using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using Siemens.Engineering;

namespace PortalAutoSave
{
    class TIAAutoSave
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //Endlessly run this instruction
            while(true)
            {
                //Call function to save portal projects
                SavePortal();
                //Wait 5 minutes
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(300000);
            }
        }

        public static void SavePortal()
        {
            //Need a list that can hold all of the TIA portal processes
            //All portal processes are retrieved using a static method of TiaPortal
            IList<tiaportalprocess> processes = TiaPortal.GetProcesses();
            TiaPortal MyTiaPortal;
            //Loop through all TIA portal processes and attempt to save
            foreach (var process in processes)
            {
                try
                {
                    MyTiaPortal = process.Attach();
                    MyTiaPortal.Projects.FirstOrDefault().Save();
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                    //Print any error messages to the console
                    Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using Siemens.Engineering;

namespace PortalAutoSave
{
    class TIAAutoSave
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //Endlessly run this instruction
            while(true)
            {
                //Call function to save portal projects
                SavePortal();
                //Wait 5 minutes
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(300000);
            }
        }

        public static void SavePortal()
        {
            //Need a list that can hold all of the TIA portal processes
            //All portal processes are retrieved using a static method of TiaPortal
            IList<tiaportalprocess> processes = TiaPortal.GetProcesses();
            TiaPortal MyTiaPortal;
            //Loop through all TIA portal processes and attempt to save
            foreach (var process in processes)
            {
                try
                {
                    MyTiaPortal = process.Attach();
                    MyTiaPortal.Projects.FirstOrDefault().Save();
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                    //Print any error messages to the console
                    Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

In addition to the code above, you’ll need to include a reference to the Siemens.Engineering.dll used to call openness instructions. A small side effect is to keep in mind is that every time you save in TIA Portal you lose the ability to undo actions.

If you’d like to learn more about DMC’s Siemens expertise and how we can help you improve your project efficiency, development, and effectiveness, check out our Manufacturing Automation & Intelligence Services.

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In this monthly update, I sat down with a newer addition to the Denver office, Ross Bunker, to sample different hot sauces and talk about what's been going on in Denver. 

Check it out below or on our YouTube channel along with all of our other office update videos.

Find out what other fun things are going on at DMC.

Wish you were with us? Check out our Careers Page.

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If this sounds a lot like the Internet of Things, that’s because it is. Only instead of the more common “things” such as light bulbs or thermostats, DMC is connecting large industrial equipment.

The PLC library only requires a few blocks to get up and running with MQTT communication.

While DMC’s embedded and application development service groups have been providing IoT solutions, industrial controllers have been slightly slower to adapt to the latest IoT trends. PLCs are normally only performing local communication and do not implement common IoT communication protocols. DMC has found the MQTT protocol is one of the widely adopted IoT communication protocols, and it is a lightweight protocol making it easier to implement on a PLC.

Fortunately, DMC had already written an MQTT driver for Siemens PLCs and even presented it at the 2017 Siemens Automation Summit. Unfortunately, the driver could only push data from the PLC to a server. There are gateways out there that can be purchased to act as a gateway from a PLC to a remote server, but it would be better to have an integrated library to save on hardware costs and control cabinet space. We had a project that required two-way communication, so I have extended the driver to support communication from the server to the PLC. This driver will serialize any structure in a PLC data block and send it to the server as a raw byte array.

// MQTT communication control driver
#MQTT(sInClientID := 'ClientID',
      sInUserName := 'UserName',
             sInPassword := '12345',
             TCON_Param := "MQTT_TCON_Param",
             ERROR_MQTT := #MQTT_Errors);

       
 // Serialize message Structure to be sent
       "fcMQTT_SerializeMessageRaw"(sInSerial:='PLC Serial Number or Other Identifier',
                                    sInTopic:='Server MQTT Topic',
                             sInVersion:='v1', //If you have your server running multiple sets of the same topic
                             iInQoS:=0,
                             Message:="dbMQTT_Data".ConfigData,
                             bOutMessageSerialized=>#bTemp); //Turns true when message has entered queue

//Subscribe to message and send to DB
"fcMQTT_DeserializeMessageSubscribe"(sInTopic:='Server MQTT Topic',
                                     iInQoS:=0,
                                     iInBufferIndex:=0, //Must be unique for incoming topics
                                     sInSerial:='PLC Serial Number or Other Identifier',
                                     sInVersion:='v1',
                                     Message=>"dbMQTT_Data".TestTopic,
                                     bOutNewMessage=>#bTemp); //Turns true when a new message has been received

// MQTT communication control driver
#MQTT(sInClientID := 'ClientID',
      sInUserName := 'UserName',
             sInPassword := '12345',
             TCON_Param := "MQTT_TCON_Param",
             ERROR_MQTT := #MQTT_Errors);

       
 // Serialize message Structure to be sent
       "fcMQTT_SerializeMessageRaw"(sInSerial:='PLC Serial Number or Other Identifier',
                                    sInTopic:='Server MQTT Topic',
                             sInVersion:='v1', //If you have your server running multiple sets of the same topic
                             iInQoS:=0,
                             Message:="dbMQTT_Data".ConfigData,
                             bOutMessageSerialized=>#bTemp); //Turns true when message has entered queue

//Subscribe to message and send to DB
"fcMQTT_DeserializeMessageSubscribe"(sInTopic:='Server MQTT Topic',
                                     iInQoS:=0,
                                     iInBufferIndex:=0, //Must be unique for incoming topics
                                     sInSerial:='PLC Serial Number or Other Identifier',
                                     sInVersion:='v1',
                                     Message=>"dbMQTT_Data".TestTopic,
                                     bOutNewMessage=>#bTemp); //Turns true when a new message has been received

Only a few functions and function blocks are needed to get up and running with MQTT communication on a Siemens PLC.

We have used this driver for a few projects already, and it has proven to be robust enough to deploy into the field. The driver has been able to communicate with applications running on both Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

MQTT can now be used with a Siemens PLC for communication to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

The driver is available at https://github.com/jcondonDMC/SiemensMQTT.

Features

1. Establishes unencrypted MQTT connection on port 1883 (can be configured for other ports)
2. No limit on the number of MQTT publish topics
   1. Supports QoS 0 & 1
3. Supports subscribing to 10 server topics
   1. Supports QoS 0 & 1
4. Can be used on S7-1200 and S7-1500 PLCs

Future Updates

• Optimize memory management of incoming topics

Conclusion

Having this library enables DMC (and other users) to connect their existing Siemens PLCs to the Internet of Things without the need for additional hardware.

Learn more about DMC’s Manufacturing Automation and Intelligence services.

The post DMC Writes a Custom MQTT Driver for Siemens PLCs appeared first on DMC, Inc..

Since we had no experience with rock climbing outside, we decided to hire the great people at Denver Mountain Guiding to teach us how to safely get up and down the mountains, utilizing the DMC activity fund. For an easy introduction to climbing on real rocks, our guides took us out to Clear Creek Canyon, named of course after the Clear Creek river winding through it. 

Our group of six quickly found out that outdoor rock climbing presents both a bigger challenge and a greater thrill than indoor climbing. On indoor and manmade rock walls, footholds are strategically placed in such a way that there is an intended route for climbing. Climbing outdoors on a natural cliff face therefore requires a bit more diligence, thought, and strange contortions to scale the rock. As opposed to the usual belaying systems used in most indoor climbing places, where the climber is constantly attached to a rope at the top of the wall, we also did "sport climbing" at Clear Creek Canyon. With sport climbing, permanent anchors are fixed to the cliff face every eight feet or so, and the climber clips their rope into each hook as it is reached. This also is a bit more risky and exhilarating because there is actually potential for a decent fall. With our excellent instructors and climbing experience so far, though, we had no mishaps.

We had a great time overall, and some of us have been hooked and heading back every weekend for more climbing.

Learn more about DMC's company culture.

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The goal of the day-long event on July 28 was to promote discovery and discussion around the Oil and Gas industry's emerging automation and controls trends. All the presentations were well attended, offering a great opportunity to network in the area and learn about developing Oil and Gas technologies. 

My presentation, Powerful SCADA solutions: Is WinCC OA right for me?, demonstrated use cases for Siemens WinCC OA in Oil and Gas applications. The audience was excited by the idea of putting more configuration tools in the hands of their operators without having an integrator onsite. 

Check out my presentation below and feel free to contact me at james.condon@dmcinfo.com with any questions.

The post WinCC OA Presentation at the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Conference appeared first on DMC, Inc..

Siemens’ mobile showcase will be stopping by Denver on July 28 for the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Conference. This free event offers a day of discovery and dialogue on the latest emerging trends around automation, instrumentation, and controls for the Oil and Gas industry. Register here. 

If you’re planning to attend the conference stop by DMC’s booth and don’t miss my presentation: Powerful SCADA solutions: Is WinCC OA right for me?

WinCC OA is a step away from traditional SCADA and has a variety of added benefits. This is especially true when it comes to geographically distributed oil and gas applications, as well as infrastructure applications. WinCC OA uses an open architecture with object-oriented concepts, is SIL 3 Certified, and provides nearly unlimited scalability with seamless redundancy. This presentation will cover some advantages of and present use cases for WinCC OA in oil and gas applications. It will also help identify areas where WinCC OA can provide a strong benefit over traditional SCADA systems. Specific case study examples will be presented, and parallels will be drawn to solutions that could be provided in the oil and gas industry.

I’ll be presenting on July 28, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. in Grand Mesa F. I hope to see you in Denver!

Learn more about DMC’s Wincc OA services.

The post DMC to Present at the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Conference appeared first on DMC, Inc..

It was snowing and the path was icy, but that didn’t stunt our competitive natures as we slid and raced along the slippery City Park path.

Otto and John were the most competitive, and though Otto won by 45 seconds, the competition was fierce. Despite the freezing temperatures and our frozen fingers, toes and taste buds, I thought the pie tasted no less delicious.

All in all we had a great time, running and making snow angels, but were happy to be back in the warmth when the race was finished.

Check out our times below:

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S7-300 PLCs and Profibus, Both PLCs In The Same TIA Portal Project

When using an I-Device for a Profibus connection, there will only be a single DP master and a single DP slave. First, add the PLC that will be the master to the project, create a DP network, and add the master PLC to the DP network. Make sure that the operating mode of the master PLC’s Profibus interface is set to  “DP master”.

Add the slave PLC to the project, and change its operating mode to “DP slave”. Select its master, in this case “Master PLC.DP Interface_1”.

The slave PLC is now a DP slave to the master PLC. Keep in mind that the slave PLC will no longer be able to communicate with other devices on the Profibus interface that is being used for I-Device communication.

In the properties of the Profibus interface properties the transfer areas can be defined. Click on the arrows to change the direction data is going. As with DP/DP couplers, be careful about sending momentary signals, because the other PLC may not have enough time to read the signal.

S7-300 PLCs and Profibus, both PLCs Not In The Same TIA Portal Project

I’ve worked on a project where the main control PLC needed to interface with equipment that had its own PLC. Unfortunately, the PLC I needed to interface with was programmed with Step7 5.5, and I could not easily integrate it into the main control PLC project. After sifting through some documentation provided by the equipment manufacturer, I found the PLC part number and how the IO needed to be mapped. I had not used this specific PLC as a slave before, so I needed to download and install the slave PLC GSD. They can both be found here. After the GSD is installed, drop the slave PLC into the Portal project. Assign the slave PLC to the master PLC network.

The project should now have a master PLC and the generic slave PLC..

Configuring the IO for a slave PLC that is not integrated into the project requires going to the device view of the slave PLC. Add modules to it the same way you would add modules to a remote I/O rack. Be sure to map the “modules” to match the slave PLC configuration in the other project.

S7-1500 PLCs and Profinet, Multiple Slave I-Devices With A Single Master PLC.

For a recent application, I-Device communication had three S7-1500 PLCs on the same Profinet network. One of the PLCs needed to communicate to the other two PLCs.

First add all three PLCs to the project and put them all on the same network.

In the operating mode of the Profinet interface for the slave PLCs, check “IO device” and select the master PLC for the assigned IO controller. The slave PLCs can now exchange data with the master PLC as if they were remote IO. The transfer areas are set up the same way as shown above for an integrated Profibus slave PLC.

A great feature of using I-Device communication with Profinet is that while a PLC can be a Profinet slave to another PLC, it can still be a Profinet master to drives and remote I/O racks using the same Profinet interface.

Hopefully, this will help you with future PLC to PLC communication!

Learn more about DMC’s PLC programming services. Contact us to learn more.

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To implement the popup, I added a screen window to the starting screen. I did not assign any of its properties:

I gave it a visibility animation based on an internal tag (“bShowPopup”). I also gave it direct movement animations based on internal tags (“X_Position” and “Y_Position”). 

Screens for the actuators were made and they were placed inside the HMI screen windows. I put the actuators in screen windows to take advantage of the tag prefix. The tag prefix is used for the popup and allows for quicker assignment of all of the animations and events associated with the actuator in the screen window.

A C script was written for the actuator screen which could access the properties of the screen window with the actuator and pass them to the popup screen window.

#include "GlobalDefinitions.h" 
void OnClick(char* screenName, char* objectName, char* propertyName)
{
	// Set the popup screen window to use the right popup
	ActivateScreenInScreenWindow ("MAIN", "Popup_Screen", "Motor_Popup");

	// Sets tag prefix of popup to same value as the screen window that contains this screen
	SetPropertyByConstant("MAIN", "Popup_Screen", "TagPrefix", GetPropChar(GetParentScreen(screenName), GetParentScreenWindow(screenName), "TagPrefix"));

	//This sets x_postition/y_postion internal tags to move Popup Screenwindow
	SetTagByProperty ("@NOTP::X_Position", GetParentScreen(screenName), GetParentScreenWindow(screenName), "Left", hmiWithoutOperatorEvent);
	SetTagByProperty ("@NOTP::Y_Position", GetParentScreen(screenName), GetParentScreenWindow(screenName), "Top", hmiWithoutOperatorEvent);

	//Unide the popup
	SetBit ("@NOTP::bShowPopup");
}

#include "GlobalDefinitions.h" 
void OnClick(char* screenName, char* objectName, char* propertyName)
{
	// Set the popup screen window to use the right popup
	ActivateScreenInScreenWindow ("MAIN", "Popup_Screen", "Motor_Popup");

	// Sets tag prefix of popup to same value as the screen window that contains this screen
	SetPropertyByConstant("MAIN", "Popup_Screen", "TagPrefix", GetPropChar(GetParentScreen(screenName), GetParentScreenWindow(screenName), "TagPrefix"));

	//This sets x_postition/y_postion internal tags to move Popup Screenwindow
	SetTagByProperty ("@NOTP::X_Position", GetParentScreen(screenName), GetParentScreenWindow(screenName), "Left", hmiWithoutOperatorEvent);
	SetTagByProperty ("@NOTP::Y_Position", GetParentScreen(screenName), GetParentScreenWindow(screenName), "Top", hmiWithoutOperatorEvent);

	//Unide the popup
	SetBit ("@NOTP::bShowPopup");
}

The first statement depends on the actuator being used. In this case, the popup window has been updated to use the motor popup screen.

The second statement of the script sets the tag prefix of the popup window to use the same tag prefix as the screen window. The function “SetTagByProperty” is setting “X_Position” without an operator event, with the property “Top” (the top edge of the screen window), from the parent screen window in the parent screen.
The final statement sets the bit “bShowPopup”, which changes the visibility of the popup window. Exiting the popup window is done by putting a button on the screen used in the popup window that resets the “bShowPopup” bit.

A quick note for if you are using a client/server configuration in WinCC Professional:

Make sure that “bShowPopup”, “X_Postion”, and “Y_Position” are only updating on the local HMI. If you are using a client/server setup, the animations will be occurring on all of the HMIs, not just the one you are working on. 

Learn more about DMC’s Siemens WinCC programming services.

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Several projects that DMC has worked on involve a central server (typically Windows Server 2008 R2) that has the HMI editing software (I used Iconics GraphWorx), OPC server for gathering data from the PLC, and the HTML pages used by the thin clients. Often, these servers do not have a local terminal and the only way to access them is by using a remote desktop connection. This is very convenient because it allows a user from a remote location to make changes directly on the server instead of having to make changes on a separate computer and then copying edited files to the server.

It’s possible to enter runtime while using a remote desktop connection. This is useful for quickly checking that changes are correct before publishing to the thin clients located throughout a manufacturing facility. It also allows for a working HMI to move around the factory, assuming you have wireless access to the network and a working laptop.

navigate the same way you would on an actual HMI. You can also navigate as you would on devices, clicking to open up the pop-up.However, living in 2012, I think that a laptop is too heavy. I demand something more convenient. If you have an iPad, iPhone, or any device that allows you to open a remote desktop connection, you can access the server in the same way that you would from a laptop or desktop. On my iPhone, I’ve downloaded the free app Pocket Cloud. From there, I connect to the server and enter run time in GraphWorx. You'll be able to navigate the same way you would on an actual HMI, by clicking to change screens. You can also navigate as you would on devices, clicking to open up the pop-up.

I recommend that if you want to use your phone to view the HMI screens, you should already have GraphWorx in runtime because it is a little inconvenient to navigate windows and type when using such a small screen. I wouldn't recommend using your phone to control a factory, but it's certainly possible.

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