Channel-oriented Operation

PLC data can be displayed in the tree view of the PLC navigator on a channel-oriented basis. All the PLC connection points belonging to a channel are summarized and displayed under the channel ( icon). That is, the I / O connection points and associated power supplies are displayed under the channel designation. The icon for the channel shows whether there is a safety-relevant connection point below. In addition, the preceding icon indicates whether the channel contains unplaced I / O connection points. PLC connection points which do not have a channel designation which has been either determined automatically or entered manually will be arranged according to their DT.

Channels can be inserted in the schematic on a device-oriented or function-oriented basis. Both operations are described below.

Device-oriented insertion of channels

For device-oriented operation you select a channel in the PLC navigator (as part of a device) and place it.

Creating the PLC card

Start by creating a PLC card in the PLC navigator (via the popup menu item New device). If the part selected has only function templates and not macros, a PLC box will be generated which only contains function templates. If, on the other hand, the part also has macros, the function templates will be superimposed via the multi-line macros from the macro file registered for the part. For the assignment of functions to the function templates, macro variants are used one after another until there are no more macro variants containing matching PLC connection points. The remaining functions included in the macro variants used are displayed as unplaced functions in the navigator. In this case the PLC box also has unplaced functions.

Note:

For device-oriented operation it makes sense to use parts containing part macros, as these macros can be placed directly.

Macro placement

After you have marked the desired channel in the PLC navigator place the associated macro (via the popup menu item Place, the activation of the [Backspace] and subsequent selection of the representation type in the Place device dialog). The macro entered at the part is placed (if available), otherwise the macro selection is opened. The function templates for the device are superimposed by the functions of the macro.

Note:

Before the actual placing press [Shift] in order to start the placement action in the mode "Individual functions".

Function-oriented insertion of channels

For function-oriented operation, start by placing a macro containing PLC channels and then assign unplaced functions or function templates to the channels (via the Assign or Use existing actions).

Creating the PLC card

Note:

If you would like to assign the functions individually, it is advisable to use parts which do not contain part macros so that no superimposed function templates arise. DT adoption is taken into account during assigning. If you assign a single function, you may find that additional, as yet not assigned PLC connection points inherit the DT from this function. These PLC connection points then appear twice under the channel - as an unplaced function with an inherited DT ( icon), and as a placed, superimposed function ( icon). As soon as all PLC connection points have been assigned, only placed functions that overlap the function templates will be displayed.

Macro placement

For function-oriented operation, you insert multi-line macros or page macros in the schematic. These serve as target functions for assigning. The macros should include only PLC connection points (without PLC boxes) to PLC functions where possible, as only PLC connection points will be assigned from channel-oriented view during assigning. If the macros do indeed include PLC boxes, these must not have a part as they will otherwise display devices themselves, i.e. their PLC connection points will automatically be assigned.

Tip:

When placing the macros, use the Number using flag "?" mode in order to identify PLC target functions. All other functions included in the macro (wiring of the PLC connection points) can be subsequently numbered later using DT numbering.

Assigning functions

Once the macros have been placed, assign the unplaced functions or PLC card function templates to the component. To do so, mark the channel in the PLC navigator and select the popup menu item Assign. All PLC connection point functions belonging to the highlighted channel can be assigned individually to the PLC connection points placed in the schematic.

As soon as a channel contains a placed multi-line I / O connection point through assigning, the channel is no longer identified in the PLC navigator by the additional icon for unplaced functions in front of the channel. Moreover, the icon for the target functions in the schematic is no longer displayed in the PLC navigator as the original function of the PLC connection point is replaced by the unplaced function.

Note:

During assigning, a check is carried out to find out whether the unplaced function or the function template (source function) has the same function group as the PLC connection point in the schematic (target function). If the source and target functions in the function groups do not match, a message is displayed.

Tips:

Simultaneous assigning of all functions / function templates belonging to a channel is possible via a multiple choice of target functions. To do this, after selecting the Assign menu item click in the schematic and draw a frame around the required PLC connection points. Another option is to group the PLC connection points in the schematic prior to assigning (one group per channel).
The unplaced functions or function templates are assigned in the order in which they are displayed in the PLC navigator. The appropriate target functions are sought in the schematic according to their graphic sequence.
You can also assign a function via drag & drop by dragging the desired function from the PLC navigator onto the target function in the schematic and keep the [Ctrl] + [Shift] shortcut key pressed while dragging. After pressing the shortcut key, first release the mouse button and then the keys.

Taking account of representation type

If the selection in the PLC navigator contains only one representation type for the source function, this will be assigned to the appropriate target function (with the same function definition) independently of the representation type. The target function contains its representation type.

If you have selected several representation types of a specific source function in the PLC navigator, the function will be assigned which has the same representation type as the appropriate target function. If there is no identical representation type for appropriate source or target functions (with the same function definition), an appropriate source function will be selected using the sequence for global editing.

The representation type of the function which is attached to the cursor is displayed by means of additional text on the cursor. Use [Tab] to toggle between the representation types.

Tip:

As an alternative to the Assign action, you can also use the action Use existing PLC connection points blockwise to assign the PLC connection points. To this purpose first mark the target function in the schematic and then select the following commands: Tab Devices > Command group PLC > Connection points.