Use clock on MT6050i / MT8050i terminals

[Authorless]

I see that the MT6050i / MT8050i terminals are not equipped with real time clock. Since I have to perform a data logging on file (Using the object Data recording), I would like to be able to combine the saved date and time value to the saved data record.

Is there a solution or should I switch to using a larger terminal that is equipped with a real time clock?

[Sergio Bertana]

The MT6050i / MT8050i terminals are not equipped with real time clock, but it is possible to use the real time clock of the PLC to which they are connected. Inside the terminals there are words specifically reserved for time management (See manual extract).

It is necessary in the terminal project to set the Cyclic data transfer, to transfer date and time variables from the PLC words to the related terminal words. Among other things, this solution guarantees the correspondence of the time and date between the PLC and the terminal and I recommend using it even when using terminals equipped with real time clock.

If the PLC is our device SlimLine, it will be necessary to define a single simultaneous transfer of 6 words, to transfer all the date and time variables (See screenshoot). 

[Sergio Bertana]

I add an optimization on what has been said regarding the possibility of managing a real time clock source external to the terminal. As an alternative to cyclic data transfer it is possible to define in the menu Edit -> System Parameters -> Modelin the voice Time an external clock source (See screenshot).

To correctly manage the external clock source, it is important that the real time clock data are allocated in the external device on 6 consecutive words, carried over manually.

[External device] means the time signal comes from external device. To correctly set source address of time signal is necessary. Take the illustration below as an example: It indicates the source of time signal is from “TV” of the “Local PLC”. The source address "V" starts from address 0 contains 6 consecutive words and each of them contains the following information:

TV 0: Second (the limited range: 0 ~ 59)
TV 1: Minute (the limited range: 0 ~ 59)
TV 2: Hour (the limited range: 0 ~ 23)
TV 3: Day (the limited range: 1 ~ 31)
TV 4: Month (the limited range: 1 ~ 12)
TV 5: Year (the limit range: 1970 ~ 2037)

Remember if the PLC is one SlimLine just define the address 100 as shown in the screenshot.

[Sergio Bertana]

If an external clock source is defined, the terminal performs the reading of the real time clock only at power-up, then autonomously manages the date and time values.

So if you change a date / time value on the PLC while the terminal is powered on, the value inside the terminal remains unchanged.

[Piero]

I tried to implement real time clock management from SlimLine using the cyclical reading technique, because in this way I have a single clock source, and I avoid out of synchronization between SlimLine and the terminal.

In the System settings the clock source is HMI RTC
Then I perform the transfer of 6 Words from MODBUS RTU 3x 100 to Local HMI LW 9017
I execute the visualization on a page of the 6 values ​​through 6 "Numeric input" objects

Now I wanted to know how to change the value in the clock on the terminal SlimLine ?

[Sergio Bertana]

The cyclic transfer with a time base of 2 Seconds (It is the real time clock inside the terminal that advances the seconds autonomously), allows you to read the date and time from the PLC and update the date / time registers inside the terminal . In this way, all the references that the terminal matches to the date / time (Example log of alarms, events, etc.) will report the same value as the PLC.

If one is used as a PLC SlimLine, the cyclic transfer must be 6 words from address 100 of the SlimLine to the LW 9017 address of the terminal. To display the date and time you will have to insert 6 numeric entry objects defining the different read and write addresses (See screenshot), hereinafter the address list.

Day: Reading LW 9020, Writing 3x 103
Month: Reading LW 9021, Writing 3x 104
Year: Reading LW 9022, Writing 3x 105
Hours: Reading LW 9019, Writing 3x 102
Minutes: Reading LW 9018, Writing 3x 101
Seconds: Reading LW 9017, Writing 3x 100

Note: To have zero displayed in front of the number when the value to be displayed is a single digit, in the object Numeric Input in the TAB Font, you need to choose how Align the Leading Zero value.

I enclose a simple example program that functions linked with one SlimLine via ethernet network, but the project can be easily modified to suit your needs (Download example).

Warning! Due to the different management of the real time clock, during the simulation phase on the PC the example program works only on the real terminal.

[Giorgio]

In the EasyBuilder I loaded the test program taken from the forum to display and update the date / time of a PLC SlimLine. I started the simulator by running it on PC and I see the date and time correctly.

When I go to change the time from the terminal it displays the “PLC no response” error. I tried to change the time in the PLC from the web page of the SlimLine and I see that the variation is displayed in the terminal. How can I solve the problem ?

[Sergio Bertana]

There is a bug in updating the real time clock on SlimLine from the terminal. The problem was solved with the operating system version “SFW167D110”. You can download the new version from our website.

[Stefano]

I take inspiration from this old post.

I have a system with MT8073iE and one SlimLine Cortex M7 with RTC. The LAN1 of the operator panel is connected to the network and the panel synchronizes the time with an NTP server. The SlimLine is connected to the panel lan2 port. It would be convenient if the panel could do nat or have an internal ntp server, so I could simply keep it synchronized SlimLine with the appropriate function block. It doesn't seem to me that this is possible.

My idea was to make a macro on the panel, to run cyclically, that the Epoch time gives SlimLine, it compares it with the local one and if it differs more than a tot (eg 1 minute, I don't have big synchronicities) it goes to overwrite the value on the PLC.

Could it be a correct approach? If I do not go wrong I should not even have problems with DST differences like this.

[Sergio Bertana]

Unfortunately, the LAN2 port of the panel can not transfer data to the LAN1 port, now if you want the PLC to connect to the Internet and possibly connect itself to an NTP server you should connect it to the same network connected to the LAN1 port (Using a switch) .

Alternatively you can use the panel's time-based DataTransfer object to transfer the date / time values ​​from the panel to the PLC just as indicated in the previous posts of this topic.

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