Summary Information

Communication Driver Name: Alfa 
Current Version: 1.0.0.3
Implementation DLL: T.ProtocolDriver.Alfa.dll
Manufacturer: Alfa Instrumentos



Channel Configuration

Protocol Options

Not used in this driver

Settings

Serial Channel:

Default configuration for the AA communication protocol:

    • Server Mode: False
    • Accept Unsolicited: False

Default configuration for the TRC communication protocol:

    • Server Mode: True
    • Accept Unsolicited: True

Set the other fields according to your configuration.

TCP/IP Channel:

Node Connections: Defines the maximum number of parallel requests that will be sent to each node (asynchronous communication)



Node Configuration

Station Configuration

Serial Channel:

Configuration for the AA communication protocol: 

    • Station syntax: <Address>
    • Where:

<Address> = Device address in the network (01-99)   

E.g.: 03

Configuration for the TRC communication protocol:

    • Not used for this protocol. The Driver will receive every message from the network. 


TCP/IP Channel:

  • Station syntax: <IP address>;<Port number>;<Address>
  • Where:

<IP Address> = IP address of the scale in the Modbus network

<Port Number> = TCP port where the device is listening

<Address> = Device address in network (01-99)   

E.g.: 192.168.1.101 ; 502 ; 1

Example Node Configuration

NameNode PrimaryStationSecondaryStationDescription
Alfa1Alfa TCP192.168.1.101 ; 502 ; 1
Node with TCP Channel
Alfa2Alfa Serial1
Node with Serial Channel



Point Configuration

Address

The syntax for the Alfa communication points is:  <Type>

Where:

<Type> indicates the part of the message that will be stored in the configured Point

The valid types are:

  • Tare: Returns only Tare value
  • Weight: Returns only Weight value
  • Return: Returns full message

Example Points Configuration

TagNameAddress DataTypeAccessTypeDescription
Scale1 TareTareNativeRead
Scale1 WeightWeightNativeRead
Scale1 FullMessageReturnNativeRead


E.g.: For a typical message like ’PB: 00,254kg T: 00,000kg’, each Point shown in the above table will receive the following data:

Scale1 FullMessage= PB: 00,254kg T: 00,000kg

Scale1 Weight= 00,254kg

Scale1 Tare= 00,000kg



Troubleshoot

The status of the driver execution can be observed through the diagnostic tools, which are:

• Trace window
• Property Watch
• Module Information


The above tools indicate if the operations have succeeded or have failed. A status of 0 (zero) means communication is successful. Negative values indicate internal driver errors, and positive values indicate protocol error codes.

Error Codes

Error CodeDescriptionPossible Solution
0Success
  • None
-100Error Sending Message
  • Turn the PLC on
  • Plug in the PLC ethernet cable
  • Check the configured IP address field on Device > Node
  • Ping the PLC using the prompt command
-101Error Sending and Waiting Message
- 102 . . . -105

Error Creating the TCP/IP connection


-106Error Receiving Message
-112Timeout Start Message
  • Turn the PLC on
  • Plug in the PLC ethernet cable
  • Ping the PLC using the prompt command
  • Check the configured IP address field on Device > Node
  • Increase the driver timeout field on Device > Channel
-113Timeout between Treated Characters
-114Timeout End Message
-115Timeout Connect
-200Protocol Error
  • Check if the PLC model is compatible with the driver documentation
  • Check the configured address field on Device > Points
-201Invalid Protocol
  • Check if the PLC model is compatible with the driver documentation
  • Contact technical support
-202Invalid Station
  • Check the configured IP address field on Device > Node
  • Restart the driver
-204Invalid Message Sequence
  • Check if the PLC model is compatible with the driver documentation
  • Check the configured address field on Device > Point


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