Hi there, I'm an industrial electrician, 21 years old. I've got some ladder logic concepts including a project of a pallet wrapping machine with a Delta plc.
Now I want to learn Tia Portal the proper way. How do you guys recommend to start?

I've got a question regarding remote access that complies with ISO 13849-1.

ISO 13849-1:2023 (5.2.4) states:

Safety-related software of the SRP/CS shall not be modifiable by remote access unless the local validation of the safety function is performed.

It states that the safety-related software cannot be modifiable unless there is local validation. But how can you even do this? How can you protect your software, so it's not modifiable unless there is local validation?

Or is it a typo in the norm and it should be modified instead of modifiable?

To me it seems like, if you allow access to the safety program remotely, you can only comply with this norm if it's in a written procedure. But even then procedures are easily ignored.

Anyone have any ideas on how to comply with this, without dropping remote access :)?

Or am I misunderstanding this completely?

Hi I am changing a panelview 1000 to PV7 connected to a SLC05/4 . I am using a ANC-100e to connect them.

The migration from panelbuilder went ok , and some data are showed , and numeric input are working fine.

The problem I have is with the data from registers in N and F up then certain values .

With a N7:19 I can see the value, but with a N7:160. A message "Data Table N7:19 - N7:160 is too small or missing" ( N7 in Logix is 256 elements size ) , same as Float F31:11 is working great but with F31:72 fails , giving to me the same message , only changing to F Memory. (F31 is 255 elements size )

It seems to me , the HMI is asking more words than the DH+ can handle , but I am not sure if I am ok.

My question is , do I have to re map all the upper memory spaces to a new data table in lower memory spaces (for example N7:160 to N40:0) but is a lot of work , or there is another easier way to fix this .

I already try to put in a new screen one numeric indicator pointing to N7:160 , and it gives to me the same error message , just from 0 - 160 , am I missing something ?

On one of our machines, we have a DC motor and a DC drive. drive was blowing Two main 200 A input fuses once in a month,so i replaced input contactor 26km18 now it is blowing 1 fuse in every 2 day. I tested everything but couldn’t find anything wrong. I replaced the blown fuses with new ones, and everything is working fine now. My question is: why the drive is blowing fuses?I couldn’t understand what is causing it. Is it a time to replace the drive? if there is something wrong inside the drive then why it keeps working for couple of days after replacing fuses.

The 2 fuses were blowing with old contactor

06F05 06F06

after replacing contactor

1 fuse is blowing and it could be any one out of 3.

Thanks.

Has anyone ever done this?

I want to basically query if a number is in a SQL column or not.

I know there are hardware solutions like the Softing tManager module, but I would rather not use that if I don't have to.

I see some youtube vidoes of a company called Arc Automaton Consulting showing some SQL libraries they sell or sold at one point.

So I built this bench, I'm trying to learn as much as I can while being a maintenance tech in an automation building. My boss is very good about giving me any spare parts to build something like this. It's obviously not done as I can't really dedicate all my time to it due to things like PMs and projects. There's no load on the vfds but I was just wondering how it looks. Does it look good enough to the point where I can get my foot in the door? I really want to become a controls systems engineer. I feel like these are the problems I wanna solve since I've been in the Automation and material handling world for about 6 years now.

A little about the panel: there's no outputs at the moment other than the vfd. I set up the stratix switch basically to get multiple vfds working and to understand the stratix switches more. The dc power supply is for that stratix switch obviously. I also have the safety circuit working for the vfd instead of just bypassing it. Again to help my understanding of the circuits in our actual panels. The vfd has simple start and stop ladder logic. Nothing special. Everything is static ips, something i wanna try to change in the future. I got outputs wired into the output card but it goes nowhere at the moment. Before we started working we tore everything out from what the old panel was. Even the din rails. It was literally empty with the exception of the lights. Ive got every important component hooked up to a breaker. The stratix switch 8000 is on the 2 amp breaker. PLC power uses a 5 amp. Main power coming in 120 uses a 50amp. Maybe overkill. And we have a terminal strip with random stuff on it like the outlet going to outside the panel so I can charge my laptop. Also the lights go to that as well. Also power for the buttons as well.

Future plans for the panel:

Probably need to make the lights work at least a little.

Need to hook up a load per vfd to test them with a load.

Need to add another vfd. I want 2 at minimum.

Anything else I should add?

Any critiques? Anything I can do better? Anything that seems like i don't get? I'm just trying to get better while doing my job so I can get into this industry. I figure a project like this will make me understand everything I would need to get in some sort of controls job.

Thanks for anyone's time. Looking forward to people's opinion!

Hey everyone,
I trained as an automotive technician and now work as a software developer. Mechatronics interests me because it sits somewhere between the two fields I’ve worked in. I’m thinking about studying it, and I’m wondering whether it’s a good long-term career move as AI gets better.

Working in a shop meant improvising all the time. Sometimes you’d have a seized bolt, sometimes you’d have to use an angle grinder in a really tight spot, and sometimes you’d run into a problem you’d never seen before. It’s hard for me to picture AI or a robot taking over that kind of work.

For those of you working in mechatronics, where is AI already helping you, and which parts of your job do you think will still need someone there in person to figure things out? Would you choose the same degree again today?

Can you recommend any good Udemy courses or YouTube channels/playlists that cover the fundamentals (project structure, symbol table, OB/FC/FB/DB, addressing, online troubleshooting)?

Thanks in advance!

We’re reviewing our stack light conventions, and I’m curious what others use on their machines. My proposal is the one below:

⚫ No light: powered off.

🩵 Cyan:

• Flashing: powered on, not initialized.

• Steady: initialization in progress.

🟢 Green:

• Flashing: ready to run in AUTO.

• Steady: running in AUTO.

🔵 Blue:

• Flashing: ready in manual mode

• Steady: an action is in progress in manual mode (like a motor is moving)

🟠 Amber:

• Flashing: reverse security mode active (it moves an axis reversely in case something is trapped) .

• Steady: warning or attention required.

🔴 Red:

• Flashing: active E-stop.

• Steady: active error.

My idea is to make each machine state identifiable at a glance, without having to walk over to the HMI, being useful not only for operators but for technicians and engineers too.

How do you handle the color code on your machines? Do you think my proposal can be confusing because there are too many colors even though most of the time will be green or red?

Hey everyone,

I'm curious to hear some war stories from the field. Have you ever been thrown into a PLC retrofit or swap with an insanely tight deadline?

How did it go? Did everything fire right up, or did it turn into a nightmare retrofit with missing documentation, mystery legacy networks, and zero sleep?

A coworker keeps giving me a hard time, saying I'm a magnet for cursed retrofits.

Drop your stories below—I need some motivation (or misery loves company)!

Hi, this is my first servo project and I can't seem to figure out why my servo's current command spikes near the end of the deceleration portion of a move, causing the motor to lurch forward even while it is moving. I expect it in the acceleration but is it wrong to assume that current would dwindle during a deceleration? I am using a VPL-A0752E-PJ12AA servo with a Kinetix 5500 2198-H008-ERS drive. There are no machine actions that happen when the conveyor is moving and, as you can see, it doesn't seem to matter if it is a long move or a short move, the current spikes just the same, causing a lurch. Has anyone else seen something like this?

I am attempting to establish EtherNet/IP communication with a SIG300 unit using a generic module configuration for implicit messaging with a Micro850 (model 2080-L50E-48QBB). I have been unable to get it working using the settings found in the manual:

Data Type = SINT
Input Assembly: 101, Size: 404 bytes
Output Assembly: 100, Size: 404 bytes
Configuration Assembly: 102, Size: 138 bytes

For testing purposes, I successfully established communication between the SIG300 and a CompactLogix controller using the EDS file, which confirms that the settings and the connection path to the SIG300 are correct. I then attempted to connect the SIG300 to the same CompactLogix controller using the generic module configuration with those same settings, but it also failed. This rules out the issue being specific to the Micro850—which does not support EDS files but works fine with generic module configurations (I have other devices from different manufacturers currently operating as generic modules on that same Micro850).

Could you let me know if there is a different configuration for the generic module, or if the SIG300 simply does not support this type of connection?

I opened a ticket with official SICK support, but the first response I got showed they didn’t even know what a "generic module" was. After that, I received a response that was clearly entirely AI-generated.

Thank you.

Found this in an abandoned building at my plant. Thought you guys might enjoy.

Never got to work on one myself but I’m sure some of you guys are still running these hahah.
Very interesting to see how the nomenclature has changed over the years. “Examine On” “Examine Off”

Also liked the back cover “PLC is a registered trademark of Allen Bradley Company”

Hello I uploaded from the controller on a old machine, is there any way to get the symbols/descriptions?

The refrigerator attacks in France are a pretty nasty example of what happens when industrial controls are exposed.

Around 700 supermarkets were affected, with refrigeration temperatures reportedly pushed high enough to ruin food and even cause fires.

A lot of the affected equipment was older and no longer receiving security updates.

For people working with commercial controls, how common is it to find older refrigeration or HVAC controllers still accessible from the internet?

Hi everyone,

I'm a process engineer at a startup that due to lack of funds has to take up the control system (and loving learning it!)
We're haveing a WAGO + Codesys setup connected with a RevPi to the cloud for online monitoring.

I'm creating the control system in ST and have a good running state machine.
However, the alarms are still a gap in the software.

Ideally we want the following two things from the alarms:

- A list of which alarms are active (Should I use the codesys alarm manager for this?)

- A log which shows when and what alarm was triggered.

I assume these things are standard practise in the industry. How did you approach this?
And do you have good online resources for this that I can use to learn about how to implement this?

Hi all,

After some ideas of advice on this one! I'm currently after some software that I can relate to Rockwell studio/logix for testing and simulation of conveyors. We have a line of twenty conveyors contactor drive and I would like to simulate vfd operation with adjustable speed for setting draws and accel/decel points and effects on traffic.

For e.g conveyor 20, adjusted to 30hz, conveyor 21 25hz, etc etc

Any tips well welcomed !

It's finals.

this isn't a homework question, but i couldn't really think of which tag would apply.

Classmates with a cs background are having a harder time writing code for these machine trainers we have in class than those with no cs background.

One of the biggest changes (for me at least) is having to deal with physical hardware and all rungs are active at the same time (of course if there isn't boolean logic before it).

The code that may logically looks sound/has good workflow, doesn't run/work because the sensor is bad/blocked/not powered/colliding energized solenoids/ect (half the class we're spending writing code, the other half we work on changing our code because the TA purpsly adds problems to the machines, actual it's some box that has programs that mimicked problems).

So code that was working before lunch doens't work anymore.

In a way it's fun, but also aaahhhh.

After downloading the KUKA GSDML file in TIA Portal, I added 64 bytes of Safety I/O (input/output) to Slot 1 and 256 bytes of DI/DO to Slot 2.

I also set the KUKA's default F-destination address to match the PLC's F-destination address.

In the PLC Device View, the KUKA GSDML file is displayed with a green check mark.

Does this mean PROFIsafe has been successfully configured? Is there anything else I need to do in TIA Portal?

I have a versamax micro IC200UDD040 and using proficy 7 I'm trying to program it using a pl2303 usb rs232 converter and cable made with the correct pinout but I cannot make it go online even with different settings. Is the problem with the adapter or something else?

It truly seems like Studio won't do large operations unless I'm jiggling my mouse. The status bar just sits still if there is no mouse movement. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, but this is the second computer and installation that I'm experiencing this with. Is this the norm?

I have a customer with a MP2300Siec with Murrelektronik IO bus nodes. One was upgraded from 56505 to 56535 years ago, and works fine. One was upgraded last week and we are having an issue where it creates a connection with the PLC, but then disconnects and immediately reconnects every minute or two, a very obvious problem when trying to run the machine.

When monitoring the IO module status in Yaskawa, the value shows 4096, which indicates a good connection. When it fails, the value changes to 8448 (hex 2100). According to Yaskawa documentation, the lower 3 of that code indicate a connection in use or duplicate:

I put a scope on the 24vdc and it's rock steady with no dips. We also replaced the pre-molded ethernet cable w/ M12 connector for the Murr bus node itself.

Yaskawa blames Murr. Murr blames Yaskawa. Not very productive responses from either, and I have no idea what else to check right now.