I have worked with Mark VI and ToolBox for five years. I know the logic and the software very well. I can make loop checks, start turbines up, make troubleshooting, force logic, make trends, among others. I know that Mark VIe is a new version of this control. But, as I never have seen physically a Mark VIe and I never have worked with it. I have a question, is the software of Mark VI the same software of the Mark VIe? In others words, If I had to work with a Mark VIe, may I suppose that I can do it because I know Mark VI. Are things (loop checks, start turbines up, make troubleshooting, force logic, make trends) in Mark VIe done the same way as in Mark VI

All the best,
voyager2_kbc

 

voyager2_kbc,

ToolboxST is the software used to configure and monitor and troubleshoot Mark VIe turbine control panels. It's similar to Toolbox, and if you're comfortable with Toolbox it shouldn't take you very long to get comfortable with ToolboxST. There's still a Trend Recorder, a Dynamic Data Recorder (DDR) function, and still uses the friggin' FBC format for displaying logic (the blasted confusing Boolean blocks). So, this transition shouldn't be too much of a problem.

As far as hardware, you will see many of the same I/O terminal boards (TREG, TTUR, etc.), and several high-density new versions which combine many functions into one card or card set.

Instead of the big VME racks, the Mark VIe main processors are much smaller, about the size of a large paperback book, have no fans, and run on 28 VDC. The terminal boards have I/O Packs (small, paperback book-sized electronics modules) mounted on the connectors the big black/brown cables which were used to connect the I/O terminal boards to the VME cards. Now, the I/O Packs use industrial Ethernet cables (with RJ-45 connectors) and special network switches to connect them to the main microprocessors. The IONET is Ethernet.

The HMI and the Mark VIe microprocessors still communicate over the UDH using managed VLAN switches.

The HMI uses WorkstationST instead of TCI. WorkstationST does about the same things as TCI did, plus a couple more. The Alarm Window function of CIMPLICITY is replaced by WorkstationST Alarm Viewer (it's no longer a CIMPLICITY AMV object). WorkstationST Alarm Viewer has many more capabilities and filters than the AMV object ever did.

WorkstationST also does the EGD communications with the Mark VIe microprocessors via the UDH. And, there's no more CIMPLICITY Project. Instead, the Viewer function of CIMPLICITY is used which is an OPC client (I think that's right) to WorkstationST, which is an OPC server, converting between OPC and EGD and EGD and OPC. To get data to display on CIMPLICITY displays one still has to put them on an EGD page, but it's not necessary to import them into a CIMPLICITY project using Workbench.

Those are the big differences, and while it is a little simpler--it's a miniscule difference in complexity. And by that I mean the whole business of configuring HMIs and adding points to displays is only slightly easier (in my opinion)--and it's NOT documented any better than it was for the Mark VI.

I find ToolboxST to be powerful, but one has to dig a lot deeper into nested dialog boxes to discover configurations, especially for hardware settings. Logic forcing still hasn't changed; there's still Watch Windows; the process of "building and downloading" is slightly different, but easily picked up.

The Mark VIe System Guide, GEH-6721, is very similar to the Mark VI System Guide, GEH-6421. It takes some getting used to, but it's not bad. At least most of the Diagnostic Alarm messages are listed, with some (sometimes) helpful information for troubleshooting.

Signal names haven't changed very much. Logic still looks the same.

That's about it. You shouldn't fret too much.

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you, CSA.

Your answer is of a great value. I was expecting a similar answer. This me make feel more comfortable.

All the best,
voyager2_kbc

 

very useful feedback,

thanks CSA.