PLC Configuration FunctionsΒΆ

The general operation of the PLC configuration is described in detail in the Control Builder documentation (see
CoDeSys Documentation / PLC Configuration): plcconf/PLCConfiguration

The PLC configuration describes the hardware of the project. This way, the following data can be made available in the project:

  • General parameters of the AC500 CPU
  • Inputs and outputs of all modules connected to the I/O bus
  • Symbolic names and comments for the inputs and outputs
  • Parameters of the input and output modules and the assigned I/O channels, if available
  • Mode and parameter settings for the serial interfaces
  • Inputs and outputs of all input/output modules connected to the serial interface COM1 in CS31 mode
  • Communication Module type, general parameters and logs of the installed Communication Modules
  • All required system libraries are automatically loaded according to the configuration when building the project (started by pressing <F11>)
  • Creation of a new database for exporting and importing configuration data in XML data format

The PLC configuration for the AC500 allows to load a project into all AC500 CPUs. In order to download a project to another CPU, the desired CPU has to be selected in the target settings. It is necessary to change the PLC configuration, if the hardware structure of the PLC has changed, i.e., if, for example, other Communication Modules (only for PM57x, PM58x and PM59x CPUs) are installed.

Because AC500 PM55x and PM56x have a different configuration (e. g. onboard I/O) to AC500 PM57x, PM58x and PM59x CPUs, a new configuration has to be set as standard configuration (Extras->Standard configuration) after target system is changed. After standard configuration is set, the previous PLC configuration will be lost.

The PLC configuration allows to export and import the complete configuration or parts of it. Thus, it is for example possible to store previously edited symbolic names of the inputs/outputs of an I/O module on the PC and to import them into other projects. This is also possible for the interface settings (see CoDeSys Documentation / PLC Configuration))

In order to keep the previous PLC configuration after changing target system, the PLC configuration has to be exported and imported back after the standard configuration is set.