Allen-Bradley, a renowned manufacturer of industrial automation operated by Rockwell Automation, USA, designs MicroLogix PLC. The MicroLogix 1100 mainly used in small-scale industries. We used the ribbon cable in this PLC to connect the Input-Output cards. In this article, I will show you how to download a program on MicroLogix 1100 PLC with RSLogix 500
How to connect MicroLogix 1100 to the Computer?
Step 1:
- The first step is to connect our PLC with computer. We need to connect the hardware to power and to connection cable.
2)Then make sure that your PC and MicroLogix PLC have Ethernet access. Connecting them both to the same physical network and logical network is the best way to do this.
I’ll add some extra info below for those less experienced.
a) Ethernet switch is the easiest way to connect your PLC to the same physical network. Using an Ethernet crossover cable, you can connect directly also.
Note: If you have a newer PC, “Auto MDI-X” is probably supported by your Ethernet port, so you can also use a standard Ethernet patch cable.
b) Next, ensure that your PC is on the same logical network as MicroLogix if you’re not going through a router. You can do this by matching your PC’s IP address and subnet mask with your MicroLogix to ensure that they are on the same subnet as described here.
c) The default gateway would need to be set correctly in both the PLC and on your PC if you are going through a router. Please consult your IT workers if you’re not sure about this.
d) Finally open a Windows Command Prompt and ‘Ping’ the Ethernet address of your PLC (i.e., Ping 192.168.1.10) to verify if your PC is able to connect with your PLC, as stated in this post.
Step 2) Open RSLinx Classic and choose Configure Drivers from the communication menu
Step 3) From the drop-down list of available driver types selects the Ethernet/IP driver, which helps to find your MicroLogix on Ethernet automatically, and click add new.
Step 4) Click OK to accept the default name.
Step 5) Select the Ethernet port on the PC to which your MicroLogix are connected. Be careful not to select WiFi or Bluetooth network cards unless your MicroLogix are connected to them
Step 6) And to close the driver window, press close.
Step 7) And to close the Configure Drivers window, press Close
Step 8) Then in the RSWho browser, double click your new driver, as seen below.
Step 9) If after ten seconds searching for RSLinx your MicrLogix is not found, you may want to manually add a driver for Ethernet devices under Communications, Customize Drivers, and Available Driver Types:
Step 10) Select the driver as before, press Add New, and click OK:
Step 11) Here, add your MicroLogix ethernet address (see notes above step 1 for that procedure) and then click OK:
Step 12) Now, in the RSWho browser, double-click on your new driver and you should see your Micro appear after a few seconds:
Step 13) Then, open either RSLogix Micro or RSLogix 500, and then open the file for your program:
Step 14) Next, select System Comms from the Comms menu
Step 15) Then extend your Ethernet driver in the Communications pop-up window and pick your Micro:
Step 16) Select the Download button to download your program. Alternatively, you can go online by selecting the Online button
Step 17) At this point, you will be asked to save it if you have made any changes to your program:
Step 18) Then, check that you want to download your software to the Micro you’ve picked.
Note: Only one program at a time will carry the MicroLogix PLC, and downloading to it can delete the current program of the Micro. If you don’t have a loaded copy of the latest software in your Nano, you can first import and save the program.
Step 19) If the current project settings do not fit the device settings, you will be asked if you want to change the project settings at this point:
Step 20) You will be asked to validate the update and resize data tables at this stage if the Controller is different:
Step 21) If in Micro Run mode you will be asked if you want to put it into program mode so the download can take place
Step 22) Next if your Micro’s communications settings are different from the software settings you are downloading, you can get a note as to whether or not you want to change the Micro to fit the program you are downloading:
Note: If you change the port settings to which you are installing, you will probably lose connectivity with Micro after the update. You have to edit your RSLinx driver to accommodate the updated settings in order to access commands.
Also, you may receive a note if you change the Ethernet settings that they will not take place until after a power cycle:
Step 23) If the MicroLogix is already connected, you will be given the option to bring the controller back into run mode and if it was in run mode before installing, you’ll have the option to go Online.
How to Download a program on MicroLogix 1100 Using RSLogix 500?
RSLinx software is used for communicating with Allen Bradley. It helps one to connect over EtherNet, Serial, & USB. These are the protocols supported by RSLinx.
Step 1) The first move is to set the IP address.
For that, Go into Control Panel > Network Settings > Change Adapter Settings > Select the appropriate adapter > Change IPv4 Settings. The PLC is at 192.168.1.4, so by setting our IP to 192.168.1.150, as seen below, we balance the network.
Step2) Need to verify the connectivity at this level by pinging the PLC. Make sure that the right network adapter that we have installed above is picked.
Step 3) If the configuration was right you can see your processor under the driver tree. You’ll see either a red ‘X’ symbol or none at all at the IP address if it isn’t. If that is the case, make sure to go back to the previous settings.