Introduction

If you have not created a project in Control Expert and installed a power supply and an M580 CPU, use the following steps to create a new Control Expert project containing these components:

Creating and Saving a Control Expert Project

Follow these steps to create a Control Expert project:

Step

Action

1

Open Control Expert.

2

Click File > New... to open the New Project window.

3

In the PLC window, expand the Modicon M580 node, and select a CPU.

NOTE: Refer to the CPU Scanner Service topic to select the appropriate CPU, depending upon your DIO and RIO needs.

In the Rack window, expand the Modicon M580 local drop node, and select a rack.

4

Click OK .

Result: The Security enforcement dialog opens.

You can use this dialog to:

  • Create an Application password: to help prevent both theft of and unauthorized access to the new application.

  • Create also a File encryption password: to help prevent malicious file corruption and intellectual property theft.

  • Elect not to create either an Application password or a File encryption password.

5

(Optional) To create an Application password, use the Entry and Confirmation fields to input and confirm the password. The Application password needs to:

  • be a minimum 8 characters long.

  • contain at lease one uppercase character, at least one lowercase character, one number, and one non-alphanumeric character.

6

(Optional) To create an File encryption password, use the Entry and Confirmation fields to input and confirm the password. The File encryption password needs to:

  • be a minimum 8 characters long.

  • contain at lease one uppercase character, at least one lowercase character, one number, and one non-alphanumeric character.

  • be different from the Application password.

7

Click OK to save your new password(s) or click Cancel to proceed without Application and File encryption passwords.

Result: The Project Browser dialog opens.

8

Click File > Save to open the Save As dialog.

9

Enter a File name for your Control Expert project and click Save .

Result: Control Expert saves your project to the specified path location.

Changing the Default Storage Location (Optional)

You can change the default location that Control Expert uses to store project files before you click Save:

Step

Action

1

Click Tools > Options to open the Options Management window.

2

In the left pane, navigate to Options > General > Paths.

3

In the right pane, type in a new path location for the Project path . You can also edit these items:

  • Import/Export file path

  • XVM path

  • Project settings templates path

4

Click OK to close the window and save your changes.

Selecting a Power Supply

A default power supply is automatically added to the rack in a new Control Expert project. To use a different power supply, follow these steps:

Step

Action

1

In the Project Browser, double-click PLC Bus to display a graphical representation of the hardware rack:

  • The selected M580 CPU is in the second position.

  • A default power supply appears in the first position.

  • Control Expert automatically opens the Hardware Catalog that corresponds to the PLC bus tab.

2

Select the power supply automatically added to the PLC bus.

3

Press the Delete key to remove the power supply.

4

Double-click the first slot of the PLC bus to open the New Device list.

5

Double-click the preferred power supply to make it appear in the PLC bus .

6

File > SaveClick to save your project.