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Jacob E2 asked Cass Z commented

Digital Twin/Emulation Using Allen-Bradley CompactLogix Connectivity Issue

Hello,

I am having difficulty connecting to our Allen-Bradley CompactLogix system.

I have tested my computer and verified that it is capable of connecting to the PLC.

I've also confirmed that the CPU path is 1,0 using other software.

My situation is very similar to this question:https://answers.flexsim.com/questions/94455/allen-bradley-cpu-path.html

allen-bradley.png

Since this question is over a year old, I was wondering if anyone has successfully connected FlexSim to an Allen-Bradley PLC since then and/or if there are any examples?

Also, is there any way to verify that a connection has been successful? For example, a table or something in FlexSim showing the data coming from the PLC?

I've followed the manual and set up the Allen-Bradley connection, Tag, and Sensor Variable and connected them to my emulation variable in process flow, but I can't tell if my model is actually connected to the Allen-Bradley system or not.

FlexSim 21.0.10
plc emulationdigital twinallen-bradley
allen-bradley.png (116.5 KiB)
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Jacob E2 avatar image Jacob E2 commented ·

Discovered this error in the system console after checking the box for "Enable Debug Output" in Emulation Properties. Is anyone familiar with this error?

emulation-error.png

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Joshua S avatar image Joshua S Jacob E2 commented ·
@Jacob E2

We still don't know of many people who have connected to Allen Bradleys. Are you still having difficulties? If so could we set up a time so you can walk me through your process? My email is [email protected], let me know what days and times work best for you.

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Jacob E2 avatar image Jacob E2 Joshua S commented ·

Hi @Joshua S,

Thank you for reaching out. I sent you an email.

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Jeanette F avatar image Jeanette F ♦♦ commented ·
Hello @Jacob E2, Were you able to receive the help you needed from @Joshua S?
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Jacob E2 avatar image Jacob E2 Jeanette F ♦♦ commented ·
Hello @Jeanette F, Yes and no. Joshua responded to my email, and after some discussion he and I did not meet since the issue has already been raised to Luciano Cavallero at Flexcon. I met with Luciano on 2/16. Currently still waiting for him to complete some tests and get back to me.
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Luciano Cavallero avatar image Luciano Cavallero Jacob E2 commented ·

Hi @Jacob E2,
I set up a AB environment to test the problem. I'll write you next few days.

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Jacob E2 answered Cass Z commented

This issue has been resolved with the help of @Luciano Cavallero!

I needed to update my software and license to FlexSim 2022 to fix some bugs.

After these steps were completed, I was able to successfully connect with the Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC following the steps in the FlexSim User Manual.

One strange thing we noticed was that even though the Element Type for the Tags were set to Boolean, FlexSim still reads them as an array instead of an integer. So we had to take that into account when creating the logic. But nevertheless we got it working!

Thanks again, Luciano!

-Jacob



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Cass Z avatar image Cass Z commented ·
Hi, @Jacob E2 I am so excited to see this on the forum!

I have been trying to use FlexSim to connect Allen Bradley PLC (L30ER), and currently, I am confused about the "Offset" and "Element Count", can you help me with it? I am not sure how to relate them to PLC's side.

Thank you so much.

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Jacob E2 avatar image Jacob E2 Cass Z commented ·

Hi, @Cass Z This was definitely an exciting project! I'll try to answer any questions you have. I was able to get almost everything I needed to complete the model from the FlexSim User Manual Emulation section.

FlexSim Manual: Emulation

allen-bradley-variable.png

I'm sure every project and configuration is different, but for my project I set both the "Offset" and "Element Count" to 0.

Thanks,

Jacob

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Cass Z avatar image Cass Z Jacob E2 commented ·

Hi, @Jacob E2

Thank you so much for your response and help! I just posed a question about it in detailed. You can take a look at it if you have time.

https://answers.flexsim.com/questions/121116/connection-to-allen-bradley-l30er-plc.html


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