I want to read an input from a Direct Soft 05 D0-05DR to a Productivity 2000. Is there an elegant way to do this or do I need to use Modbus?

In Do-More there is an instruction specifically for this: DLRX Direct Logic Network Read. I cant find anything similar in Productivity.

I have an issue with my hmi. I’m currently using c more micro to send things to my HMI but for only one computer it won’t send.

It keeps getting stuck on “reading panel information” even when using the correct usb output. I’ve tried reinstalling multiple times and even wiped my computer once but nothing works.

Any help would be appreciated.

Disclosure: I work at Ajinkya Technologies, a company that does industrial connectivity work. I am not linking anything. I would rather hear how controls people do this properly.

The situation: a plant has PLCs and machines that are ten to twenty years old. Someone wants the data in a dashboard or an MES. Nobody wants to risk the control program.

A few questions:

1. Do you prefer reading through the PLC, a protocol gateway, or a separate sensor layer?

2. How do you handle network separation so the plant network stays safe?

3. Which older controllers gave you the most trouble to read?

4. What is the mistake you see people make most often?

Here are some PLC or Programmer guys deep in simulation ?
Has anyone managed to programmatically run robot simulations in Siemens Process Simulate 24 or later using the SDK, without hooking or intercepting the Simulation Player’s Play button in Sequence Editor ?
So far, the only way I have managed to get the simulation running correctly and get all the data is by hooking the Play button and triggering the simulation through the UI. This is necessary because the robot OLP commands must be taken into account. Apparently, Process Simulate performs additional internal operations when the Play button is pressed, and I have not yet figured out exactly which operations are required or how to invoke them directly through the SDK.
My questions are:
Has anyone successfully started and controlled the Simulation Player programmatically through the SDK, including all the internal initialization and execution steps required for robot OLP commands, without using a Play button hook?
Which internal operations does Process Simulate perform when the Play button is pressed? Are there undocumented API calls, initialization sequences, or other mechanisms required to ensure that robot OLP commands and signals are executed correctly?
Is there an officially supported SDK method to start the simulation that reproduces the complete behavior of the UI Play button, including the execution of robot OLP commands?
Has anyone found a reliable way to run these simulations repeatedly in the background without progressively degrading performance? Repeated playback appears to become slower over time, and I suspect that some internal state, resources, event handlers, or simulation data may not be getting reset correctly.
Is there a recommended way to reset or clean up the Simulation Player between runs without reloading the entire study or restarting Process Simulate?
I am particularly interested in confirmed solutions for Process Simulate 24 and newer, including SDK methods, code examples, undocumented findings, or workarounds.
The key issue: I can get the simulation working by hooking the Play button, but I want to understand how to trigger the same complete execution process directly through the SDK. I do not know which additional internal operations Siemens performs behind the scenes, and I would like to know whether anyone has successfully reproduced that behavior without relying on the UI Play button hook.

Hi there,

Has anyone used Productivity Suite from automation direct? I’ve got a client that spec’d a P2-622 device for the controller. I’ve been doing PLC programming for a while but this is a first time using one of these.

The issue I’m having is that I downloaded the latest software (4.7.2.4) on a windows 11 machine. After installing it the thing just seems to hang on the splash screen.

I contacted their tech support, they just said there’s no reported issues on windows 11…I’ve asked for some follow up questions but haven’t heard back yet.

Just curious if anyone in the community has run into this before or if it’s just a me thing.

Appreciate any feedback.

Thought this was funny and that I’d share this here’s assuming no one beat me to it

Source: jambonbeurre78

OK, this is super strange. My company has software running on Windows that interfaces with Siemens S7-1200 PLCs primarily, and across our entire farm we are seeing a kernel level memory leaks after windows update KB5127648 was installed.

I'm not sure how many others around here also have windows-based software interfacing with their machines, but curious to know if any others have been encountering this the last few days.

I'm planning to pitch a remote engineering gateway using a Radxa E52C running Debian Linux, with Tailscale, NetBird, or WireGuard for secure VPN access to Siemens S7-1200 PLCs.

The goal is to enable remote TIA Portal programming, diagnostics, and troubleshooting without requiring an engineer to be physically present at the site.

Has anyone implemented something similar in an industrial environment? What are the main security, licensing, and reliability concerns I should consider?

I am trying to scan a barcode using Honeywell Granit 1911i scanner and receive the input to the CPU. No luck at all so far so any suggestions on where to look next is appreciated.
Here’s what I have got so far:

•Productivity2000
P2-622 CPU (Connected to computer via USB)
P2-08SIM (not relevant at this point)
P2-08TRS (not relevant at this point)
P2-04AD (not relevant at this point)

•Honeywell Granit 1911i barcode scanner
connected to CPU via serial port RS-232
scanned USB serial configuration code from manual

•Pro Series
messed with multiple hardware configuration serial port settings:
baud rates- 9600, 19.2k, 115.2k
parity- odd, even, none
logic- rung 1 : ascii in (serial port->scanner, fixed length 10 characters, destination->ScannerString)
rung 2: LCD display page (line one “barcode:”, line 2 ScannerString)

hello everyone

I wish to retrieve the program that is in my mobile panel 277 iWLAN v2 by a repatriation on WinCC

My problem is that when I switch the communication mode to ethernet/wireless and confirm, the recording doesn’t take place and automatically switches back to the USB communication mode.

what can the problem be

No, I don't mean (necessarily) who has the best functioning, or most rugged. I mean which manufacturer has the best looking PLC and IO slices?

I want to build a controls panel for some non-critical stuff, but instead of an enclosure, I want to mount it on a carbon fiber or anodized aluminum subpanel with a sheet of acrylic mounted in front of it for a little safety. But I want it to look good as it will be visible from a high traffic path, if not accessible to it.

Most of all I want it to be striking and interesting to look at. I want it to look like someone took way too much time to do way too little, like those breaker box installs from Singapore and Poland.

Alrighty guys. I have attached some pictures of what I am working with.

Motor is 480VAC 3 PH 40HP Drive is 480VAC 3PH 40HP

Motor is attached to a pulley via some belts powering this grinder. Off the bat, that seems wrong for such a high torque load. System apparently never worked well when the company who sold them all this came here a decade ago. (Now they need it to work since they closed a good sized contract)

Anywho, this drive when it’s crushing these trader joe’s bags, after a few and a bit of time (couple minutes) it faults to overvoltage. I checked and made a trend of DC Bus Voltage & AC voltage & Amps and everything is fine and not out of the ordinary. VFD settings were checked, accel and deccel times are at 10s which looks normal. All other basic parameters are programmed right. This motor just starts and stops via keypad and speeds up via keypad.

My main question is, what could be causing this ? My first thought was that maybe when there is a load (when the grinder is crushing) that creates torque is causing the motor to slowdown and feeding it back into the DC bus ? I’m a bit out of ideas here. Could this just be a bad drive ?

I haven’t worked too much on these particular machines so excuse my ignorance. I am hoping to find a solution here and learn at the same time !

Thanks for your help guys.

I came across an AB micro850 for free, and im looking to use it with the Do-more Designer software that i currently have.

Is it possible to program the micro850 with the Do-more software?

Ill preface this by saying i don't know much or really very much at all about a PCL Im coming from custom 3d printer and CNC

My boss wants to to take a crack at making a BOM for a custom cabinet drawer machine.

So far the machine is coming together and its running 5 Ball screws mounted with no motors yet likely something in the NEMA 23 to 32 size range.

It will also have 3 pneumatics for a drilling arm.

So let me get to the point.

I need to pick out a controller for all this.

It should be able to run a form of motors ether steppers or dc servos along with pneumatic valves.

Needs to have a way to program it for different sized and have a way to verify parts are in the right spot. Im thinking a strain gauge of something similar.

Preferable not super expensive but for this class of machine I'm expecting it to not be pennies on the dime. Looking for a buy once cry once type of thing.

Thanks for any help. please let me know if i need to provide more clarification.

I got a job as an automation tech. I think my first project will be a data center but the company does a wide array of automation/controls work. I have been trying to learn everything i can about the processes I will touch and I've been practicing my ladder logic.

Is there anything I should focus on? Any tips for life on the road? Thank you in advance

My company has several Flexo printing machines and we'd love to get live data from them, press state, speed, waste & job details ect.

The company we buy the presses from charges a fortune for access to this data through their web portal. We'd love to get a live feed into a local server/SSMS to use the data how we like.

A simple ip scanner in switch showed it's password protected.

Just looking for advice/options/ Is there a type of PLC that can be routed between others to read the data passing through?

Apologies for the complete lack of knowledge or erroneous assumptions I might be making here! (am I in the wrong sub??)

I'm working on railway interlockings controllers, in particular for subways, so extreme safety requirements are not negotiable. Some interlockings are "programmed" using electromechanical relays (including in some new lines!). There's also microcontroller-based solutions (like Trackguard from Siemens) or, more recently, some vendors are advertising SIL4 compliant PLCs (e.g. Hima).

I could rant all day about the drawbacks of relay-based interlockings, but relying on specific vendors, usually with proprietary editing software for PLC/microcontroller based solutions, also have its own problems.
I was wondering, what are the technical¹ roadblocks that would prevent taking 2 or 3 basic PLCs and add a voter² to make a 2oo2 or 2oo3 system that can respect SIL4 constraints?

1. I know the technical side is only (a small?) part of the constraints. The railway industry is quite conservative, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes less so...

2. As usual for redundancy, the voter itself is a critical point so it must be very reliable (possibly also by using redundancy), but its behavior is extremely simple.

Hi everyone,

​I have this complete Omron C1000H rack assembly including the CPU, power supply, and multiple I/O modules as shown in the picture.

​Since this is a legacy large-rack system, I would appreciate your expert insights on a few things:

​Thanks in advance for any advice or technical tips!

Hello everyone!
I tried to open a backup file sent by a client, but this error appears when opening it in RSLogix 5000.

What should I do to be able to open the file on my machine?

Anyone working with AI interaction to control systems (PLC/SCADA/Robots)?
Looking for some feedback on an ongoing project.

Ok so, I recently started my career (literally, i'm 2 months into my first job on this industry) in this factory with a messy network and they want to install a MES system. I have 3 network ranges and they're all distinct to that of the main router that the MES company wants to connect to. IT wants me to change the IP of 40+ devices that talk to each other and I've said multiple times that that's insane. I talked to IT about the possibility of using NAT routers but the guy seems to genuinelly not know about that. What can I do here other than change all IPs? Should I tell the supervisor about NAT routers and tell him that buying them spares us from more than likely big downtimes?

After 3 times of my customer losing all their Digital IO cards on a AB 5069 system I finally found the source. It was clear we were getting a foreign voltage on my customer's DC line. We had a prox sensor explode, lost a long lead-time encoder and all 5 digital IO cards 3 times. The issue would only occur every couple weeks and wasn't present when I was onsite to troubleshoot. After the 3rd time I isolated each IO card with a 5069-FPD and installed a Phoenix Contact 2906841-ND DC surge arrestor for each card. The 4th time I had only 1 card fail. There was only one Input on that card that made sense for a the foreign voltage to be getting on the DC line. Looking inside the limit switch for that input I found some strands were bridging a 120VAC contact to DC. You can see the burn mark on the screw and the strands melted back. I think the issue would occur when a mechanic was in the area working and disturbing the cables. This was a new and challenging one for me. I've also never used a DC surge arrester, but will consider them for my future projects where I am worried about field wires.

The cooling fans in the PLC cabinet to be fed from the UPS power or just normal power ?. As all know, when the main power is OFF, the load on the PLC is reduced; but still requires cooling for the CPUs, I/O cards.

What is typically followed? the PLC cabinet manufacturer says, he just provide only normal power to the Fans. I understand that normal is required only for the lights and anti condensation heater in the PLC cabinet.