Connecting to Temco BACnet/IP controller

EasyBuilder Pro Q&A
Connecting to Temco BACnet/IP controller
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  • HMI Model: MT8072iP
  • EasyBuilder Pro Version: latest

Hi,

Background: I am trying to connect the above Weintek HMI to a BACnet/IP-capable controller - specifically a T3-BB controller from Temco Controls https://temcocontrols.com/ (Spokane, WA & Shanghai). I have a very simple system - 1 x HMI, 1 x controller and (during development) 1 x PC running both EasyBuilderPro and the Temco programming environment (T3000) - all connected via an Ethernet switch/LAN.

Following the Device Connection guide for BACnet/IP PLCs - and with a little experimentation - I successfully added a BACnet/IP device and connected to my controller. However the tag list did not populate correctly (Get tag info..)

The Temco controller uses three main tables which EasyBuilder needs to access:

  1. INPUTS. These are universal inputs, configured in software as digital or analog (multiple type/range options). My particular controller has 32 inputs - 13 analog and 17 digital (+2 spare). The table allows for 64 Inputs
  2. OUTPUTS: Table allows 64 outputs, but the controller has 12 digital and 12 analog outputs - mostly used.
  3. VARIABLES: Table allows 128 - configurable as digital or analog I expect to have about 30 analog and 80 digital variables.

The controller also has calendars and schedules but I dont use them.

These separate tables are for user presentation. All the config & data is held in about 1500 registers. A final screenshot shows part of the register covering 32 Inputs (values)

Problem: After I “Get tag info”, I see both types (Analog & Binary) of Outputs, and both types (A & B) of Variables, but I dont see ANY Inputs of either type.

I planned to attach screenshots (PNG files) of the Tag information and the controller Input table. However I was unable to - instead there was an error “Sorry, you cannot embed media items within a post.” This restriction makes things harder! Why is a PNG file considered media?

Curiously, EasyBuilder readily distinguished analog and binary items in the VARIABLES table, but did not see/distinguish analog and binary INPUTS.

What I should do to correctly populate the tag list with Inputs??

(I have asked Temco the same question)

I wonder if a possible solution might be to (use Excel to) create a special tag list as a .csv file and import that into Easybuilder. The required file format is described in the connection guide. Is this possible?

I presume the .csv file must use the exact same object name that appears in the corresponding controller tables (eg “Full label” (max 20char) or “short-label” (8char)) in order to link the HMI tag-list with controller inputs, outputs and variables.
Do I need to be fussy to match the “instance number” with the I/O/V sequence - eg Input numbers 1, 2, 3 are Instance numbers 1, 2, 3 ??

There are only 32 inputs anyway, but I could make a partial tag list .csv file to try the idea. What do you think?

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Hi @BrianF_NZ ,

We have updates to fix the issue with the media uploads, could you try again to upload the media.

Thank you

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Hi,

I dont quite follow your message. Is the update recent? Where do I find it?

I checked for updates with EasyBuilderPro and was told I am up to date.

I have found a problem with the Temco PLC failing to recognise all the BACnet objects. (the problematic ones) so have requested Temco’s help to resolve this.

After the internal PLC problems are resolved I will again load tags into Weintek.

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Hi @BrianF_NZ ,

Apologies, I intended to say you can re-upload your screenshots and tag info to help us better diagnose your project issue.
Please let us know how we can help once the Temco issue has been resolved.

Thank you!

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Hi. Update…

Temco Controls fixed a problem with their controller firmware, and I have now successfully uploaded all the tags from the controller.

Case closed

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