I’m very new to the B&R products . We have a Servo Drive Acopos 1180 (old version) with AC140 Card ( Profibus+ Can Bus + RS232 Ports) . I’m trying to access the drive with Automation studio with no success( through the RS232 port). I just need to check the diagnostics , clear faults etc . Am I missing something ? or is it the correct software to access the drive ? Any help would be appreciated .
P.S : I’ve already checked baud rate ,port number and everything and it seems to be correct.
Thank you for your support
do you know the exact version of the AC140? I assume it’s not a 8AC140.6y -3, because the -3 variant also has a ethernet interface onboard for online communication.
In general, all variants of 8AC140.xx-y are PLCs plugged into ACOPOS classic. So for that, Automation Studio is the right software to communicate with that PLC.
The RS232 port is able to be used for communication, but all the settings (baudrate, “allowed for online comm.”, a.s.o) can be changed by the software developer who created the project for this PLC.
The default settings of a RS232 online interface on a B&R PLC are: 57600 Baud, Parity Even, 8 Data bits, 1 Stop bit, no additional hardware handshake. So, the RS232 cable must have at least the following connections: RX → TX, TX → RX, GND → GND.
You could check this post to try to determine the right serial parameters (if the online communication is really enabled on the RS232 interface). The post refers to SG3 legacy systems because the’re most often the serial interface was the only one to communicate with the programming environment, but the information is also valid for your type of PLC:
Dear Alexander ,
Thank you very much for your prompt response and support. I’ve tried several combinations before and ended up with the same result. I used the option " Identify hardware configuration online" , but when I tried " define new hardware manually" option , I wasn’t able to find my CPU or drive ! Is there an additional package I should install ? Also Maybe as I’m using a new version of Automation Studio , the older version will be more suitable , so which version do you think it will work ? And where can I download them ? As the website only contains the newest versions .
Thanks again for your support
you’re right, Automation Studio 4 do not support the 8AC140* products anymore, because the’re already discontinued for a long time.
As I remember, the last version of Automation Studio 3 has had still support for 8AC140, and I’ve seen that it can be still downloaded here. But even Automation Studio 3 is not longer under development/support since 2017, so I even can’t guarantee that’s it’s still running with Windows 10 (it was developed and tested with Windows 7).
But I have to mention, that an online connection to older systems is not suspressed by newer Automation Studio versions. So if the parameters are right and the PLC’s interface is enabled for online communication, even the newest versions should be able to connect to older PLCs - of course you wouldn’t be able to transfer or change anything with a Automation Studio version that does not longer support the hardware, but still it should at least connect and read the online state… so I’m not sure if the older Automation Studio version will help in this phase of evaluation, sorry.
Thank you for your support. I already downloaded the older version of Automation Studio and downloaded the test code your provided, still can’t get through. What happens if the programmer has disabled the serial communication , is there anyway I can use the profibus instead ? Or what can I do ?
Thank you again and have a nice day.
I’m sorry, only RS(232) and Ethernet interfaces can be used for online communication.
So if you haven’t a Ethernet interface on the PLC, RS232 is the only way to communicate online.
But I wonder how the programmer should have programmed or debugged the device, if this only interface is also disabled permanently? I have no idea to be honest.
Maybe the software is able to “unlock” the online interface (if really locked intentionally), but this wouldn’t be a “standard feature of B&R devices”, so unfortunately I haven’t any chance to find out how that should be done.
Do you have contact to the machine manufacturer, maybe he can give us the crucial tip how to go on?
I’m really grateful for all of your support. Unfortunately , the OEM is no longer there . I will try buying another AC140 with ethernet connection , maybe I will be able to communicate. , but one simple question ,if I replaced the old memory card ,will I still be able to access the program on it ?
Regards
Oh, that’s really bad luck because only having the projects sources enable us to find out more.
Unfortunately using a different AC140 with an additional ethernet interface will not work, because it’s really different hardware that needs different software/ code a.s.o. on the compact flash card.
Only systems with the exactly same order code are binary/image compatible, sorry. The complete order code is 8AC140.xx-y, where xx and y are number like “.60-3”, “.61-3” and so on.
So getting an exactly same type would enable you to use the compact flash card in the “new” one, but would only help if the RS232 interface of the existing one is defective (and therefore not able to communicate) - of course that’s also one possibility why the system doesn’t communicate, I can’t rule it out, but also I can’t really guarantee that it will help, sorry.
Dear Alexander,
Thank you very much for your support. It really helped me communicate to the ACOPOS . I finally managed to communicate . The problem was that I used serial port of the laptop (or usb to serial converter) in both cases the USB power is max 5V which isn’t enough as the RS232 is 3:15 V with no internal power from the drive. I had to make a special serial circuit(External Power supply and an Op-amp) to get these voltage levels and it worked .
I was able to upload the hardware and see the Log book of the drive. Now would you have a manual or guide on the software side of the ACOPOS ? As I searched the internet for such and unfortunately I found nothing).
Thanks in advance
For new projects it is usually recommended to use the newer motion control system, mapp Motion, over the previously used ACP10. However, I’m fairly certain that is not possible with Automation Studio 3, so I’d recommend using the ACP10 system to configure your drive. You can find a guide to get the axis up and running here. Note that this is a link to the AS 4 online help. You may want to also reference the corresponding section in your AS 3 install if you see any differences, but the first wizard you see should be very similar.
If you have any additional questions as you set up the drive in software, please make a new topic to keep the software conversation separate from the one here. I hope it goes well!
Thanks a lot for your response. Let me explain it in more detail, I’m not trying to build a new project from scratch , I’m trying to upload the existing software and do diagnostics on the drive, hoping to solve the existing problem .
Will the Automation Studio be enough? , do I need an extra software to get the diagnostics ? etc … If there’s a link to maintenance manual or step by step guide ,that would be much appreciated.
Thanks and have a nice day.
Omar
The only software you need is Automation Studio. The link in my last post takes you to the motion control section of the Automation Studio help. If you look in the tree on the left side, you’ll see information about Commissioning and Diagnostics as well.
It’s hard to give a step-by-step guide as there are many tools available, and what you need depends on what you’re diagnosing. I would first suggest getting familiar with the NC Test window.
If you’ve never worked with B&R motion control, I also recommend you reach out to your local B&R office for support or training. It would probably be very helpful to hop on a call with someone who can walk you through the available functions and answer your questions.