• Now we define the PLC’s for the project. Click on the Project menu, select Add Device and enter the following information for the first PLC in our project, i.e. the CS1G:
  
  • Device name. This is only a name, so anything may be entered.
  • Device type. This is the actual PLC type, so select CS1G. Also check the CPU details by clicking on the Settings… button.
  • Network type. Select Controller Link then click on the Settings… button. For the moment we will be using the local network as we haven’t yet specified the network no. in the CS1G Controller Link unit, so enter 0 for the Network option. For the Node option set the node address set for the CS1G Controller Link unit, i.e. 1.
    
    Repeat the above 3 steps for the CQM1H, remembering to set the network no. to 0 and the node address to 2 in the third step.
  
  If we gave our PLC’s device names of “PLC1” and “PLC2”, then we should have a screen looking like
  
  
  
  If you click on PLC1 and PLC2 respectively, you will see the details and node no. for each PLC:
  
  
  
  
  
   
• So far, we’ve created a .CDM project file, and specified which PLC’s we have and the  communications method (i.e. Controller Link). The next step is to go on-line with the PLC’s and change the local network no. setting from 0 to 2 in their respective Controller Link units. Taking the CS1G first:
  • Click on PLC1 then click on the PLC menu and select Open. This should start communications with the CS1G; on the CS1G’s Controller Link unit you should see the SD and RD LED’s pulsing about once a second.
  • Click on the PLC menu, select the Set Mode option and make sure that the PLC is in Program mode.
  Click on the Routing Table menu and select the Setup option. On the windows that appears, right-click over the “0” box for SIOU unit no. 0 (the SIOU unit no. is set by the Unit No. switch in the CS1G’s Controller Link unit:
  
  You now get an Insert CPU SIOU option. Left-click on this and you will now get a small window that will prompt you for a Local Network Number. Set this to 2, as this is the network no. we want. Click on OK – if you get a question “An SIOU with this number exists – do you want to continue?”, select Yes.
   
• We now need to transfer this setting to the CS1G’s Controller Link unit. Click on the Options menu and select the Transfer to PLC option. Say Yes when asked to confirm the transfer.
• Lastly, close the PLC Routing Table window. You will be asked if you wish to save the routing table file – for this example you do not need to save this file.
• Now, repeat all these steps for the CQM1H.
• We have now set all the PLC Controller Link units on the network to network number 2. Now close CX-NET and return to CX-Programmer
• The final step is to use the .CDM file created in CX-NET, and to set the Controller Link network number in FinsGateway to 2
• In CX-Programmer, double-click on the project name in the project workspace:
• In the Project Properties dialogue box that appears, click on the Select… button and select the .CDM file that was created earlier in CX-NET (see step 3).
  You should now see the CS1G and CQM1H PLC’s in the project workspace:
  
  
  
   
• Now delete the PLC that was created in step 1 (in the example above, this is called NewPLC1[CPM2*])by right-clicking over the PLC name and selecting Delete.
  Finally, right-click over the FinsGateway Service Manager icon on the start bar, click on Setting, then click on the Start FinsGateway Network Navigator button in the top-right of the dialogue. This will display the Nework Navigator and show the current network number setting for the Controller Link network card in your PC:
  
  
  
   
• Click on the Property button, and the Network tab on the dialogue that appears, and set the Network Number field to 2. Click on the OK button, and say “yes” when prompted to save the routing table. Close the Network Navigator, then the FinsGateway Service Manager (but don’t terminate it).
  We have now completed the settings required to set the network number to 2.
  
  
  
   

Simply getting on-line to a PLC via Controller Link is quite straightforward, as to specify the local network you simply specify network 0 in the FINS address. However, in all but the simplest networks, it will be necessary to specify the network no. you wish to communicate over. The following example shows a method of setting up a Controller Link network with a PC and two PLC’s where the network no. is set to 2 (for example). This example assumes the following configuration:

Firstly, launch CX-Programmer:

1.       In CX-Programmer, create a new project and select any PLC (it doesn’t matter which as this PLC will be deleted after the .CDM CX-Server file has been created).

 

2.       Now launch CX-NET by click on the Tools menu and selecting Network Configuration Tool.

In CX-NET we define the PLC’s for the project, their communication parameters, and save this as a .CDM file for use by CX-Programmer (and any other applications of CX Automation Suite). Click on the Project menu, select New…, give the project a name and save it. If you called the project “Workstation”, then you should have a dialogue box like so:

·         PC with 3G8F5-CLK21 Controller Link card.

·         CS1G PLC with CS1W-CLK21 Controller Link unit (set to node address 1, SIOU no. 0).

·         CQM1H PLC with CQM1H-CLK21 Controller Link unit (set to node address 2).

·         CX-Programmer V2.03 and CX-Net V1.5.3.12