NOVA MULTI-MONITORING SOFTWARE REMOTE OPERATION Precision Digital Corporation s Nova Multi-Monitoring software allows for the operation of common Nova control features remotely from a PC. Up to 30 Nova controllers of assorted models may be connected through this software. DATA ACQUISITION The Nova Multi-Monitoring software provides a convenient way to collect data generated by Nova controllers, including the process variable and set point. The user can select the logging time interval, and the data can be written to a file, which can be imported into a spreadsheet or viewed through the Data Viewer. Table of Contents REMOTE OPERATION... 1 DATA ACQUISITION... 1 NOVA SOFTWARE INSTALLATION... 2 NOVA SOFTWARE VERSION... 2 INITIAL SETUP... 2 Activating Controller Monitoring... 2 OVERVIEW MONITORING SCREEN... 3 DETAILED OPERATION SCREEN... 3 MAIN WINDOW MENUS... 4 Monitoring... 4 Experiment... 4 Data Viewer... 4 Programming... 4 Graph... 4 Configuration... 4 About... 4 DATA LOGGING WITH THE DATA VIEWER... 4 Data Viewer Menus... 4 File... 4 View... 4 Setting... 5 Convert... 5 NOVA PROGRAM EDITOR... 5 Creating a Program... 5 Pattern Info Button... 5 Segment # Buttons... 6 Set TS Button... 6 Upload/Download Buttons... 6 Program Editor Menus... 6 Pattern... 6 Up/Download... 6 PRECISION DIGITAL CORPORATION 19 Strathmore Road Natick MA 01760 USA Tel (800) 343-1001 Fax (508) 655-8990 www.predig.com
SPECIFICATIONS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS COMMUNICATION NUMBER OF UNITS BAUD RATE DATA LOGGING Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP An RS-232 to RS-485 converter may be used for communicating between a PC and the controller(s) Up to 30 controllers simultaneously with addressing capability 9600 bps or 19.2 kbps Graph and save data as.hdr format. Each monitored controller saves graphs independently. Data exportable to Microsoft Excel.xls format Logging interval: 1 second to 24 hours This will open the Communication menu as shown below. The values displayed here are the default values. Note that the communications settings in this menu must match those in the Communications Group (G.COM) of the controllers to be connected through the software. Model PDA7485 PDA7486 PDA7487 Description ACCESSORIES RS-232 to RS-485 Converter AC Adapter for PDA7485 DB25 to DB9 Adapter NOVA SOFTWARE INSTALLATION Go to www.predig.com and download the Nova Multi- Monitoring installation file. Unzip and run the file NOVA_MULTI_INSTALL.exe. During installation, a program icon is placed on the Windows Desktop and also in the Start Menu with other related icons. NOVA SOFTWARE VERSION This manual applies to Precision Digital Corporation Nova Multi-Monitoring Software version 1.0a. INITIAL SETUP The first time the Nova Multi-Monitoring software is run it is recommended to set up and verify the serial communication settings of the program. Select the communication port and the baud rate of the controller(s) connected. To do this, select configuration in the upper right hand Configuration toolbar. Activating Controller Monitoring In the Communication Group (G.COM) of the controller, please note that parameter COM.P must be set to PCC.1 and each controller connected to the RS-485 line must have a unique address setup in the Addr parameter. In the Monitoring toolbar, select On Line to begin monitoring the Nova Controllers. This will open the Select NOVA Units menu. Select the addresses of the Nova units to be monitored. Note that the addressed are set in the Communications Groups (G.COM) of the individual controllers, and each controller must have a unique address assigned to it. 2
OVERVIEW MONITORING SCREEN The overview window shows the present PV and SP reading(s), alarm status, and address number(s) along with the basic model number of each controller. The graphic below indicates the different parts of the overview window. Controller Address Process Variable Set Point Model Number Alarm 1-3 Status Off = Green On = Red All 30 potential controller windows are displayed on the overview screen. Addresses that are not active will display Idle. DETAILED OPERATION SCREEN To access the detailed operation screen for any controller being monitored, left-click on that controller s monitoring box in the overview screen. To return, leftclick on the PV/SP display or the black heading bar in the detailed operation screen. Note: The following screen is for a PD540 series Digital Controller. Other series Nova controllers may have slightly different detailed operation screen displays showing various details about the current settings, programs, set points, LED indicators, and outputs. Specific information about the controller is displayed in the black heading at the top of the window. displayed at the beginning. In addition, information about the controller is indicated on the right. Some examples are given here. RS: RS-485 Communication Option AOUT: Second analog output present SUB(#): Number of optional relays Alarm, SP, auto-tuning, and manual control indicators are located in the upper right corner of the screen. Note that these indicators may vary depending on the type of controller being monitored. On when auto-tuning The detailed operation screen allows for control as well as monitoring. Dependant on the series of the contriller, various buttons will be located in the detailed operation screen. Some examples and their functions are given below. RUN/STOP: AUTO/MAN: Changes the controller from running mode to stop mode. (PD540 Series) Changes from PID output control to manual output control. (PD540 Series) SET SP: This button allows for the setup of the 4 set points and selects which set point is active. (PD540 Series) AUTO TUNING: This button activates auto-tuning. (PD540 Series) A/T: PROG1/2: RESET: HOLD: STEP: This button activates auto-tuning. (PD550 Series) These buttons activate set point program one or two. (PD550 Series) This will end the current program and return the controller to stop mode. (PD550 Series) This will turn program hold on and off, stopping the program at the currently displayed set point. (PD550 Series) This will skip to the next program segment. (PD550 Series) Alarm 1-3 Status: On when in alarm condition Active set point # 3 On when manual output control is active TREND INFORMATION:This will display information about the current graph. This bar indicates information about the controller being monitored. The basic model number of the controller is 3
MAIN WINDOW MENUS The following menus are located at the top of the main window. Monitoring Experiment Data Viewer Programming Graph Configuration About DATA VIEWER Clicking on the Data Viewer toolbar button in the main window will launch the Data Viewer. The Data Viewer is used to view and analyze saved data created through the graph functions. In addition, it will display the data points, and export the data points into Microsoft Excel.xls format. Data Viewer Menus The following menus are located at the top of the Data Viewer window. Monitoring File Setting 1. ON Line to begin monitoring controllers and open Zoom the monitoring overview window. Convert 2. Off Line to close the overview window and stop monitoring Nova controllers. This must be done File before the program can be closed. 3. Exit to close the program once it is Off Line. 1. Open to open a saved.hdr data graph file. 2. Print to print the displayed graph. Experiment 3. Quit to close the data viewer program. 1. # Nova On/OFF to turn the monitoring of a Nova View address on or off while the program is monitoring other Nova controllers. Data Viewer This menu will automatically open the Data Viewer to examine saved data from a graph. Programming This menu will automatically open the Nova Program Editor to upload, download, build, or change set point programs for PD550 Series Programmable Controllers. Graph The following options are available from this menu when opened while viewing a detailed operation screen: 1. # Graph On/OFF is used to setup data logging for the Nova controller being viewed in the open detailed operation screen. This opens a window used to setup the data logging graph that will appear in the detailed operation window. This graph can be saved to the PC by clicking on the Save Graph Data box when setting up the graph. Configuration 1. Communication to open the Communication settings window. About This opens a window that provides the product number and version information. You should have this information available in the event you must contact Precision Digital Technical Support 4 1. Data View opens a window that will display the PV, SP, date, and time of any sampling point. Move the point selector to anywhere on the graph to view the details of that point. Data Display Point Selector 2. List View opens a window that displays all gathered data points, the time they were sampled, the PV, and SP.
Setting 1. Display Setting opens the Displayed Conditions for Graph window. This window contains options to scale the graph axis, control which values are displayed, set the time indication for the graph, and set the data line colors. Zoom 1. Zoom In to view a shorter segment of time on the graph. 2. Zoom Out to view a larger segment of time on the graph. The converted.xls file will be saved in the same folder as the graph is saved, and will have the same name as the graph file. NOVA PROGRAM EDITOR Clicking on the Programming toolbar button in the main window will launch the Nova Program Editor. The program editor works with any PD550 Programmable Controller with the RS-485 communication option. It allows for set point programs to be written, uploaded from, and downloaded to a Programmable Controller. The main screen displays the programs currently being worked on, and the settings for each program. The display information includes the following: Time Signal: Temp SP: SEG Time: TMU: STC: Indicates if the time signal is on for the length of the program segment. The target set point for the segment. The time it will take to achieve the target set point. The selected time units (hh.mm or mm.ss). The start code to determine if the programs begin with the starting set point (SSP) or the PV value (PV). Convert WZ: The wait zone value. 1. To Excel is used to save the data points as a Microsoft Excel.xls file. This feature will save the date and time of the sample and the PV and SP values. The file will also contain information on the number of data points in the.hdr, the number in the.xls file, the sampling time, and the basic model number of the controller used to take the samples. Using this feature, the following window will appear. WTM: LC: START: END: REPEAT: The wait time value. The link code. This establishes how the controller operates when the program is completed. For the segment repeat feature, this is the first segment in the chain of repeated segments. For the segment repeat feature, this is the last segment in the chain of repeated segments. For the segment repeat feature, this is the number of times the defined segment chain will repeat. Note: For more information on the functions and options for these settings, please refer to the Programmable Controller manual. Creating a Program The following buttons are used to create programs. Start and END refer to the first and last numbered data points to be converted. Step determines how often a data point will be converted to the.xls file from the original. As an example, the above setup will convert one of every 100 samples. Pattern Info Button Pressing this button opens the Pattern Information window. Here, basic pattern information such as the input type, temperature unit, and maximum temperature ranges or voltage 5
scaling can be established. In addition, pattern features such as link codes, wait time and zones, and segment repeat loops may be established. Segment # Buttons Pressing any of the segment (SEG #) buttons for either program will open the Segment Setting window. From this window, the target set point and segment time for each segment of both programs may be established. Note: The segment time is entered in the format of XX.XX, as either hours.minutes or minutes.hours as defined in the TMU parameter from the Pattern Info setup button. How to Contact Precision Digital For Technical Support please call: (800) 610-5239 or (508) 655-7300 fax: (508) 655-8990 email: support@predig.com For Sales Support or to place an order please call: (800) 343-1001 or (508) 655-8990 fax: (508) 655-8990 email: sales@predig.com Set TS Button This button opens the Time Signal Setting window. Here, a segment can be set to have an active time signal. When a segment with a time signal runs, any relay or digital outputs set to TS will trigger. For an online version of this instruction manual please visit www.predig.com Upload/Download Buttons The Upload button will allow the programs currently stored in a Programmable Controller to be loaded into the program editor. The Download button will load a program in the program editor into a Programmable Controller for use. Program Editor Menus The following menus are located at the top of the program editor window. Pattern Up/Download Pattern 1. New to clear current programs being worked on and begin new program creation. 2. Open to open a saved program patterns. 3. Save to save the current program patterns on the PC for later use in the program editor. 4. Save As to set a file name and location for saving the current programs in the editor. Up/Download 1. Upload to upload programs from a Programmable Controller into the program editor. 2. Download to download the programs in the program editor into a Programmable Controller. 6 LIM5001_A Version 1.0a & up 10/04