At a Glance

Control Expert diagnostics consist of a set of tools and functionalities which allow you to intervene at all stages in the development and use of an automation application.

The different resources available are as follows:

  • Language Objects (IODDTs).

  • Diagnostics screens.

  • The Diagnostics Viewer.

  • System diagnostics.

  • Project diagnostics (diagnostic EFBs and DFBs).

Using the resources

The following table shows the resources available.

Resource

Use

Language objects

Language objects are diagnostics tools which can be used in a project to ascertain the status of a channel or module (for example the error bit for channel 1 of the module located in slot 2 of rack 3: %I3.2.1.ERR). These objects are described at the end of the documentation for each module. In general they are used in the form of IODDT variables.

Diagnostics screens

The diagnostics screens can be accessed from the configuration editor for the processor and the application-specific modules. To access the desired diagnostics screen double-click on the element (processor or module) then select the Fault tab. The fault information messages are generally very clear (for example: Range over/undershoot on an analog channel).

The Diagnostics Viewer for Control Expert

The Diagnostics Viewer is a tool which can be used to view the alarms generated by the system diagnostics and the diagnostic DFBs. There is a Diagnostics Viewer built into Control Expert but there are also Diagnostics Viewers available for Magelis HMI terminals or via Factory Cast applications.

System diagnostics

System diagnostics is a service which combines the use of system bits and words with the Diagnostics Viewer. When a project has been built with the System Diagnostics option, the system bits and words automatically generate diagnostics messages in the Diagnostics Viewers.

Project diagnostics

(diagnostics EFBs and DFBs and SFC diagnostics)

Project diagnostics consist of specific EFBs and DFBs which are embedded in the code of an automation project to provide the user or maintenance personnel with clear information on the operating conditions of the monitored process. These program elements will trigger alarms which can be viewed in the Diagnostics Viewers.

SFC diagnostics go hand in hand with the system diagnostics, which are an intrinsic part of SFC and enable step activity times to be monitored.

Advantages

The main advantages of these services are as follows:

  • Diagnostics are an integral part of the project. It can therefore be thought out at the development stage in order to be able to best meet the requirements of the user and maintenance personnel.

  • Errors are logged and dated at source (in the PLC), meaning that the information provided is an exact representation of the state of the process.

  • You can connect several Viewers (Control Expert, Magelis, Factory Cast) which will describe the exact state of the process to the user. Each Viewer works independently and any action taken with one (an acknowledgment for example) is automatically visible on the others.