Industrial Automation Knowledge Base

This article is purposed to provide step-by-step exercise on how to modify the supervisory communication protocol of an existing EcoStruxure Process Expert project configuration from OPC DA to OPC UA

Issue I want more precise control of function block execution in EcoStruxure Automation Expert. Resolution The aim of this document is to provide guidance on how to create and use event chains using the two event chain function blocks,  EVENTCHAINHEAD and EVENTCHAIN. 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 This video demonstrate how to migrate an existing EcoStruxure Automation Expert solution to the latest version. It showcases the steps involved, the prompts that will be encountered will be explained, along with how to deal with them. Snapshots from video:  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 objective of this article is to demonstrate how to setup a remote connection with 2 layers of LAN using the M262 controller Resolution Configuring the IP forwarding on the NAT router and well as enabling IP forwarding for the corresponding controllers. In addition, you need configure a static route in the router to tell it how to reach the LAN2. 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 This article documents the steps involved in upgrading the Firmware of a CRD from version 23 to 24. It serves as a guide, and as an assurance to show that a direct upgrade from v23.0.23121 to v24.0.24178 is possible.   Snapshots from document: 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 Data Grid in EAE’s HMI is useful for many purposes. In this article, we will learn how to populate it with recipes so that the user may choose one to eventually send to a controller. Behind all of these are C# Codes. We will learn the codes and techniques necessary to perform the operations related. The eventual bigger picture is towards building a bigger application such as one that retrieves information from a data source. But before we can do that, we need to know the basics of Data Grid first.   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 Teams with several engineers want to be able to gain access to the EcoStruxure Control Expert Classic software through authentication. In addition, the tool facilitates user access control configuration for EcoStruxure Control Expert Classic software and allows a secure centralized network design. Centralized Security Database Resolution The Security Editor tool simplifies the configuration of EcoStruxure Control Expert Classic user access control and supports a secure, centralized architecture with the following features: Client-server architecture supporting a secure proprietary protocol for users without IT authentication infrastructure. Client-server architecture using the Microsoft Active Directory as the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server. Manage the certificate whitelist. Generate a certificate. Centralized security database. 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 building a Solution in EAE, each engineer has their own idea of how to name items such as pins on a function block, the names of Composite or Basic Function Blocks which they create, the names of folders, Symbols, Faceplates and the list goes on. Without a standard naming convention to conform to, a Solution can become an accumulation of unorderly syntaxes. Resolution This article serves to uncover the different naming conventions widely used in real world engineering. A EAE Naming Convention Reference Card is also provided. Its intention is to be used as a guide during your EAE’s engineering lifecycle. It is produced based on close observation of Schneider’s Libraries that comes in EAE.   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 demonstrate the steps for install SoftdPAC Runtime on the Linux OS. Resolution The attached document provides a step-by-step guide to install SoftdPAC Runtime on the Linux OS.  

Issue Is there a simpler way to create sequences in EcoStruxure Automation Expert? Resolution The attached pdf file describes how to create procedures in EcoStruxure Automation 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.  

Issue Before the introduction of the Hierarchy View (V23.1) all CAT function blocks were automatically created in AVEVA System Platform based on the Application name. Since V23.1 a new process has been introduced using the Hierarchy View, if not configured, objects will not be created in AVEVA System Platform when synchronized. Resolution Please see attached PDF 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 demonstrate the steps for deploy project to SoftdPAC Runtime in Linux OS. Resolution The attached document provides a step-by-step guide to deploy project from EAE Buildtime to SoftdPAC Runtime on Linux OS.

Issue A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is an industrial computer that is adapted for the control of manufacturing processes. Given the central role that it plays, it has been a preferred target of industrial control system attackers. ICS (or Industrial Control System) security is growing in importance as cyber-attacks increasingly focus on physical processes for either ransom or to cause harm to critical production systems. The main objective of cybersecurity is to protect information and physical assets from cyberattacks, data breaches, and identity theft, as well as to manage risks. This document aims to guide you on how to set up and configure a secure connection between EcoStruxure Control Expert and the Modicon M580 controller. Resolution The Modicon M580 controller uses HTTPS as its secure connection. HTTPS today uses Transport Layer Security or TLS. TLS is a network protocol that establishes an encrypted connection to an authenticated peer over an untrusted network. TLS is a direct replacement for SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), and both protocols serve the same purpose. With this technology, HTTPS or HTTPS via USB communication on the M580 CPU can be implemented to create a secure and encrypted connection via the engineering/programming link. 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 I want to be able to create simulation signals for testing and demonstrations. Resolution This article shows how to generate a Sine wave that can be used for test and demonstration. It also gives suggestions on how to generate other signals.   Please Note: The ideas presented here should ONLY be used for test and demonstration purposes. These generate many events and will degrade the performance of a live system.  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 can I obtain data values from any Modbus devices utilizing the State RAM topological objects (%MW, %M, %S, %SW, %KW, %I, and %IW) via EcoStruxure OPC UA Server Expert without having to install the EcoStruxure Control Expert programming software? Resolution Using the EcoStruxure OPC UA Server Expert Configuration Tool, enable the Populate option, we can use topological addressing to retrieve data values from the EcoStruxure OPC UA Server Expert without the requirement to create located and unlocated variables in EcoSruxure 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.  

Issue A security database was created with the Security Editor tool on a PC where an old version of EcoStruxure Control Expert is installed (i.e. version 15.0). Then, a newer version of EcoStruxure Control Expert is installed (i. e. version 16.0) on the same PC. How to avoid creating the entire security database from scratch after installing a newer version of EcoStruxure Control Expert. Resolution Use the Security Database Migration Tool to migrate the previous security database to the one that is automatically created as part of the installation process of EcoStruxure Control Expert V16.0.

Issue By default you can only acknowledge one Alarm at a time using the three exclamation marks !!!   Resolution The following knowledge base article details the steps required to Acknowledge either All Alarms or All Visible Alarms. Acknowledgement of Visible Alarms is particularly useful for Alarm banners.   Step 1 – Identify the Alarm Control Name Open the Canvas that contains the Alarm Control and select the Alarm Control. In the following example the name is alarmGrid1, record for later.     Step 2 – Acknowledgment Buttons   Place two buttons on the Canvas, one for Ack All Alarms and the other for Ack Visible Alarms. In this example the button names are AckAllAlarms and AckVisableAlarms.      Step 3 – Acknowledge All Alarms Button Code Select the Ack All Alarms Button and in the properties window, click the lightning symbol (events).     Double-click in the column right of the Click event and the Code Window will open with the function event name automatically created (AckAckAlarmsClick).     Start to type in the Alarm Control Name, e.g. alarmGrid1 and the IntelliSense will offer suggestions; select the Alarm Control Name or select Enter.   Once the Alarm Control has been created enter a Full Stop and a second IntelliSense box will appear, select AckAllAlarms     Finish with ():  so the following is displayed:   Return to the canvas by clicking the following icon:   Step 4 – Acknowledge All Visible Alarms Button Code Repeat Step 3 for the AckVisableAlarms button and create the following code:   Step 5 – HMI Test Start the HMI and test that the buttons work.   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 I want to use Transitions and Branches in an EcoStruxure Automation Expert sequence. Resolution This knowledgebase article describes how to use the sequence library transition and branching function blocks to create a managed sequence. It describes how they work and interact to create sequences that can be controlled by jumping to specific steps, rather than simply stepping through using the inbuilt monitoring timers.   Although EcoStruxure Automation Expert V23.0 will bring the new Procedural Library, this will only be a front-end to enable users to more easily create sequences that will be built using these sequence library function blocks. Understanding how they work will still be important for troubleshooting. 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 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 the Security Editor Tool for RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) to EcoStruxure Control Expert.