Yes, several Maple Systems HMIs can be connected to one PLC. The HMIs can also directly share data. You will need to set up a local and a remote HMI in the Systems Parameters and depending on if you are setting up 2 Advanced HMIs, or using an Advanced and a cMT HMI, the steps…
If communications between the HMI and PLC are interrupted, a “PLC No Response” error message will appear on the HMI. Possible reasons for this message could be that the communication cable may be wired incorrectly, the protocol settings in System Parameters do not match the PLC communications parameters, or the HMI is referencing a PLC…
The Free Protocol driver along with Macro commands can be used to send and receive ASCII data on an HMI. The OUTPORT macro function is used to send an ASCII string out of your HMI’s serial port, and the INPORT macro function allows you to receive an ASCII string to your HMI. Examples of both…
Control systems often require operator input from a number of different locations in the system. Since it is not cost effective to run a separate communications line from the host to each terminal location, a local network is desirable when multiple terminals are needed. Tech Note 5030, “Networking HMIs with RS-485” explains how this can…
The Maple Systems Operator Interface Terminal (OIT) allows a Modicon PLC to call up a message that is stored in the OIT by using a “Message Request Register”. A 4XXXX Holding Register can be used by the PLC to tell the OIT to display one of its messages. For example, register 40500 is the default…
In Tech Note 5084, “RSLogix 500 Symbols imported into EZware Tag Library” we describe the process for importing RSLogix 500 Symbols into the Tag Library. This Tech Note explains how to export a CSV tag file from RSLogix 500, use the AB Address Importer Utility to convert the tag file, and finally, how to import…
EBPro is used to Upload/Download from all current generation HMIs. To avoid any confusion, in all of our documentation: Upload means transfer the project file from the HMI to your PC. Download means transfer the project from your PC to the HMI. Downloading: Downloading a project is most commonly done using EB Pro. Go to…
Yes, live video can be viewed directly on select Advanced and cMT HMI products. Video input options are IP (Ethernet) cameras and USB cameras. Video cannot be recorded, but still images may be captured from the live video. Images are captured via a bit trigger, making this feature ideal for capturing production or security events…
By updating local memory registers on the HMI, you can change the PLC IP address, switching the HMI program to communicate with a different PLC over an Ethernet network.
If communication to one PLC is lost, the HMI has the ability to look for, find, and establish communications with another PLC. To do this, the PLCs on the network must all use the same protocol. If no PLC has communication established when the project is originally downloaded, the HMI project will not automatically search…
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3, and has since been refined to support higher bit rates and longer link distances. Over time, Ethernet has largely replaced competing…
Our “MAC Address” Sample project shows what registers to display to find the MAC address of your Maple Systems HMI. The MAC address can also be found in the system information tab in the System Settings Toolbar (gear icon in the lower right corner) on the screen itself.