topic Re: Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control in Components

Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Doug_S — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:15:56 GMT

Post your questions or feedback on the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control here.

Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Imaginatics — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:57:26 GMT

Nice group of components!

In the article on the TCE it says that it could/can be modified for other items/protocols, such as FieldPoint. That would be very, very useful to the project I am on at the moment. We have Excel spreadsheets that define our Taglists. These are sometimes defined by non LabVIEW/NI literate personnel. These are then exported to tab delimited spreadsheets which we then use LabVIEW to make DAQmx tasks, channels, scales, etc for our PXI and SCXI RealTime channels, all without touching MAX. Works fine.

But FieldPoint is a "whole nuther can 'O worms". We'd really like to be able to configure cFP banks from our taglists without opening MAX and/or *.iak files. Any chance that we could discuss this, either by opening up the source for the TCE or getting you to add cFP? Our client (United Technologies) buys a ton (7 figures+) of NI hardware a year. This would go a long way with this group.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Christian_L — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:23:39 GMT

Thank you for your comments and feedback. We definitiely anticipate the need to add other I/O options to the Tag Configuration Editor and to make it an open platform. We are currently updating and modularizing the code to make it easier to add your own I/O configuration options. We will share this code on DevZone with documentation when this update is competed.

In the mean time I would be glad to share the source code with interested developers so that they can customize it and add their own I/O options. Please contact your local NI sales representative to forward this request to the NI Systems Engineering group.

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Aui — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:11:17 GMT

Just developing a Control & Monitoring Application with two new cRIO 9074 Chassis, several IO-cards including the newer 9485 and a 3rd party Touch Panel Computer I am wondering how to configure the TCE for this HW-config. Can I add not listed controllers and cRIO cards via editing a config file of the Tag Config Editor or is there a newer version of the TCE available?

Does anyone have experience in applying the suggested Machine Control Patterns to mid-size systems (approx. 300-500 IOs)?

These patterns seem to fit fantasticly to my app(s). Looking forward to answers and more discussions here!

Franz

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Aui — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:20:14 GMT

Sorr to ask, but is this forum still alive? Is there something better on the way?

Franz

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

boyko — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:27:48 GMT

I am developing a HMI application for TPC-2006 (using LV/ Touch Panel Module + 5 of the recomended HMI components). Most of the architecture components are now in place and working (TPD, CVT, TAE, HNE, TCE - but this with "Internal" protocol only). The challenge is to include "External" tags communicated to/from my (non-standard) PLC. I intend to use a RS232 communication protocol, similar to Modicon RTU (but simpler). The protocol reads or writes only one 16-bit register at a time (no other options). I need to communicate a fairly low number of PLC registers (up to 50). Some of these should be handled by the HMI as words, others bit-wise.

I assume I should use the CVT Client Communication, but I don't know how to "integrate" my custom-build protocol? Also, currently the TCE gives me only 2 protocol-options: "Internal" and PAC(CCC) - how to add another? A further query: Provided the protocol integration is achieved, can I run the same on 2 COM-ports simultaneously in order to communicate to 2 PLCs from the HMI?

Regards

Boyko

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

bbean — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:46:54 GMT

I noticed in the LabVIEW code there are flags exposed for creating arrays of each data type. However, I can't figure out how to expose this option in the Tag Configuration Editor or if it is even available. This design pattern looks really promising, but if I can't do arrays thats a terrible drawback. If arrays are currently not supported, when will they? If they won't then please make the source code available for the TCE.

Re: Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

boyko — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:44:26 GMT

Dear Christian

Can we expect the TCE update any time soon? I need just a simple upgrade - the option to add more protocols to the list. For the time being my HMI works fine - I've replaced the PAC(CCC) protocol with my custom-build PLC protocol. In future applications I would like to communicate from the HMI to various devices using different protocols and still have the convinience of tag configuration.

Regards

Boyko

Re: Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Christian_L — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:29:26 GMT

We are planning to release an updated version of the TCE including the source code. This will likely occur after NIWeek. If you need access to the source code sooner, please send a message to systemseng (at) ni (dot) com with subject : TCE and I will be in touch with you.

Message Edited by Support on 07-07-2008 02:29 PM

Re: Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

bbean — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:31:42 GMT

Hi Christian,

I tried the email address you mentioned, but it bounced back.

Brian

Re: Customizing the Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Christian_L — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:38:27 GMT

The e-mail address in my previous post has been corrected.

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Steve Sexton — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:51:04 GMT

I am trying to open the 'Simple Machine Control Example' MCA_Tag Configuration.xml file and I get the error below and after that I have to go to the task manager and end the TCE.exe. Any help would be great.

Steve

Error 537020 occurred at an unidentified location

Possible reason(s):

While loading a configuration file an error occured.

The class tagRoot tried to make the class ReadTWriteF a subnode, but is not in the allowed subNode data

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Daniel_E — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:03:53 GMT

Hey Steve,

What versions of the example and TCE are you using? I just downloaded both tce_installer_202.zip and simplemcaexample202.zip directly from the respective webpages, unzipped and installed tce_installer_202.zip and unzipped the simplemcaexample202.zip. I ran the TCE, selected File>>Open and select the newly unzipped MCA_Tag Configuration.xml. This doesn't give me any issues. Is this the process you are following? Did you change anything in the XML file?

I did try and open MCA_Localization.xml, which gave me the error you explained. This makes sense as this xml file is intended for a different configuration editor. It did also hang the TCE like you described. I will add that to our internal list to make sure it gets fixed in future releases.

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Steve Sexton — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:20:02 GMT

After an uninstal and reinstall, it works.

Thanks,

Steve

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

wireman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:24:44 GMT

Hey, TCE and the rest of the Reference Architecture is great! It saves lots of work developing our own mechanisms to handle the many underlying tasks. Thanks so much!

It would, however, be nice in the TCE if we could easily reorder Tags in the tree, or move a tag from one folder to the other by dragging and dropping.

-Nate

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Brian_K. — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:48:55 GMT

Actually the drag drop feature and reordering is already in the TCE, you just have to press the control button. I intended to put text on the front panel that would say as much, but I forgot. Hope that helps and thanks for the feedback, and if you have any more ideas that would be great.

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

wireman — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:56:43 GMT

I frequently experience hangs with the TCE where I have to End Task using the Windows Task Manager. It occurs at least once or twice a day each day I am using the TCE. Does this happen to anyone else, or am I doing unusual things with it?

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Brian_K. — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:15:04 GMT

Can you trace it to any particular action?

If we can't, then maybe we should run the source code instead of the EXE, and hopefully the hang can be debugged just by seeing where the code gets stuck at?

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Brian_K. — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:44:19 GMT

I did recall a bug that looks like a hang. If you hold the control button down (or any button down) while the focus is on the tree control, it fires many events. And those events take a long time to get processed (like a minute), so it appears to hang. If you wait like 2 minutes do you regain control?

Re: Tag Configuration Editor (TCE) for Machine Control

Chuck_81 — Mon, 30 May 2011 14:36:07 GMT

Hi all,

I've just noticed that the TCE source code has a dependency from Unicode VIs that are expected to be placed in the <user.lib>\Tools\Unicode folder. In order to solve this dependency you must dowload them from this page:

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-10153

the attachment you have to dowload is LV_Unicode-110-lv2009.zip

Regards,

Fabio