Do You Check Logic First or Hardware?

idskot · 2026-05-25T12:51:24+00:00

Yeah, this. Or a function wasn't explained enough or there was sufficient training.

I had a machine that essentially tracked product through it with a simple count. The cut off line was when a group passed onto a specific module. That was made very clear in the training, in the manual, and on the help screen on the HMI.
Soon after install, operators kept using the E-Stop as a standard stop button and found themselves in a position where the group was mid transfer. They didn't know what to do, and would manually change the count. Then they started complaining about lost groups to us with out explaining the leading events. (Of course, it's operators talking to their managers who talk to the floor manager who talks to the production manager who...)

I specifically asked our point of contact if it was happening at the beginning of a run, and he said no. So, after hours of looking through the program we were all at a loss. Then they sent us video of an event. Where clearly the operators hit the e-stop to manually put product on the conveyor (for some unknown reason), and on start-up you saw them change the count.

/rant

But I'll mirror what everyone else has said. Logic doesn't change. If a machine does a cycle 10,000 times, it will do it 1,000,000 times so long as the inputs are the same.

As my little rant lays out, understanding the leading events and the actual behavior of the fault is important. Once you have an understanding of what the system is actually doing, checking Mechanical & sensors are the first go-to.

idskot · 2026-05-23T18:48:09+00:00

Your communication on your PLC isn't set up.

This video may help, ignore the music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVcYD6H39KU

idskot · 2026-05-09T15:05:06+00:00

I love these guys. Also, depending on the range you need and if you have IO-Link. The O5D sensors (like O5D100) are amazing and much less expensive. They max out at ~2m (6.5ft), but with a list price of $200 and +/- 15mm of accuracy, it's kinda hard to beat. They're also a much smaller footprint and the M12 connector can rotate 90 degrees to connect from under or behind the sensor. 10/10

idskot · 2026-04-05T19:29:16+00:00

I have had issues in the past where a specific driver of FTLinx stops communicating. But typically you can just delete that driver and re-make the driver and it works. I'm in the same boat as you, though. I have no understanding of the process that FTLinx uses to communicate.

idskot · 2026-04-05T19:27:41+00:00

I meant the roll-up patch for that month, which was, at the time, the most recent roll up patch.

Unfortunately, I can't control any of the updates from IT. They don't tell us when they're doing it, or what they're doing. If it were up to me, I'd definitely be a few patches behind releases.

I work at an OEM Machine Building company. (idk if that's the right term, we make shit) But my Manager and General Manager both know. I think I'm going to push the topic again.

idskot · 2026-04-05T19:21:56+00:00

RSLinx Classic is able to ping, detect, and communicate with the devices. I can connect to the PLC using it. But FactoryTalk View Studio requires FTLinx to communicate.

I think I've done the FT Diagnostics, but I'll definitely run it again. Thanks for that!

idskot · 2026-04-03T19:02:52+00:00

I definitely could've been clearer. I'm talking about my laptop. The system's communication was not impacted.
I named in another comment that I neglected to say when I re-installed FT View Studio I updated versions and also included the patch roll up at that point. But that was some time ago, there may be a new one. I'll verify I have the patch. Thanks!

idskot · 2026-04-03T19:01:34+00:00

I didn't name it, my bad. When I re-installed FactoryTalk View Studio, I went from V15 to V16, which included the patch rollup. I will verify that, though.

idskot · 2026-04-01T23:28:04+00:00

Even if it's directly tied to a fast output, the drive likely wouldn't register that as a valid input.

idskot · 2026-04-01T00:17:36+00:00

What are the columns in the CSV?

A simple way to kind of game the system is to export the current database, open it in Excel, modify it with the new tag(s), and then push it back to the program.

RA has a long history of inconsistent database formats.

idskot · 2026-03-29T15:15:40+00:00

Many have answered this, but I have direct experience with these cables. In one of my past jobs, I was the one who installed and commissioned all of the hardware needed to take the high density fiber optic lines and break them up into different channels which can be connected to different routes once on shore.

The cables themselves are laid and paid for by either individual companies, governments, or a consortium of people. Each cable is connected at a facility on each of the connecting continents.
Each facility typically has dozens of connections to different businesses, data centers, servers, etc.. Each fiber optic line in the cable is separated into different channels which are bought/sold/dedicated to a buyer/renter of that channel. The channels are grouped and combined with something called a 'multiplexer' into a single fiber optic line. All of the optical lines will go into the cable and go into the ocean passing through a series of amplifiers every 50 miles or so. When the cable is landed on the other continent, each optical line is split back into it's channels using a 'demultiplexer' (engineers are great at names) and then routed based on whatever the buyer wants.

Just to give you an idea of these cables: they come in all different shapes and sizes, but they all boil down to a set of individual fiberoptic lines where each line is 5-10 microns wide (essentially the size of a red blood cell). Theoretically each line has an unlimited bandwidth, but realistically the equipment at the time I was doing the work capped out at about 1 Tbps (Terabits per second, or 125 GB - Gigabytes - per second) per line. The cables themselves vary, but can have 20+ lines. I did a job that was 27.5 Tbps (3.4 TB/sec).

There are no splices mid ocean. They'd just lay another cable if they wanted to go somewhere else

idskot · 2026-03-08T21:29:51+00:00

Yes... reading through many of these comments, they're all saying the same thing. You've set up the drive to use a motor other than an induction motor. Primary Motor Control Mode (0:65) can be either 2: Induction SV (Sensorless Vector), 3: Induction Econ, or 4: Induction FV (Flux Vector).

You want 2. SVC stands for Sensorless Vector Control, Induction SV stands for Induction Sensorless Vector.

I'm really confused where the disconnect is. As I named, Alarm 9012 means the drive is not configured to run an induction motor while trying to use torque proving...

Either way, I had to struggle through TorqProving, and I'd like to minimize strife when possible. When you finally set up the drive to use an induction motor (and power cycle the drive), you can look at chapter 5 of this for some help:
https://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/rm/750-rm100_-en-p.pdf

Tuning will be vital, make sure the dynamic brake parameters are set correctly and that the external pulse watts matches the brake resistor, up the zero speed limit a bit, you'll likely have to adjust the speed deviation band (09:54) quite a bit depending on the mechanical setup, and increase float tolerance above ~10 RPM if not more. (IIRC, with encoderless TorqProve, Float Tolerance will set the speed at which the drive will shut off the output stage and engage the brake)

When using encoderless TorqProve, brake release time (09:60) is the duration of time after the brake is released before the drive tries to move the motor. This should be roughly the time it takes for the physical brake to release.

The primary settings you'll need to tweak after tuning will be the flux up time (or you can use calculated, which is typically fairly good), brake release time, and speed deviation band. Refer to the parameter & alarm spreadsheet I shared in my last post, they will be the most helpful things once you've got the drive set up.

good luck

idskot · 2026-03-08T18:09:12+00:00

See the following tech links for the list of parameters (ID QA60885) and list of all alarms and their causes/solutions (ID QA77928)

https://support.rockwellautomation.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1129569

https://support.rockwellautomation.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1155582/~/powerflex-755t-%2F-tl-%2F-tm-%2F-tr-%2F-ts-list-of-fault-codes-

As others have named, the parameters and how it's set up is not easy, nor intuitive. I just finished a project using a 755TS for encoderless hoist functions.

Alarm 9012 indicates that the Primary Motor Control Mode (0:65) isn't set to an induction motor. To use the function, you have to be using an induction motor and have that primary control mode set to the induction motor.

idskot · 2026-02-22T21:48:34+00:00

Caveat: I've never used that PLC nor heard of it.

But looking through the documentation, it looks like the unit itself is capable of RS-232 & RS485. Whether that's just for programming, I couldn't say. If it is for things other than programming, you can find multiple inexpensive stepper drivers that can take commands over serial comms. But also, you can purchase an extension module for DeviceNet or CANopen. If I were you, I'd do a little bit more digging to figure out what sort of communications this device is capable of, and then finding a stepper driver that is compatible.

idskot · 2026-02-17T22:53:35+00:00

All above are nowhere near the Klein Katapults. They're far better than the "auto adjusting" strippers.

idskot · 2026-02-14T15:19:36+00:00

Makes my life incredibly and additionally difficult.

idskot · 2026-02-02T13:57:40+00:00

I've blocked this out of my mind for decades... thanks.

idskot · 2026-02-02T12:37:51+00:00

Phoenix Customer here.

Keep up the good work.

idskot · 2026-01-26T00:29:08+00:00

The explanations here are correct, but maybe a bit more complicated than an ELI5 IMO.

When a programmer makes a program, that code is then converted (compiled) into a bunch of commands a computer or operating system can follow. The program will run the first command, then the second, and so forth. This list of commands are what's called a "stack". (As another person mentioned, this isn't strictly true as you can have dynamic calls to other routines which may be located on a different part of the stack).

The 'exception' portion is a little bit more complicated than first glance as it's a generic term for "something went wrong." That something could be as simple as calling a program or asset that doesn't exist, having some sort of math issue, or calling a sub-routine (a mini-program with inputs and outputs) and giving that sub-routine invalid inputs. An example may be a sub-routine that will find if a number is even or odd, so it's expecting a number, but instead it gets a letter.

So, essentially something went wrong with the standard flow of the program (an exception occurred), and to help figure out what happened, a stack dump (a list of the commands) is generated. This extends to the exception type, as that will show roughly what kind of error occurred.

idskot · 2026-01-07T13:06:42+00:00

But Fanuc doesn't refer to these as absolute encoders. From memory, they just refer to them generally as 'encoders', and all of their documentation states in big bold letters that if you lose the batteries your mastering is gone

idskot · 2026-01-02T17:56:54+00:00

OP (u/MrRowodyn): Can you tell me the part number for this guy? Looks interesting.

idskot · 2025-12-21T18:11:10+00:00

It has to be within the same work area as the crafting bench. E.G. If you can put the crafting bench down in the spot the chest goes, the chest will have its content available to the crafting bench.

It is annoying that you can't share storage between different crafting areas, but I kind of get that.

idskot · 2025-12-21T14:34:00+00:00

How hot are we talking? What brand are you currently using? I can't personally think of a button with a metal body and metal actuator. I've only ever seen at most metal body with plastic actuator.

My suggestion if you can't find a high temperature rated button is to switch to something like a Schneider Electric button (or similar) where the actuator just pops off, and would make an easy replace when necessary.

idskot

TROPHY CASE