New improvement

shinoss11 · 2013-06-05 05:12

hi all,

my name is Anass, i'm process technician working with SEWS-E.

i want your help for an improvement

, so :

all my tasks have relation with Machines " KOMAX" , machine produce wires for CARS and other stuffs...,

so if an operator has a problem with the machine , must call the maintenance...

at level of the machine there is a box with toggle button .. linked to lamps...

green one = mention that the machine produce wires

bleu one = mention that the operator needs maintenance

Orange one = operator needs Quality service

red one = mention that the machine stopped

attached shows you how?

so the improvement is to change the box with toggle buttons to an application set on the machine screen... you know! we want to change something physic to something logic!

like an application gives you the possiblity to switch off and switch on the lamps ...

the question is : what i need to realise that ?

thaaaaaaank you in advance

Mike Green · 2013-06-05 05:49

A relay is essentially an electrically controlled switch and you can usually replace a switch with a relay then turn the relay on and off using a microcontroller. Most relays need too much current for a typical microcontroller to control, so there's usually some kind of switching transistor that is controlled by the microcontroller and that turns the relay on and off. For an example of this, look at the Nuts & Volts Volumn #1 Column #6 here. EFX-TEK has a simple microcontroller here that has the microcontroller and the switching transistors. The relay you would need for each lamp depends on the voltage and current needed by the lamp. How you would connect this microcontroller to the machine depends on the machine. Is it a PC of some kind? What kind of connections are available from it? Obviously, some kind of programming change will have to be made so the operator can indicate that a light needs to come on. With a PC, the connection to the microcontroller is usually a serial COM port and the PC just sends characters to the microcontroller. Typically you would use a letter for each light color like "G" for green, "B" for blue, "O" for orange, and "R" for red and the microcontroller would just turn on the requested lamp and turn off the others. Alternatively, you could use the digits "1" through "4" for the four colors.

stamptrol · 2013-06-05 06:02

Hi Anass,

The system you have at present is quite simple and reliable.

Other than trying to automate the level of help required by detecting what stopped the machine, you could duplicate the existing functions with the PLC that controls the machine itself. You would add the buttons to spare inputs and use some spare outputs to turn the lights on and off. If there is an operator interface touchscreen, you could also move the help buttons to that screen.

If you can give more details of your desired result, we may be able to offer additional suggestions.

Cheers,

shinoss11 · 2013-06-05 07:48

i appreciate your help

, i like your suggestions ,

for more informations, Machine KOMAX works under windows XP Embedded ,
i want to know if there is an USB connection ?

thanks again for your collaboration Mike

Mike Green · 2013-06-05 07:58

Many companies make a USB to RS232 adapter like this one. If you use the EFX-TEK Prop-1, you will need one for programming along with a BS1 Programming Adapter. You can use the same USB to RS232 adapter for communicating with the PC. You'll need to make a cable to go from the Prop-1 to the USB to RS232 adapter as shown in the "Basic Stamp Syntax and Reference Manual" on page 395 in the chapter on the SERIN statement. All that's required is a 22K resistor in series between the USB to RS232 adapter and the Prop-1 input pin.

Heater. · 2013-06-05 08:00

shinoss11,

...KOMAX works under windows XP Embedded...

So what you want to do is replace a working, cheap, simple, reliable system with a complex, complicated and more expensive one. The fact that it's a computer running Windows make this even idea more bizarre.

Is there some overwhelmingly important function that the current system does not provide that justifies making it more unreliable?

Mike Green · 2013-06-05 08:15

I would really echo Heater's comments even though I've tried to offer a microcontroller-based replacement. You have a simple and reliable system at the moment. If you want to replace it with something potentially less reliable and certainly much more complex, you should have some clear reasons for doing it so that your new system will hopefully solve some important problem that you haven't mentioned yet.

shinoss11 · 2013-06-05 08:40

Mister Mike ,

sorry if i'm bothering .. my last question...

please to describe to me all what i need? i mean all materiels and stuffs like this ?

i'm so sorry man ... really it's nice from you

Mike Green · 2013-06-05 14:30

I can't tell you all of what you would need. Do you want to use the EFX-TEK unit? You'll need a Prop-1, the BS1 Programming Adapter and Parallax's USB to RS232 Adapter. You'll need a DB-9 male solder type connector and a jumper like this. I'd cut off one end of the jumper cable and throw it away, then solder the black and white wire ends that are left as shown in the schematic on page 395 using a 22K resistor. I'd leave the red wire unconnected (and insulated with some heatshrink tubing).

You'll need a proper case and mounting hardware. You'll need a USB cable. You'll need wire to connect the Prop-1 to the relays. You'll need some kind of power supply that depends partly on what relays you use. I can't tell you what relays you'll need without more information about the lamps. There may be electrical requirements that I don't know. There may be mechanical requirements. There may be electrical noise issues that require filtering of the power source and maybe shielding of the electronics and I can't begin to guess any of this. I don't know where you're located, but there are probably other local, regional, and national requirements for controlling industrial equipment.

New improvement

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