1. Connect the PLC to your PC.

MELSEC F-Series PLCs use an SC-09 RS232 to RS422 adapter cable, which can be purchased from many places, including on Amazon.

This cable connects to the front, female port on your PLC and plugs directly into a serial port on your PC. If your computer does not have a serial port, you will need to use a USB to RS232 adapter to connect to your PC’s USB port.

2. Create your PLC-Specific Project File.

Before you can upload from your PLC, you'll need to create a project file of the appropriate PLC series and type. You can do this from GX developer using the "Create New Project" button. In this example, we upload from an A2ASCPU, and so we create a project for that PLC.

3. Configure your PLC Connection.

To configure your connection, select the Online tab, then transfer/setup. Specify your communication protocol for the PC (here we use Serial Port 1) and the PLC. Make sure your COM port number is correct, or the MELSOFT software will not be able to connect to the PLC.

4. Test Your Connection.

Once you’ve entered your communication information, test your connection by pressing “Connection Test”. If your parameters are inputted successfully, and your hardware connection is active, you will receive a Successful Connection notice.

5. Upload The PLC Project.

Close out of the transfer/setup window, then read the project file by selecting the Online tab→ Read from the PLC. The Read window will auto-populate with your project connection parameters, and a tree under “File Selection” allows you to select which components of the PLC you would like to read into your software. After selecting your desired components, you can complete the read by pressing the “Execute” button.

The Program segment is your controller’s software logic. Here, there is only one file of software logic, titled “MAIN”.

The Parameter segment is your PLC’s configuration files. This may include information about the I/O modules that are connected to your PLC, any communication modules that may be configured, or Network settings that your PLC may use to communicate with other devices on its network.

The Device Memory segment contains the real engineering names for PLC tags and bits. This information is often not stored on the PLC, because it is not used by the PLC in its logic execution and it is very memory space intensive. Therefore, it is likely that you will not collect any Device memory information when you upload from your PLC, but if you do, it will contain useful names and the PLC bits they correspond to, so you can better understand your PLC code’s application, even without the original project file. 

6. Navigate your project!

Once you’ve uploaded your project, you will be able to navigate within its software logic, parameters, and device memory (if stored on the PLC). You’re all set!

Conclusion

Uploading a project from your MELSEC F-Series PLC will allow you to interact with the project on your controller, make code changes, and help achieve project success. Enjoy! 

For more information, learn more about DMC's Mitsubishi PLC programming expertise. 

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InduSoft’s Certified Integrator Program is an incentive driven program open to all System Integrators who recommend and develop automation solutions utilizing InduSoft Web Studio software. The program allows DMC access to technical training and development software.

DMC demonstrated our Indusoft expertise by passing the CSI Examination. To do so, we leveraged our extensive experience using Indusoft with Beckhoff, Omron, and Mitsubishi PLCs. We also have experience integrating InduSoft with Microsoft SQL Server databases, and creating custom Microsoft .NET plugins.

For more information, learn more about DMC’s HMI and SCADA systems expertise.

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Indusoft Tip 1: Refer to the PLC

Make sure that your driver sheet I/O addresses refer to something in the PLC. If you are using symbolic tags, the tag must exist in the PLC or Indusoft will not work properly.

Figure 1: Main Driver Sheet

For example, in the above picture, if the tag “gHmi.FaultHistory[0].iFault” did not exist in the PLC, Indusoft would have a communication error and would not display the value of any tags.

Indusoft Tip 2: Update Tags Together

Having trouble getting your tags to update together? Try adding another driver sheet. While this will not change the speed of the tags being read, it will make sure that the block of tags updates sequentially. 

For example, if you are writing to a SQL database, it’s important to make sure all relevant tags are updated before you trigger the send. If you have a lot of tags in a regular driver sheet, you may run into issues with certain tags being sent before being updated. 
 

Figure 2: Driver Sheet Options

In the picture above, note that there is a driver sheet called Coil Results. All the tags that are related to the Coil Results (that will be subsequently written to an SQL database) have been added to this sheet.

Indusoft Tip 3: Copy a Screen

If you want to copy a screen, select the screen, then select File > Save As. Rename the folder, and then you will have an additional identical screen under the new name.

Note: The new screen will not automatically open; make sure to open the new screen to edit it.

Indusoft Tip 4: Copy from Another Program

To copy a screen from another program, open up the project file, then grab the desired .SCR, .TAG, and .TXT  from the screen folder (Project Folder > screen). These can be copied over into another project’s screen folder to copy over any screen.

 
Figure 3: Screen Copy

Indusoft Tip 5: Troubleshoot Tags

To troubleshoot missing or errant tags, open an instance of Indusoft on the PC that is running the runtime. From here, you can go to View > Database Spy and View > Output Window. 

Figure 4: View Window

Database Spy will allow you to monitor and change the values of tags, a valuable tool for verifying that the PLC is functioning as expected. The output window will show any errors that Indusoft finds, such as tags not found (see Step 1 above), or script/stored procedure errors.

Figure 5: Database Spy/Output Window

Indusoft Tip 6: Remove Extra Spaces Between Variables

If you are using additional driver sheets (see Step 3 above), make sure that you don’t have additional spaces between variables. This can cause Indusoft to try (and fail) to correlate a variable that is not defined. If you do encounter this issue, you can simply delete lines with empty tags.

Figure 6: Extra Driver Sheet Configuration

That’s it! For more information, learn more about DMC’s HMI and SCADA systems expertise.
 

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