Industrial Automation Knowledge Base

Article describes how to do Diagnostics with M262 Motion Controller.

Want to communication with a Modicon M262 with EcoStruxure Machine SCADA Expert?  Review this article and find out how!

The purpose of this Knowledge Base Article is to demonstrate how to connect EcoStruxure Machine SCADA Expert to a Modicon M262 built-in OPC UA server.  

Issue Although EcoStruxure Automation Expert comes with some standard data entry tools, I want to create different ways of entering information, similar to Microsoft Forms. Resolution This document aims to show how to use C# to create different methods of data entry. It assumes no previous knowledge of C#. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue How to leverage Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services to secure and manage access to EcoStruxure Control Expert. Resolution The aim of this article is to provide a step-by-step guide to connect Security Editor Tool to Microsoft Active Directory through LDAP in order to secure and manage access to EcoStruxure Control Expert.   Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

This article shows, how you can safely connect to SLC Controller.  Attached file guides you step by step.

Issue EcoStruxure Machine Expert Twin Builder provides a wide range of functionality with its user interface. Customized objects are developed in catalogs and handled via catalog DLLs. In order to extend the features of the GUI it is possible to develop Plugins with C#.  Typically a plugin will add buttons to the menu ribbon to trigger functionality e.g. batch import of assemblies from a file, including PLC signals. But Plugins might even extend the general features, e.g. adding OPC UA communication. Resolution Create a Plugin with Twin Developer in C# to add the custom feature to the Twin Builder GUI. See the attached article for more information. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Objective The purpose of this article is to introduce the basics and necessary steps to use the Safe Force Off function with a Lexium Multicarrier in EcoStruxure Machine Expert. Resolution The attached document provides an overview and use of the Safe Force Off with a Lexium Multicarrier.  

Original Equipment Manufactures, System Integrators and End users may want to configure a project to allow the HMI consumer to add project tags during runtime.  This article takes a newly create tag during runtime and adds tag to the Main driver worksheet. 

Objective How do I harden M580 Architectures within EcoStruxure Control Expert? Resolution The aim of this article is to provide a step-by-step guide to configure Security Editor tool for RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) to EcoStruxure Control Expert in a Client/Server architecture.    

Create User Error with different reaction in EquipmentModules of PD3 Template

Issue The EmailHandling library implements function blocks to send and receive emails with the controller application support secure and unsecure communication with an email server. Since it is not recommended to use unsecure communication over public networks and above all over the internet. Furthermore, the most popular public email servers do not support unsecure communication. Therefore, a direct communication between the M241/M251 controller and the public email server is not possible. Resolution To address this issue, the recommended third-party tool to use is stunnel. Stunnel is a proxy designed to add TLS encryption functionality to existing clients (controllers) and servers (public email) without any changes in the program’s code. Stunnel uses the OpenSSL library for cryptography, so it supports whatever cryptographic algorithms are compiled into the library. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue In OPC-UA polling, the client actively requests data from the server at regular intervals. This actually will increase server load. The server must respond to each polling request, which can become a performance concern if there are numerous clients or high-frequency polling. Data updates may not be immediate, as they depend on the polling interval. Resolution This article here will describe the method of using subscription instead of the polling method. In the polling method, the OPC-UA client periodically sends requests to the OPC-UA server to fetch the data values. While in the subscription method, the OPC-UA client establishes a long-lasting subscription with the OPC-UA server. The client does not need to send periodic requests; it simply waits for the server to push the data updates. This method is event-driven, as the client receives data only when there are actual changes in the values. It reduces network traffic and processing overhead since data is only transmitted when necessary. To use M580 OPC-UA client programming by subscription method, the attached document following here describes the steps to connect, create subscriptions and to add monitored items to the subscription. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue When using EcoStruxure Automation Expert V22.1 and AVEVA System Platform the Galaxy project needs to contain all the templates associated with EcoStruxure Automation Expert AppCommonProcess Library, by default the Galaxy backup supplied by EcoStruxure Automation Expert V22.1 is for AVEVA System Platform 2020 R2 SP1. To use a newer version of AVEVA System Platform requires migration. Resolution The following knowledge base article details how to migrate the Galaxy backup supplied by EcoStruxure Automation Expert V22.1 to AVEVA System Platform 2023. The first time EcoStruxure Automation Expert is used to create a AVEVA System Platform Galaxy, it will copy the Galaxy project supplied as part of the installation (called CFLBlankGalaxy) from the ASP Library folder to the AVEVA System Platform BackupGalaxies folder.   Once the Galaxy backup has been copied, it will then create all other projects based upon this backup. The aim is to replace this backup file with a fully migrated version.     Step 1 – Create a temporary EcoStruxure Automation Expert Solution Create a temporary solution and right click on the solution and select Configuration>AVEVA SP Configuration      Give the new Galaxy project any name and click Create   After some time you will notice a message in the Output window saying ‘Galaxy needs to be migrated manually’.   Cancel the System Platform Configuration form.   Step 2 – Migrate the Galaxy project  Open System Platform IDE and select On Server and double click on the project created by EcoStruxure Automation Expert.   A message will be displayed asking if you want to migrate, select Yes   The migration will start and will take some time (around 45 minutes), once the migration is complete click the Close button.   Once the Close button has been clicked you will be asked to log in. The default username and password is Administrator and password left blank.   When the AVEVA System Platform IDE opens, close without making any changes.   Step 3 – Create a Galaxy Backup from the Migrate project  Open the Operations Control Management Console   Navigate to the newly created Galaxy project and right click and select Backup.   Confirm that you want to create a Backup by clicking Yes   Save the backup to a known folder, e.g., Downloads and name it CFLBlankGalaxy     Step 4 – Copy the new CFLBlankGalaxy over the old Copy and Replace the newly-created Backup to the BackupGalaxies Folder     From this point on Automation Expert will create any new Galaxy projects using the migrated CFLBlankGalaxy backup. . Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue Due to the discontinuation of support for less secure apps and user Google Accounts, an application thatutilizes the SendEmail and ReceiveEmail functions is no longer operational. To maintaining account security, Google no longer endorses the use of third-party applications or devices that require users to sign into their Google Account login with their username and password. Allowing sing-ins from less secure applications can increase the risk of hackers gaining access to your account. Blocking sing-ins from such applications is a measure that can help keep your account secure Resolution App passwords aren’t recommended and are unnecessary in most cases. To help keep your account secure, use “Sign in with Google” to connect apps to your Google Account. An app password is a 16-digit password that gives a less secure app or device permission to access your Google Account Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue To encrypt data exchanged between M262 Client and MQTT broker, a certificate is required. Without a valid certificate the communication between the two communicating parties is not secured. Resolution To create a valid certificate OpenSSL is used. OpenSSL is a widely-used open-source software library that provides cryptographic functions and protocols. It is designed to provide a toolkit for secure communication over computer networks and to implement encryption, decryption, digital signatures, and other cryptographic operations. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue There are some scenarios where making online modifications on the standby CPU of a hot standby system may be necessary. For example, if there are changes to the process or system configuration that need to be implemented immediately, and the primary CPU is not available, making online modifications on the standby CPU may be necessary to ensure continuity of the process. Resolution To make online modifications to an application program, a logic mismatch signal will be enabled to allow a Hot Standby system to continue operating even if there is a mismatch between the applications in the Primary and Standby CPUs. The Logic Mismatch feature will be used to modify an application program and the I/O configuration while the process remains redundant.   This document describes the procedure to perform an online modification to a Modicon M580 Standby controller.  Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue An assembly in for Machine Expert Twin needs to follow a structure and implement several default members and an info class. How to easily create the frame for the implementation? Resolution Visual Studio offers the concept of item templates, that support easy creation of project items, based on a template. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Step by step intoduction to implement a SLC Remote Controller Visualization into a PacDrive Project

Issue How to add a customized gripper to the robot assemblies of the SE catalogs. Resolution Use the IRobot2 interface to receive a coordinate system parts or another coordinate system can be attached. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.