliable electronic drives is keeping motors in the forefront of this technological evolution.
Electric motors have a tremendous impact on overall energy use. Between 30 to 40 percent of all fossil fuels burned are used to generate electricity, and two-thirds of that electricity is converted by motors into mechanical energy.
The Fundamentals of Energy Management series this month will focus on topics that will allow facility managers and engineers at commercial and industrial facilities to understand the basics of motors and drives. This information will help them to select and implement strategies with the goal of reducing motor and drive costs as well as decreasing downtime.
AC Induction Motors
AC induction motors are ideal for most industrial and commercial applications because of their simple construction and low number of parts, which reduce maintenance cost. Induction motors are frequently used for both constant-speed and adjustable speed drive (ASD) applications.
The two basic parts of an induction motor are the stationary stator located in the motor frame and the rotor that is free to rotate with the motor shaft. Today's motor design and construction are highly refined. For example, stator and rotor laminations have been designed to achieve maximum magnetic density with minimum core losses and heating. The basic simplicity of this design ensures high efficiency and makes them easily adaptable to a variety of shapes and enclosures.
A three-phase induction motor can best be understood by examining the three-phase voltage source that powers the motor. Three-phase currents flowing in the motor leads establish a rotating magnetic field in the stator coils. This magnetic field continuously pulsates across the air gap and into the rotor. As magnetic flux cuts across the rotor bars, a voltage is induced in them, much as a voltage is induced in the secondary winding of a transformer. Because the rotor bars are part of a closed circuit (including the end rings), a current begins to circulate in them. The rotor current in turn produces a magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic field of the stator. Since this field is rotating and magnetically interlocked with the rotor, the rotor is dragged around with the stator field.
When there is no mechanical load on the motor shaft (no-load condition), the rotor almost manages to keep up with the synchronous speed of the rotating magnetic field in the stator coils. Drag from bearing friction and air resistance prevents perfect synchronicity. As the load increases on the motor shaft, the actual speed of the rotor tends to fall further behind the speed of the rotating magnetic field in the stator. This difference in speed causes more magnetic lines to be cut, resulting in more torque being developed in the rotor and delivered to the shaft mechanical load. The rotor always turns at the exact speed necessary to produce the torque required to meet the load placed on the motor shaft at that moment in time. This is usually a dynamic situation, with the motor shaft speed constantly changing slightly to accommodate minor variations in load.
The rotor consists of copper or aluminum bars connected together at the ends with heavy rings. The construction is similar to that of a squirrel cage, a term often used to describe this type of ac induction motor.
The rotating magnetic field in the stator coils, in addition to inducing voltages in the rotor bars, also induces voltages in the stator and rotor cores. The voltages in these cores cause small currents, called eddy currents, to flow. The eddy currents serve no useful purpose and result in wasted power. To keep these currents to a minimum, the stator and rotor cores are made of thin steel discs called laminations.
These laminations are coated with insulating varnish and then edge welded together to form a core. This type of core construction substantially reduces eddy current losses, but does not entirely eliminate them.
By varying the design of the basic squirrel-cage motor, almost any characteristic of speed, torque, and voltage can be controlled by the designer. To standardize motor features the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has established standards for a number of motor features.
The speed of an ac induction motor depends on the frequency of the supply voltage and the number of poles for which the motor is wound. The term poles refers to the manner in which the stator coils are connected to the three incoming power leads to create the desired rotating magnetic field. Motors are always wound with an even number of poles. The higher the input frequency, the faster the motor runs. The more poles a motor has, the slower it runs at a given input frequency. The synchronous speed of an ac induction motor is the speed at which the stator magnetic flux rotates around the stator core at the air gap. At 60 Hz the following synchronous speeds are obtained:
Providing the motor is properly constructed, the output speed can be doubled for a given number of poles by running an ASD supplying the motor at an output frequency of 120 Hz.
The actual speed of an induction motor rotor and shaft is always somewhat less than its synchronous speed. The difference between the synchronous and actual speed is called slip. If the rotor rotated as fast as the stator magnetic field, the rotor conductor bars would appear to be standing still with respect to the rotating field. There would be no voltage induced in the rotor bars and no current would be set up to produce torque.
Induction motors are made with slip ranging from less than 5% up to 20%. A motor with a slip of 5% or less is known as a normal-slip motor. A normal-slip motor is sometimes referred to as a 'constant speed' motor because the speed changes very little from no-load to full-load conditions. A common four-pole motor with a synchronous speed of 1,800 rpm may have a no-load speed of 1,795 rpm and a full-load speed of 1,750 rpm. The rate-of-change of slip is approximately linear from 10% to 110% load, when all other factors such as temperature and voltage are held constant. Motors with slip over 5% are used for hard to start applications.
The direction of rotation of a poly-phase ac induction motor depends on the connection of the stator leads to the power lines. Interchanging any two input leads reverses rotation.
Torque and Horsepower
Torque and horsepower are two very important characteristics that determine the size of the motor for a particular application. Torque is the turning effort. For example, suppose a grinding wheel with a crank arm one-foot long takes a force of one pound to turn the wheel at steady rate. The torque required is one pound times one foot or one foot-pound. If the crank is turned twice as fast, the torque remains the same. Regardless of how fast the crank is turned, the torque is unchanged as long as the crank is turned at a steady speed.
Horsepower takes into account how fast the crank is turned. Turning the crank more rapidly takes more horsepower than turning the crank slowly. Horsepower is the rate of doing work. By definition, one horsepower equals 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. In other words, to lift a 33,000-pound load one foot in one minute would require one horsepower.
The only way to improve motor efficiency is to reduce motor losses. Since motor losses produce heat, reducing losses not only saves energy directly but can also reduce cooling load on a facility's air conditioning system.
Motor energy losses can be segregated into five major areas. Each area is influenced by the motor manufacturer's design and construction decisions. One design consideration, for example, is the size of the air gap between the rotor and the stator. Large air gaps tend to maximize efficiency at the expense of a lower power factor. Small air gaps slightly compromise efficiency while significantly improving power factor.
Motor losses may be grouped as fixed or variable losses. Fixed losses occur whenever the motor is energized and remain constant for any given voltage and speed. Variable losses increase with an increase in motor load. Core loss and friction windage losses are fixed. Variable losses include stator- and rotor-resistance losses and stray load losses.
Motor Economics
The principal factors in energy-saving calculations are motor efficiency, run hours (at a certain load), and the cost of electricity. When a motor runs at nearly full load for many hours at a facility with high electrical costs, the higher resulting savings will indicate the use of a 'premium efficiency' unit. In some cases, the savings may be great enough to warrant taking a perfectly serviceable older motor off-line and upgrading to a new, premium-efficiency model. For applications with less than continuous use or at lower than full loading, upgrading a working motor will usually not make sense.
Commercial and industrial firms today use adjustable-speed drive (ASD) systems for a variety of applications. Most common of these include standard pumps, fans, and blowers. Newer applications include hoists and cranes, conveyors, machine tools, film lines, extruders, and textile-fiber spinning machines.
Many applications have unique demands and characteristics.
Drive vendors have responded to this demand by producing a variety of drives. The combination of the many types of drives available and the abundance of applications has made the selection of the optimum drive for a given application a challenge.
New generation ASDs have evolved with advancements in solid-state electronics. ASDs can now be applied to ac motors regardless of motor horsepower or location within a facility and can be used to drive almost all types of motorized equipment, from a small fan to the largest extruder or machine tool. Commercial and industrial facilities can expect to dramatically reduce both energy consumption and operating and maintenance costs while offering improved operating conditions by using new generation electronic ASDs. The latest generation of ASDs allows ac induction motors to be just as controllable and efficient as their dc counterparts were.
Historically a variety of terms have been used to describe a system that permits a mechanical load to be driven at user-selected speeds. These terms include, but are not limited to:
Variable-Frequency Drive
Adjustable-Frequency Drive
Adjustable-Speed Drive
Basic ASD Components
Most ASD units consist of three basic parts. A rectifier that converts the fixed frequency ac input voltage to dc. An inverter that switches the rectified dc voltage to an adjustable frequency ac output voltage. (The inverter may also control output current flow, if desired.) The dc link connects the rectifier to the inverter. A set of controls directs the rectifier and inverter to produce the desired ac frequency and voltage to meet the needs of the ASD system at any moment in time.
The advantages of ASDs do not stop with saving energy and improving control. ASD technology can now be applied to manufacturing equipment previously considered too expensive or uneconomical. Such applications are often unique to a particular industryand its equipment, or even to a particular facility. Cost benefits, such as those obtained from improved quality, may be desirable for each application.
Download Reference: (Right Click and Save Link As..)
Tutorial Motor Basic (2.1MB) PDF
Adjustable Speed Drive Tutorial (300KB) PDF
Tutorial Electrical Motor Control (650KB) PDF
Automation Communication Hardware
These are hardware terms used in PLC and Scada Engineering.
Fiber Optic:
Unlike conventional wire where signals are voltage or current values, in fibre the signals are light conditions, so a logic 1 is represented by the light being On. In general there are two types of fibre – Multimode and Singlemode.
Multimode is the thicker of the two – 62.5microns inner core with an outer core diameter of 125.
Singlemode – 5-10microns inner core and outer core again 125 micron.
The Singlemode fibre is the more expensive, however when selecting fibre you need to consider the technical differences between the two types rather than their cost before you choose.
Singlemode allows light to travel straight down its centre, it also allows for larger signal bandwidths up into the GHertz region. Multimode on the other hand, bounces light along the fibre, this is due to its increased thickness. Reflecting the light off its inner wall down its whole length allows for greater distances being covered than that of Singlemode, however the drawback of this reflecting light is a reduced bandwidth and slower signal frequencies.
The light transmitter can be either a LED or a Laser, the Laser being capable of much larger distances than that of a LED. At the receiving end there is a Light Sensitive Semiconductor which conducts current when the light hits its surface.
One of the advantages of using Fibre is that it is immune to electromagnetic interference, which is a great problem in industrial environments, so transmitting office data around a factory where heavy motors are operating can cause problems to standard electrical data transmissions.
However – while it is immune to EMI, it is effected by vibration and bends in the cable, therefore when running the cable you need to take into consideration not to lay the cable next to heavy machinery, and when storing excess lengths, you should coil the fibre cable in a large loop rather than pushing it all into a confined space. A tight bend in the cable will result in light intensity reduction, so slow and easy bends are advisable.
Backbone
A network that connects individual LANs that has a higher capacity than the LANs being connected.
Balun
Impedance matching device allows coupling between coax and twisted pair.
Category cable
The higher the number ref of the cable (eg Cat5) the higher the speed it can cope with.
Ethernet Switch
This directs a packet to its destination port, whereas a standard repeating Hub will repeat the packet to all ports on the system. The destination address is read from the header of an Ethernet packet. This provides a more efficient method of transmitting data.
Client Server
This is the common way to describe a network setup. The Client is usually the users computer whose software will make requests for information from the server, located somewhere on the network.
Collision
This is the result of more than one computer trying to access the network at the same time, Ethernet uses CSMA/CD (Collision Sense. Multiple Access / Collision Detection) to detect this by allowing a computer to send a preamble onto the network and then listening to see if it is quiet. Once it is quiet the computer will begin transmission.
OSI model
This method uses 7 layers to make up how data is transmitted, layer2 is the second final layer which is the Data Link, this handles network access – detecting errors as well as network control, any errors will result in the Data Link re-sending the packet. The IP address is another layer that hold addressing information and some control information that makes up the packet.
DNS
Domain Name Server, this provides the IP address for each machine on the network, the administrator sets up the addresses in the server and attaches these to each machines name, when a machine is added to the network it gathers its address from this server. Some networks do not use DNS, which means whoever connects a PC to the network has to also setup the IP address themselves.
File Server
A computer on the network the provides mass disk storage.
Hub
Two types – Dumb Hub repeats data across all ports, whereas an Intelligent Hub can use SNMP support.
Multimode fibre
Fibre optic cable with diameter of 62.5 microns, allows transmission up to 2Km. Singlemode fibre is 8microns and can transmit over 2Km
Token Ring
A network where a computer has the right to transmit only if it holds the token, it then attaches the data and passes the token to the next computer in line. Not necessarily a ring, the topology could be a bus or star network.
Hardware address
The physical address, the data link address associated with the device. The address of the NIC Network Interface Card (MAC address), which can be assigned by the manufacturer or by local administration ie Computer name.
Note: NIC can be set for what is called ‘promiscuous mode’ which allows all cards to receive the same transmission, irrespective if where they were initially intended, NOT a good idea!
Segments
A Segment refers to the number of nodes allowable under the current LAN, when the maximum number of nodes has been reached a new segment is created, a multi port repeater is used to expand these segments. A 10Base2 segment would normally be 180mtrs and 10Base5 maximum length 500mtrs.
NetBios
Similar to the PC Bios (Basic Input Output System) but the IBM standard for extending the PC I/O onto a network.
Network layer
Layer 3 of the OSI, plans the routing of packets, it is responsible for addressing and delivery transmissions to the destination
Peer to Peer
A network where no one computer has control over another.
Physical Layer
Layer 1 of the OSI model, the actual connection on the network of the computer. Sometimes referred to as the hardware layer.
Ping
Packet Internet Groper – a program that is used to determine if a remote computer is reachable by sending it multiple ICMP echo requests and waiting for a response.
POP
Point of Presence – the connection on a network where the public connect to – Dial up Networking access.
Routing Table
A router will have a table, a list of addresses of other networks or devices and how they can be reached. (when you apply for a domain name, you are first given an IP address, it is this address only that you use until the domain name has been updated in all networks).
Session layer
Layer 5 of the OSI, when a computer accesses a network it is this layer that another computer will access and communicate with, to indicate with each other any network problems.
SONET
A high speed fibre optic connection – multiplexes low speed lines into high speed lines.
Subnet Mask
A 32bit number used to mask with the IP address to obtain the network address.
Asynchronous
Transmitted data is grouped in blocks of 8bits with a start and stop bit, this informs the receiver that the character has been sent, while this is efficient it increases the packet size because of the added control bits for each character.
Synchronous
Characters are blocked together as a group with synchronization character at start and end of each block. Faster than Asynchronous, but less efficient.
Access or Terminal server
Connects modems and terminals to a network.
The Resistor
| We begin by looking in detail at the resistor, used in PLC'S, Drives, Temperature Controllers, Computers - Televisions - Radio - Walkman - Playstation - Automobiles etc etc. In fact virtually every electronic device in the world today uses this component, without the resistor all current control, biasing networks and feedback in amplifiers would be impossible to achieve. It is interesting to note that the current flow through a resistor is proportional to the voltage across it, this will be shown later R = V/I. Any conductive material has its resistive content dependent upon its length. the longer a piece of wire - the higher its resistance, the shorter its length and/or the greater its diameter - the lower the resistance value will be. However not all resistors are made from wire. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There are several types of resistor, these differences effect the components Stability, Tolerance and Power rating. The figures below are general and depend upon the manufacturer.
Carbon resistors are the most generally used resistor type in the world today. They are cheap, have a good range of values available and their power ratings are ideal for Radios and Televisions. Values
Power
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Construction:
The rod is then machined so that the conductive material resembles a resistive length of wire.
Therefore a marking of Red-Green-Orange would be 25000 or 25Kohms. |
< film on surface of the rod 
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
The introductory level to SCADA used to be quite steep, several thousand dollars, however - Mitsubishi have now joined with CITECTSCADA, many years selling into the Australian market, jointly they have now released MX4 HMI, this is a low end package costing a few hundred dollars and allows the monitoring of production lines and reporting etc that a SCADA package provides. The product is still young so expect a steep learning curve, overall it is not bad. The next level above MX4 HMI is MX4 SCADA.
All SCADA packages if developed correctly enable you to increase your company's return on assets by delivering highly scalable, reliable control and monitoring systems to reduce your operating costs and increase profits.
There are several alternative SCADA packages also worth considering:
· Wonderware’s InTouch - a US product. Reliable & easy to use, support is worldwide. Works with all PLC’s including Mitsubishi. UK support is Pantek whose technical support was very poor 2years ago and expensive, however they have claimed they are now providing a much improved support to their customers.
Wonderware's Industrial tablets
InTouch applications on Industrial Tablets and Touch Panel Computers can provide visualization and control in many automation scenarios previously serviced only by closed proprietary 'dumb' terminals. Wonderware Industrial Tablets and Touch Panel Computers work out of the box, without additional configuration.
· Intellution iFix32 - again works with any PLC, an improved product based upon its most popular previous platform FixDemacs, extensively used in a large Automotive manufacturer, which is a good guideline for reliability. Support was excellent back in 2000
· Siemens WinCC, German product, launched in 1997. Works again with all PLC’s, a very powerful product but back in 1997 when it launched a difficult platform to get to grips with, expensive and support was disastrous. They claim to have a much improved product now. Siemens products do have a good name for reliability, but their customer support need serious attention.
Rockwell claim it is an integrated, component-based HMI for monitoring and controlling automation machines and processes. Available in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Spanish. RSView32 expands your view with open technologies
more RS VIEW 32
CitectSCADA - Australian company one of of the world’s leading industrial automation software packages, the development package is quite good, fully integrated for ease of project development. Used in a wide range of industries. CitectSCADA.
MX4 is the latest SCADA software from Mitsubishi and Australian Software Giant Citect. It's designed to deliver real productivity gains while reducing operating costs in a flexible, scalable and reliable package.
LC Automation provide a FREE! demo copy email: marketing@lca.co.uk
MX4 HMI click here for news
Sekilas tentang PLC
PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)
While the PLC is without doubt the number one choice in process control, this doesn't mean it is without problems there are two areas that have caused some problems for engineers. The first problem was that the original concept back in the seventies was to develop a device that could be easily and quickly programmed, so Ladder logic was developed to make it familiar to the electrical engineer, however over the years PLC's were being supplied by several major names such as: Allen Bradley - Omron - Siemens - Mitsubishi - Square D, and here the problem was created, each of them developed their own style of Ladder logic.
The second problem is new, PLC's have to be robust to survive the industrial environment, the designs up till 2001 were very well suited and also lent themselves to rapid replacement of faulty modules, however some PLC designers have now developed PLC's where the surface area of plastic is only 50%, this is easily damaged, and during assembly into racks small metal objects such as screws can fall into the sensitive electronics.
Also gone is the backplane that allowed rapid replacement, now modules have to be slotted together, so if the middle one fails you have to strip the PLC down. Finally the miniature size causes wiring problems, the engineers I know tend to have fingers the size of bananas, so you can imagine the fun they have in rack assembly.
Despite these little drawbacks, the PLC is still far better than the PC, which has more the two failings one of which tends to be the Operating System.
· Rockwell - a US product. Their Logix Platforms supply the end user with everything necessary to build a reliable application in control integration from Control to Drive to HMI Logix, operating over both Open and Proprietary networks.
Allen Bradley PLC
· Omron - extensively used throughout Europe and Far East. They have extended their range of PLC's with the new CJ1 series for total machine control. The CJ series is set to replace the very popular and reliable C200H alpha series. Program development is via Omron's Cx Programmer, the latest version is v6.0, replacing the dated Syswin ver3.4.
Omron PLC
Siemens, European product. For many years Siemens PLC's have been amongst those at the top, with safety, reliability and flexibility as their selling points.The Simatic range is very extensive and can provide an overall solution to process and machine control. Cost is expensive but then you are paying for a good product, however licensing and their custom programming laptop I consider too much, paying several thousand pounds against Omron and Mitsi few hundred pounds. Support is vital and if you are unfamiliar with the product then support is a priority.
Mitsubishi now have the FX3u series PLC, a more powerful and higher performance PLC.
It is very flexible and modular, allowing it to be expanded up to 384 IO, with instructions being processed in 0.065usec. Communicating via Profibus and Ethernet. Further details on this can be found via LC Automation and their INFORMATION ZONE.
Mitsubishi provide an extensive range of products from PLC's to Drives, Robots and HMI's and most importantly their overall customer support is good. The PLC development tool is GxDeveloper, this superceded Medoc, GX Developer is a bit dated, however they now have available GXiec, which is a very good development package, allowing you to create programs based upon IEC61131.
GXiec in our opinion is very good.
Keyence The world's smallest PLC with AC power supply built-in. Easy-to-use Access Window, Compact operator interface panel available. Fast processing with 10-µs interrupt and 30-kHz high-speed counters. Complete with User-friendly Windows® ladder logic software.
Typical PLC Control System
