Is it possible to use a physical push button to individually acknowledge alarms in FactoryTalk View ME on a PanelView Plus 7 connected to a Compact GuardLogix 5380 PLC? The customer has requested this feature, and I am trying to find a solution. Currently, the HMI acknowledge button is working correctly, but I am looking for a way to have a physical push button mimic its behavior. I thought about using the AlarmIdentifier to send the current alarm information back to the PLC and then using the physical push button to trigger a "remote acknowledge" signal to the PanelView to acknowledge the alarm. However, I am having trouble getting the AlarmIdentifier to update to the next alarm after the current one is acknowledged. Do you have any suggestions on how I can achieve this functionality effectively?
In FactoryTalk View alarm setup, users have the option to set boolean tags to acknowledge alarms. Recently, I implemented this feature for a customer who requested a physical button for alarm acknowledgment. If you're looking to do the same, this may be the solution you're seeking.
Initially, I believed that the "Ack" connection was for writing tags from PVP to PLC, as stated in the help file. I considered using "Remote Ack" for PLC to PVP communications, but this is meant for analog values. I realized that the PLC would need to be aware of the current alarm on the PVP in order to send the analog value accurately. Am I misunderstanding this concept?
Discover interesting information on Remote Ack connections, allowing for the remote acknowledgment of alarms. The alarm's trigger value is written to this connection, and all unacknowledged alarms with the same trigger value are acknowledged. Assign an analog tag to this connection. By selecting the "Use ack all value" option for the trigger, all unacknowledged alarms for that trigger will be acknowledged when Acknowledge all value is sent to this connection. Keep in mind that remote acknowledgment will not occur if the notification hold time is active for the Ack connection. Need help identifying the selected alarm? Experiment with using a pushbutton to acknowledge either the top alarm in the list or a specific one. Give it a try and see the results - unfortunately, a PV+ is needed for testing.
One highly requested feature is a persistent "banner" that will only show one alarm at a time at the top of the display. Pressing the physical push button will acknowledge the displayed alarm and reveal the next one in line. I believe I have devised a method to achieve this, but further testing is required. The proposed solution involves creating a non-replaceable, always-on-top display housing an alarm list object formatted to resemble a banner. This way, only the top alarm on the list will be showcased. Utilize the Alarm List's AlarmIdentifier connection to transmit a unique integer corresponding to the top alarm back to the PLC. Initial tests confirm the successful transmission of the highlighted alarm's AlarmIdentifier. Incorporating logic within the PLC, the appropriate bit in the Remote Ack DINT tag will be activated when the physical push button is pressed based on the current displayed alarm. The Trigger Type set to Bit will be utilized for this purpose. If successful, energizing the Remote Ack bit will acknowledge the current alarm, prompt the next alarm to be highlighted and displayed at the top, and send a new AlarmIdentifier.
When dealing with machines experiencing numerous faults, I opt not to utilize the FactoryTalk ACK button. While it requires extensive PLC programming, I prefer to handle acknowledgments in the following manner: 1. Utilize a latch for all acknowledgeable faults and MOV/COP individual station/tooling faults into a large DINT array. 2. Use a FBC instruction to assign fault numbers based on their position in the DINT array. 3. Create an 'alarm' popup on the HMI displaying all faults using a Local Message. 4. Implement acknowledge rungs for each fault that can be acknowledged, incorporating an EQU statement to match the current fault number. 5. Include a scroll/next button on the HMI to cycle through active faults, triggering the FBC instruction again for clearing specific faults. While this approach may require more effort compared to the default ACK system, it offers the flexibility to withhold acknowledgment if certain criteria are not met. If the acknowledgment process needs to be applied to all faults, the workload may not be justified. However, for a few specific faults, a modified version of this method could be viable.
Interesting challenge you've got there! While I haven't personally used a physical button for alarm acknowledgement in this exact setup, your approach of using the AlarmIdentifier seems like a good starting point. It's crucial to ensure that your PLC code correctly processes the acknowledge input signal and updates the AlarmIdentifier. Make sure that the AlarmIdentifier is in a part of your code that will continuously check and update it as alarms are acknowledged. Maybe an iterative loop function can help update your alarm identifiers sequentially.
It sounds like you're on the right track with using the AlarmIdentifier and a "remote acknowledge" signal. You mentioned having trouble updating the AlarmIdentifier to the next alarm. Have you considered designing your program to recognize the acknowledge signal not just as a one-time command, but as the initiation of a sequential alarm cycle? This way, when a current alarm is acknowledged, the PLC could automatically shift to the next one. You might also need to work around the PanelView's standard functions to create this automated routine. It isn't a simple task, but I believe it's attainable with some adjustments.
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Answer: - Yes, it is possible to achieve this feature by mimicking the HMI acknowledge button's behavior with a physical push button.
Answer: - To update the AlarmIdentifier effectively, you may need to send the current alarm information back to the PLC and use the physical push button to trigger a "remote acknowledge" signal to the PanelView.
Answer: - If you encounter difficulties with updating the AlarmIdentifier, consider reviewing the logic and communication between the PLC, PanelView, and the physical push button setup for any potential issues.
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