Looking for advice, Or articles/videos for learning
I have a groove epic, running a bin tipper
It lifts the bin, rotates it, then elevates it to empty, then reverses the process.
Due to the bins being wooden sometimes they catch or break during this process, this is not common. But when this happens we estop the tipper. And I have been manually actuating the relays the epic controls (I need to stop doing this)
I would then like to switch to manual control where the strategy is paused and I can manually actuate the digital outputs to unwind the tipper. I envisage doing this with either groove view running on an hmi or physical switches running on the digital inputs.
Can anybody offer some guidance on where I can read up on how to set this up.
and how I might modify my existing strategy to accommodate this.
Many Thanks Jeremy Nz
If you are using PAC control for your strategy / control logic then starting with the on line training is a good first step:
https://training.opto22.com/path/pac-control
Remember that groov view can turn on / off tags or points but it does not execute logic like PAC control does.
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Thanks Norm,
Yes my strategy is built with Pac control, I have had a run though some of the training. Along with groove view its hard to hold it all in my head at once.
I see that groove does not run the logic.
I was looking for some best practise advice on how to setup a manual mode,
As with Pac Control there are so many ways to do the same thing.
I.e I could pause my auto chart and run a 2nd manual chart when groove sets manual mode with tag change. And then run charts logic controlling the “do” based of the tag values of the groove view buttons
I would prefer to take a path that represents the cleanest way to do it. I am happy to learn and build in that direction. Just looking for advice around its suitability for what I am trying to achieve.
Cheers Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
Thanks for the additional information. Here is a link to a document that Opto 22 published that will give you some additional information on best practices when using PAC Project software:
https://www.opto22.com/support/resources-tools/documents/2073-opto-22-best-practices-technical-note
I have seen many examples of people using a “Chart Manager” chart in their strategy to do just what you describe. It is a standalone chart that runs with a time delay in the loop, say 1 second depending on what you are doing. It could then monitor either an integer variable that you set from groov view to place your automatic chart in manual, or it could monitor an input from your IO rack to automatically take action. It is important to note that when stopping or starting charts in PAC control there can be some latency, so allow a couple of seconds for the chart to restart when you ask it to.
Your PAC Control users guide will give you the details and examples of commands you can use to stop or start the chart you want to act on.
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This may or may not be obvious (or seem obvious once you look at it).
In this example for a digital output, we need (2) variables to do a digital HOA toggle. One to hold the wanted status (On/Hand, Off, Auto), and one to hold the value for auto (updated elsewhere in the main control logic). We are essentially isolating the part where we actually set the I/O to a single spot.
Then you would have somewhere in the UI the ability to set the control mode.
There are many other ways this can be accomplished though. The example above is just a common way I have structured manual control in the past.
-Peter
Peter, Thankyou for your example.
It gives me a workflow to consider when I have time to implement this.
I have ordered a spare Groov Pr1 so I can play with this without taking my production unit offline.
Cheers Jeremy
Thanks Norm
These tips on the right direction help shorten the learning curve, and stop me from creating an overly complicated strategy.
Appreciate your time to reply
