Using Proface HMI with Arduino uno

Heres the exact diagram of how it should be wired. This makes sense. So by using the information on setting gp pro ex I posted earlier to set the PWM, after wiring this up it should work... I think I'll use a multimeter before I hook up any servos so i dont fry my cheap servos or the more expensive HMI, hehe. Thanks again ControlsGuy!
 

Attachments

ok so finally got it set up (forgot how set the IPs to talk to eachother to transfer new program over to HMI). Anyways, its set up correctly and when I attached the multimeter it gave me a value a little under what I set it as in GP PRO EX (50hz, 50 ON Duty). Problem is that was just touching the connectors without actually tapping the button to turn that circuit on! Kind of at a loss here because in my ladder logic program its a NO (normally open) that gets momentarily closed when tapping the button so it shouldnt be sending anything until button is pressed :/.
 
I work a lot with Pro-face HMI screens and program them. Ladder logic runs more or less real-time. You can also use local (Dscript) and global (Gscripting). You can fit your screen with IO signals incl. PWM and use that. But I think it is much better to use a real servo control unit and control that from the Pro-face screen.
 
What also works great is using modbus TCP connections. On internet you can find various implementations of this type of interface and you can use that in your arduino. The Pro-face screen supports both modbus TCP master and slave. And it also supports modbus RTU (serial) of course, either as master or slave.
 
We do on our machines. I just wanted to set this up so I could practice. Boss told me a few days ago I have a machine that uses one servo and one air cylinder that I have to program myself. Its not built yet so I have some time I was just hoping to have *some* experience controlling a servo. Ill get plenty when I start that project I was hoping to have a guideline to work off of first.
 
Modbus TCP is what we use, along with TRIO.

We have a guy that does all the wiring (although I also have to learn that) so Im more interested in the howto on controlling servos and pneumatic cylinders.
 
Ok, please consider that if you want to position cylinders correctly the ladder PLC inside a Pro-face touchpanel is not super quick for accurate positing. Think of response times of 100ms or larger and not always the same. So it makes sense to use extra hardware for that and let the Pro-face screen just send the commands to that hardware for start/stop and the position where to go to.
You can also use global (Gscript) and local (Dscript, on each screen separately) but that is running not really real-time. The ladder logic does.
I always do the fast stuff in ladder logic and copy things there into internal variables (bits and integers). I use those bits and integers to do the more complex stuff in the D/Gscripts (better readable for service later).

I program lots of stuff using the ladder logic in combination with D/Gscripting. It works great and fast if you must make changes. And when you have your laptop with GP Pro EX connected to the screen, you can view the ladder logic live to see what's going on (or not......that's often why you look, haha).

Modbus TCP als works great on Pro-face screens, on the same ethernet port you can use both a master and slave modbus TCP interface. The smallest screens support 2 IO devices and the larger ones 4.
I make great use of that if I want to communicate fast between screens.
 
Thats good to know, thanks. Sadly I dont have any other hardware to test yet. Looks like Im just going to have to wait til the machine that I have to program is built.
 
What I often do is use 2 screens. Screen 1 is the application I'm developing and the 2nd screen is the "simulator". That way you can already test a lot and after receiving the hardware you can quickly continue with an almost finished application. For the simulator you could take a simple small less expensive screen, like the GP4114T with ethernet interface where you can let the modbus TCP interface run on. https://www.proface.com/en/product/hmi/gp4100/spec/PFXGP4114T2D
 
Thats a good idea. Ill have to ask my boss if we have another screen laying around. Im off for the week, since covid weve been on 40 hours a week so I do 4 10s and have a long weekend :).
 
Top