PLC signal list
A list of the PLC's signals, kept in Excel or written by the process engineer, can draw the PLC pages for you: Import PLC signals (CSV)… (File menu). Save the list from Excel as CSV first (CSV UTF-8 or plain CSV, either works).
The list
One signal per row; the first row names the columns:
Tag;Type;PLC;Channel;Address;Description;Device;Device description;Location;Connection
LT_101;AI;-A2;AI0;IW64;Tank level, m;-B14;Level transmitter;FIELD;2-wire
V1_Open;DI;-A2;DI0;I0.0;Valve V1 open;-B11;Valve V1 limit switch;FIELD;switchThe separator (;, , or Tab) and the encoding (UTF-8, Windows-1251, Windows-1252) are found by themselves; the dialog can change them. The program guesses which column is which from their names, in English or Russian, and remembers your choice for the next import.
| Field | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Signal tag | LT_101 | needed; the SCADA tag of the channel, by which a later import knows the signal |
| Kind | DI, DQ, AI, AO, Digital input… | without it, the address tells: I0.0, %IX0.0, 10001 → DI; IW64, 30001 → AI |
| PLC module | -A2, =PS+CAB1-A2 | the device the channel belongs to |
| Channel | X10:3, DI a.3, 3 | which channel of the module |
| Address, data type, access, precision, alarm, alarm text, comment | the channel's data, as in the PLC I/O table | |
Field device, its description, =, + | -B14, Level transmitter, FIELD | the device on the channel |
| Connection | 3-wire, switch, valve | picks the macro the signal is drawn with |
Modules and channels
A module is a device of the project. One the list names that is not in the project yet can get its part in the dialog (Part…). The channels of a part are found by their designation (X10:3), their description (DI a.3) or their number among the channels of the kind (3: the fourth DI). A module without a part gets generic channel symbols with the designation from the list.
A module typed without = and + is the device of that name, if there is one; a new one gets the codes shown in the dialog.
A channel that is drawn already only gets the data of its signal; its field device is left as drawn.
Signal macros
Each new signal is drawn with a macro of its kind. The program has these (category Signals in Insert → Macro…):
| Kind | Macro |
|---|---|
| DI | switch in the field; sensor, 3-wire PNP; sensor, 2-wire; contact in the cabinet; NC contact in the cabinet |
| DO | coil in the cabinet; solenoid valve in the field; input of a device in the cabinet |
| AI | transmitter 4–20 mA, 2-wire; transmitter 0–10 V, 3-wire; output of a device in the cabinet |
| AO | actuator 4–20 mA / 0–10 V; input of a device in the cabinet |
Input or output of a device in the cabinet is for a device drawn on its own page, such as a frequency converter: the channel goes to connection points of that device (-T1:AI, -T1:0V), not to a second symbol of it. Name the points as on the device.
The dialog shows a macro for each kind and connection of the list; the one whose name has the connection's words comes first. Your own macro can be chosen too: any macro with exactly one PLC channel symbol of the kind (Edit → Save as macro…).
When a signal is drawn:
- the macro's channel becomes the module's channel, with the signal's data;
- the device farthest from the channel is the field device: it gets the tag and description from the list (without a tag, the next free one);
- the terminals go to the strip given in the dialog, with the next free numbers;
- a field device behind terminals is marked Not in cabinet.
Each module gets its pages, one kind per page, the signals in the order of the channels, a column each (or two, when a long description needs them). The pages are titled -A2 DI DI0 – DI2 and get the codes of the module. The whole import is one step of Undo.
Importing the list again
When the list changes, import it again. Before anything changes, the dialog lists:
- Draw: signals new in the list; they go into the free columns of their module's last page, or onto a new page;
- Changed: the data goes to the channel; a new tag or description of the field device goes to the device; a signal moved to another channel moves its channel symbol there, with its wires;
- Not in the list: nothing is deleted. Check project notes each such channel, to delete by hand.
Untick a row to leave that change out.