IO Lists/Device IO List/
Device IO List for Single Rack Architecture
Device IO List for Single Rack Architecture
1.
General Description
IO Listsare created and uploaded by the user, and they have an essential role in the PLC creation. Based on the information they provide, PLCCreator creates the PLC hardware configuration together with signal to IO module assignment, and corresponding PLC tags with their addresses and/or tag aliases.
The device IO list for Single Rack Architecture has 4 columns where the user provides device information:
On Figure 1 is shown an example device IO list for Single Rack Architecture :
The information provided by these columns is sufficient for PLCCreator, by using the algorithm for device IO List processing , to provide following outputs:
- Create a PLC rack with the required IO modules, determined by the signal type of physical signals of the library block specified with "Asset Library" and "Library Block" columns.
- Generate PLC tags based on the details provided in the "Name" and "Description" columns and library block physical signals set and assign them to the respective IO modules with proper tag address and/or tag name.
- Create an asset object as an instance of the library block and associate its signals, both physical IO and parameters, with it.
More information for thecolumn descriptionandcolumn requirementscan be found in the further text.
The IO List Templates and examples can be downloaded either from theDownloadssection below, or from theIO List Templatesdownload page.
2.
Column Description
Name
The device name should be same with its name from the "Instrument Index", alternatively from P&ID, or similar document provided by the control system design documentation. If it is user created it shall contain concise information about device purpose or assignment. During the PLC generation, the device name is concatenated with the name of the physical library block signals to create a PLC tags names for this device.
For example, if you have a pressure transmitter with the name PT-101 and you are using the "fbIO_AnalogInput" library block from"Siemens Open Library", the device name "PT-101" will be concatenated with the physical AI signal"wInValue", resulting in a PLC tag named "PT-101_wInValue" in the PLC tag table.
Description
The device description should provide additional details such as the device's purpose, location, etc.
Asset Library
This column references an asset library registered on My Asset Libraries page.
In other words: this shall be the name of the asset library that has the library block specified in the "Library Block" column.
Library Block
This is the essential column in the device IO list. It references a library block from the asset library specified in the "Asset Library" column. This block needs to be registered on My Asset Libraries page also.
As mentioned earlier, from this information PLCCreator finds the "Block Signals" table that is associated with the library block and creates the IO modules as described in the device IO List processing .
There are 2 signal groups in the "Block Signals" table:
-
Physical IO- these signals need to be wired in the PLC IO modules and they can be any electrical signal type supported by PLCCreator, like: DI_24VDC, DO_24VDC, AI_4-20mA etc. During PLC generation the physical signals are instantiated in the PLC IO modules forming PLC hardware configuration.
Physical signals are shown with bold font in theBlock Signalstable.
You can find more detailed information for the signal types and their compatibility with the different hardware platforms onCompatibility Between Signal Types and Hardware Platforms.
-
Parameters- these signals are only used by the asset object (the library block instance) in the PLC logic as input/output variables. They do not affect the PLC hardware configuration. On the other hand, Physical IO signals are used both in the asset object and the PLC hardware configuration.
Users may provide parameters initial values when selecting the library block for asset objects generation on Asset Objects page . They are data type based: Bool, Int, Real, String, TON_TIME, Time, HW_IO, HW_SUBMODULE, HW_ANY and Byte. For any User Defined Type - UDT the "UDT_User_Defined_Type" is used.
The library block has an essential role in our Asset Oriented Programming - AOP support which is implemented through the Asset Objects page.
If you select a library blocks for asset objects generation, we will provide you a compiled PLC project with instantiated library blocks in the logic with exact physical IO signals assignment and with data blocks having the initial values of the parameters you have set. This feature is available for the library blocks that have status "PLC Block" or "HMI Block" on My Asset Libraries page and only for TIA Portal software platform.
The PLC hardware configuration is available for download right after PLC generation foranylibrary block registered on My Asset Libraries page that has physical signals, regardless of its status.
3.
Column Requirements
In Table 1 are listed data processing requirements for each column of the Device IO List for Single Rack Architecture.
All requirements need to be satisfied in order for PLCCreator to process this IO list.
| Column Name | Required | Unique | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Required | Unique |
Max length:
32
Allowed characters:
A-Z, a-z, 0-9, _
|
| Description | Optional | - |
Max length:
256
Max length for Simatic Manager:
80
Allowed characters:
A-Z, a-z, 0-9 and single _ . -
|
| Asset Library | Required | - |
"Asset Library" must be present in the "Asset Libraries" table on My Asset Libraries page. |
| Library Block | Required | - |
"Library Block" must be part of the above "Asset Library". It must be present in the "Library Blocks" table on when the above asset library is selected. |
4.
Downloads
Device IO List Template Single Rack.xlsx
Example Device IO List Single Rack Siemens.xlsx
The device IO list shall be saved as a.csvfile, in order to be uploaded on the Upload IO Devices page.
