PCCCOPC program...

This morning we released a new software product. The PCCCOPC program is an OPC DA server used to communicate with devices that support the PCCC protocol . We tested the software with:

PLC5 (Ethernet)

Micrologix 1400

Micrologix 1000 with NET-ENI

SLC 5/04 with NET-ENI

SLC 5/05 (Ethernet)

SLC 5/05 with NET-ENI

All the atomic data types are supported for reading and writing. The number of connections to PLCs and the amount of data to monitor is unlimited. And the price is only $49.

Development of the 13 channel AI board is moving along. We added some additional hardware filtering and adjustable software filtering. Testing is complete and the first release board blanks are due soon.

Here is a screen shot of the configuration program:

ODBC additional support...

PeakHMI has support for external databases via ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity). This allows any database that supports ODBC to be used for importing and exporting data. All the databases we evaluated provide ODBC drivers, including Excel which is not a database.

The table format was fixed to provide for maximum speed. While that goal was met it was not very friendly for recipe support or other ad hoc access requirements.

We added a new 'port' which allows for reading and writing to any table's row and field, on demand. The port can be configured to read/write data to the database continuously or under script control. The data to access in the database is also under script control. Reading and writing are separate and under script control.

 While the fixed access type continues to exist the flexible access type might be more suitable for some applications.

Testing on the analog board is in progress. The target list price is $400.00, shipping included.

Work on the report generation unit for PeakHMI is in progress.

New standalone OPC server for Ethernet/IP...

Today we released a standalone OPC server for Ethernet/IP. It can communicate with ControlLogix, FlexLogix and CompactLogix. All the atomic data types are supported for reading and writing. The number of connections to PLCs and the number of tags is unlimited. And the price is only $49. What a deal!

We are considering releasing a standalone OPC server for the PCCC protocol.

The 13 channel analog input board is still in progress. The code is done, the first run of boards is due back in a couple of days and testing will begin very soon.

The PID additions to the RLL program are almost complete. The derivative component is the only remaining portion.

Work on a report generation unit for PeakHMI is in progress.

Process control additions...

When we release the analog input board we are also planning to release process control support in the RLL program. We are adding proportional, integral, derivative, PI, PID and F(X) (sometimes called a lookup table or a FGEN or a characterizer, etc.).

The program already has limits, min/max selectors, ramps, lag, scaling, etc.

We are looking for input as to which blocks are needed, wanted, nice to have, must have, would not use without...

We are also looking for a few people that want to test the new features and provide feedback. Each tester will receive a free license and really good testers would receive a free license of PeakHMI. Contact support if you are interested.

Support for the Opto22 OptoMMP protocol is under consideration.

Relay ladder logic program...

Integration of the FX-731 USB digital board with the MODBUS RLL program is complete. The program supports multiple cards. New installers are at the normal links.

We are also now including one full license of the program, FREE, with each FX-731 purchased.

We started production of videos demonstrating the ladder editor, configuration of external connections and generally how to use the program.

IDEC release...

We released support for the IDEC (OpenNet) protocol yesterday. Reading and writing of all allowed memory types and addresses is supported. A demo project was also created.

We clarified the help file regarding characters allowed in tag names. When using a browser or OPC servers/clients the range of characters is reduced.

New USB I/O board and other updates...

Yesterday we released the new USB digital I/O board. Here is a link to the datasheet.

 

Update 07/13/2012

We have several example projects demonstrating how to read and write the I/O pins of the FX-731 USB I/O card.

· Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2010 Express

· Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2010 Express

· Delphi 2007

Update 07/13/2012

The analog input board is progressing. At present it has 13 analog inputs with 12 bit resolution, 0-20 or 4-20 mA, MODBUS RTU slave, switch selectable RS-232 or RS-485, designed to occupy any point in the circuit after the current source and with a high common mode input range.

The IDEC (OpenNet) protocol support is progressing. The configuration portion is complete and runtime support is being added and verified.

We did some testing on Windows server 2003 R2 and found PeakHMI executed without error.

We also added some protective code for DCOM configuration errors. We found during testing that improperly configured DCOM settings would cause our embedded OPC client to sometimes fail. We also verified the rule that if the OPC client and server work locally and do not work remotely, it is a DCOM setting error.

The embedded web server now supports 'digest' authentication as well as 'basic'.

Let us know if you have a protocol request or feature request.