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Configuring Device Channels

Device Channels are the pathways for communication between the HMI and the devices in the system. The sections below describe how to create and edit Device Channels on the platform in more detail.

Creating and Editing a Device Channel

To create a new channel, follow these steps:

1. Access Devices → Channels.
2. Click on the plus icon.
3. Choose a Protocol and fill in the Channel Name and Description fields. The table at the end of this section describes each option available.
4. Click OK.

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To configure or edit an existing channel, follow these steps

1. Access Devices → Channels.
2. Double-click the property you wish to edit

Configuration Workflow

The typical configuration workflow for the Device Module has the following sequence:

Device Module Configuration Workflow

Action

Where 

Comments

Create Channels

Devices → Channels

Identify the required field devices and protocols the project requires, create channels accordingly.

Create Nodes

Devices → Nodes

Identify the Network addresses and relevant information to all stations and devices that need connectivity.

Map Tags to Point addresses

Devices → Points

Optionally, you can Copy Tags from Excel/CSV from Excel or execute Import Wizards.

Create or Customize AccessTypes

Devices → AccessTypes

Optionally, you can optimize the communication, grouping Points with similar requirements to the same AccessType.

Communication Protocol Selection

Our software supports over 50 communication protocols to facilitate interaction between the HMI and various industrial devices. To select the appropriate protocol for your system, consider factors such as compatibility with the devices in your network, data transfer speed, reliability, and security requirements. Once you have determined the most suitable protocol, configure it within the Device Module to establish communication between the HMI and devices.

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Creating and Managing Device Channels

To create channels:

• Go to Devices → Channels.

• Click New item...

• The Create New Channel window displays.

• Enter or select information, as needed.

• Click OK. The channel is added as a new row in the table

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Device Channel Creation Settings

Field/Column

Description

Channel Name

Enter a name for the channel.

Protocol

Select the protocol this channel uses.

Description

Enter a description for this channel.

To edit device channels:

1. on the row corresponding to the channel you want to modify.
2. Edit the property fields.

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Device Channel

Properties

The following table describes each available property you can configure when editing a channel:

Working with Channel

Stop and Start Commands

After creating a solution, you may face issues that compromise the communication with the field device. In such moments, instead of restarting the entire system, you may solve the problem by restarting the channel. You can perform such tasks using scripts, avoiding shutting

Restarting the channels:

It is possible to restart the Channel of the device module via script. That way, you don't have to shut down the entire system.
In Scripts > Classes, create a class using the follow code:DeviceTo do so, follow these steps:

1. Access Scripts → Classes

2. Create a new class using the C# code below, where "XXXX" refers to the name of the channel.

   Code Block
   language c#
   @Device.Channel.XXXX.Stop()

1. @Device.Channel.

1. XXXX.Start()

Note: The "XXXX" refers to the name of the Channel being used.

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You can create a Task or Expression to call this class when needed , you can also and do it in other ways that don't use the class. You can configure a button to perform this task in a screen, as example.

Creating Nodes

Nodes are the devices or PLCs on the network with which you communicate and this is where you must enter the settings for each one that will be connected to your project.
You can also import settings from an OPC server or from another data source.

To configure nodes:

• Go to Devices → Nodes.

• Enter or select information, as needed.

• To add or remove a column (visualization only), right-click the column heading area and select or deselect columns.

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Device Node Configuration Properties

Column

Description

Name

Enter a name for the node. The system lets you know if the name is not valid.

Channel

Select the channel for this node. For more information about the configuration for common protocols, click Help at the top of the tab.

PrimaryStation

BackupStation

Enter the information required, based on the protocol, to access the backup node. When the backupstation is defined and a communication failure occurs on the primary station, the system automatically attempts to establish communication with the backup station.

SyncDate

Date that the import was done (read only field).

SyncStation

Information about the station where the import was done - Station IP, Port and Slot - (read only field).

SyncSettings

Information about the settings used by the system to import the file (read only field).

TemplateID

• Greater than
• Greater than or equal to
• Less than
• Less than or equal to
• Equals
• Not equals

Enter a description for this node.

Adding and Editing Points

Data Points define specific values for each node that can be accessed using tags. The number of data points you can configure is related to both the ProductModel that is configured for the project and your software license. 

To configure data points:

• Go to Devices → Points.

• You can copy and paste tags from the Unified Namespace → Tags.

• Enter or select information, as needed.

• To add or remove a column (visualization only), right-click the column heading area and select or deselect columns.

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Dynamic Configuration Points > Address

The example below shows how to configure a dynamic Address using a MQTT telegram, for example:

/topic/gateway/data:

/topic/gatewayX/data

/topic/gatewayY/data

/topic/gatewayZ/data:

In other words: /topic/@Tag.gateway/data:

• You can create a standard point in Devices>Points, with Tag name, node, and Address

• You can use the following code to change the Address for the desired point:

string error;
DataTable dt_DevicePoints = TK.ProjectDB.GetDataTable("EditDevicesPoints", "TagName='Tag.Tag01.Velocidade'");
DataRow[] rows = new DataRow[1];
rows[0] = dt_DevicePoints.Rows[0];

@Info.Trace(rows[0]["Address"].ToString());
rows[0]["Address"] = "Group01/"+@Tag.Gateway+"/Device01"; 
@Info.Trace(rows[0]["Address"].ToString());
     
rows[0].AcceptChanges();
TK.ProjectDB.UpdateDataRows("EditDevicesPoints", rows, out error);
     
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) == false)
{
   @Info.Trace("Error changing tag address: " + error);
}
else
{
   @Info.Trace("Applying Devices Changes - begin");
   TK.ProjectDB.ApplyProjectChanges();
   @Info.Trace("OK!");
}

In the second line when using the code DataTable dt_DevicePoints = TK.ProjectDB.GetDataTable("EditDevicesPoints", "TagName='Tag.Tag01.Velocity'"); the first parameter refers to the table you want to obtain, in this case, it would be the Points, in the second parameter it would be the TagName column and the tag configured in Points, in this example the tag: Tag.Tag01.Velocidade.

In the line where the code rows[0]["Address"] = "Group01/"+@Tag.Gateway+"/Device01"; is where you choose the new desired address, in this case @Tag.Gateway which is a string type tag will receive different names and make this substitution.

To internally update this Address you need the following code: TK.ProjectDB.UpdateDataRows("EditDevicesPoints", rows, out error); If no error occurs in the update, you can apply the change to the project using the code: TK.ProjectDB.ApplyProjectChanges(); from this moment on your Address is configured with the new value previously entered.

Importing PLC Addresses

When creating the communication nodes and point addresses, there is no need to retype those addresses if they are already defined in some other data source. Currently, Tatsoft supports the following methods to automatically import remote data configuration:

• You can copy and paste the contents of a table from Excel. The tables can have different columns or order, as long you include the TITLE of the column in the copy and paste operations. The system will put the data in the expected columns, even if the order is different in the source and target tables.

• You can import the data from CSV files.

• For Rockwell ControlLogix devices, you can import from L5k definition files.

• You can use various Import Wizards from many data sources

• For OSIsoft® PI database, there is a FactoryStudio version to share definitions.

• A programming API is available that can populate the tables from code, even from runtime execution when it is necessary.

If your PLC or Field Device has an open database of file with the available addresses, and you would like to have a tied integration with that configuration and addresses, contact us, as we have programming interfaces to allow that just like we did with the OPC datasources.

For more information, visit Import Tag Wizards.

Importing from an OPC Server

Importing data from an OPC server allows for efficient and streamlined integration with industrial automation systems. By creating an OPC communication node and selecting the "Import" option, FactoryStudio automatically creates tags and communication points based on the information available from the OPC server. This functionality simplifies the configuration and maintenance of the project, optimizing the data integration process. To learn more about importing data from an OPC server, please visit Import Tag Wizards - OPC Server.

Tutorial - Importing from an OPCXmIDA

The Importing from OPCXmIDA tutorial guides you through the process of configuring a Kepware server and a client, establishing an efficient OPC connection between the two systems. By following the steps outlined in the tutorial, you can create and configure devices, tags, and OPCxmIDA communication nodes in both Kepware and our software. Additionally, the tutorial covers how to change the visibility property of the tags to ensure proper communication between the OPC server and client. For detailed, step-by-step information on importing from OPCXmIDA, please visit Tutorial - Importing from an OPCXmIDA

Importing from Excel

See the Remote Channels page for more information.

public void Stop()
{
	@Device.Channel.ControlLogix.Stop(10);
}

In this section: