Using an Applicom Profibus Board

The National Instruments Profibus interface comes in three formats: PC-1500PFB, PCI-1500PFB, and PCI-1500S7, each developed by Applicom International. PC-1500PFB is an ISA interface and only supports a 9.6 to 500 kbps baud rate. Both PCI-1500PFB and PCI-1500S7 are PCI interfaces and support baud rates of 9.6 up to 1500 kbps. Another difference between these interfaces other than the slot type and baud rate is the number of protocols supported. Both the PC-1500PFB and PCI-1500PFB support DP, FDL, FMS, MPI, S7, PPI and PPI+ protocols; PCI-1500S7 only supports MPI, S7, PPI and PPI+ protocols. You can install up to eight Applicom cards in your system.

The Applicom board comes with an Applicom software package that includes software for creating, configuring, initializing and testing Profibus connection. The software package also comes with the Applicom OPC server, which, like any other OPC server, can connect to any OPC client. Lookout can connect to Profibus devices via Applicom boards in two ways: by direct connection to an Applicom board via Lookout objects, or by connecting to the Applicom OPC Server from any OPC Client.

This document was created using Applicom Board PC-1500PFB, Applicom Software 3.3, Siemens S7-300 CPU313 PLC, Lookout 4.5, and ServerExplorer 2.4.

Quick Help Installing an Applicom Board into Your System

Installing Applicom Profibus Board can be simplified into several steps:
1. If you have a PCI card, then you don't have to worry about IRQ and DPRAM. However, if you are installing an ISA card, make sure that you have an available IRQ number and DPRAM Memory address to use. To find an available IRQ and DPRAM, go to Control Panel>>System>>Device Manager and view device resources.


2. Set the jumpers for the board number, IRQ, and DPRAM on the Applicom board appropriately. If multiple Applicom cards are installed on your system, make sure they are using the same DPRAM address and IRQ number but different board numbers.

3. Physically install the card onto the motherboard of your system.

4. Start the system and install the Applicom Software Package. Then run PCConf.

5. Click on Configuration.


6. Enter the settings for your Applicom boards. The illustration below shows two Applicom PC-1500PFB ISA cards with DPRAM address D4000 and IRQ7.


7. Save and exit PCConf. PCConf will prompt you to restart your computer.


8. After restarting your computer, run PCInit. If the progress bar goes through completely with no error message, then you are ready to use the Applicom board. If not, it indicates you have problems with the board installation. Typical problems are board number conflict (make sure you assign a unique board number for each card), DPRAM and IRQ (Interrupt Request) conflict. If you are still having problems, try changing board configuration to another available IRQ and DPRAM address. If multiple Applicom cards are installed on your system, make sure they are using the same DPRAM address and IRQ number but different board numbers.


For more information about Applicom board installation, refer to the Applicom Online Help topic Hardware Installation that comes with the Applicom Software package.

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Configuring a Profibus Device with an Applicom Board

Siemens S7 PLC is a Profibus device that can communicate to a Profibus network through MPI protocol using a Profibus interface card such as an Applicom board. The configurations shown here correspond to a Siemens S7 PLC and only serve as an example. Your configuration may be different, but somewhat similar, depending on your PLC and protocol used.
1. To connect the PLC onto the Applicom board, you must use Profibus cable, which is a special cable for this purpose. Connect one end of the cable to the MPI port on the PLC, and the other end to the Profibus port on the Applicom card.

2. Start PCConf.

3. Click on Configuration to access the Applicom Configuration Tool.


4. Click on Channel Configuration.


5. The system shown has two Applicom cards installed. If only one Applicom card is installed on your system then you may skip this step. Otherwise, choose the Profibus card that you want to configure with the PLC. Click Configuration to go to the next step.


6. Make sure the Protocol used is PROFIBUS, and change the baud rate to 187.5k because MPI must use this baud rate. For other protocols, check the documentation for the proper baud rate. Click on Equipments Configuration when you are done.


7. Now you need to assign the equipment number for the device, which could be any number from 0-99 .The equipment number is NOT the same as the card number. You can have multiple devices configured on a single card with different equipment numbers. For example, in card 1 you can configure a Siemens S7 PLC as equipment 0 and a Siemens S5 PLC as equipment 1.
In this example, the equipment number assigned is 0. Click Configuration to go to the next step.


8. You can put in any string for the Symbolic Name and Description textbox. For Messaging, choose MPI since this is the protocol that we want to use. Enter the Equipment Physical Address for the PLC as defined by the PLC proprietary software.


9. Click OK all the way back to the main panel of PCConf.
10. Save and exit PCConf.


11. When you are asked whether you want to run PCInit, click Yes.


12. PCInit will run and initialize the Applicom board configuration. If the progress bar does not go through, it indicates a problem with the configuration.

Note: you MUST run PCInit after installing the Applicom board and prior to configuring any Profibus connection in PCConf to make sure that the board is installed properly in your system. If you did not do so and PCInit indicates problems in this step, then it is difficult to determine whether the problem comes from the board installation or the Profibus connection that you just created.


13. Next, test the connection just made. Launch the ReadWait software that should be included with Applicom Software package.

Note: You can also use the WriteWait software, also included in the Applicom Software package, to test the connection. The procedure for this software should be similar to ReadWait, which is discussed below.

14. Make sure the card number, channel, and equipment numbers are correct. If there is only one card installed in your system, then the card number should be 1. Channel should be 0 unless you configure it otherwise. Equipment number should correspond to the configuration that we just made in PCConf in step 7 above, which is 0 in this example. Set the function as READPACKBIT, which reads a one bit value from the PLC. Click Read to poll a value from the PLC.


15. You should see Function return: Tabl[0] = 0 or 1 and the Status number should be 0 with the message "Exchange OK!" Otherwise, you have a problem with the configuration.


For the complete reference of Applicom general status numbers and statuses according to the protocol, refer to the Applicom Protocol Manual - Profibus that should come with the Applicom software package.

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Connecting to Applicom using Lookout Objects

Lookout provides various objects to connect to profibus devices via an Applicom card. These objects are device and protocol specific, therefore the object you use depends on the profibus device and the protocol used. For example, since with the Siemens S7 PLC and MPI protocol, use the S7MPI_Applicom object. If you are using a different profibus device and/or protocol, you can still apply the steps discussed below into the appropriate Lookout object you are using for that device and protocol.

1. In Lookout, create a new object by choosing Object>>Create.

2. Select S7MPI_Applicom from the list.


3. Enter the Card, Channel, and Equipment number according to the configuration you made in PCConf.


4. Now you are ready to read and write to the object data members. If you need a tutorial to access object data members, check out our document Accessing Lookout Object Datamembers.
If you want to access the registers using the LabVIEW DSC module through a Datasocket connection, check out the document Connecting LabVIEW OPC Client through Datasocket connection.

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Connecting to the Applicom OPC Server from the Lookout OPC Client

Lookout can connect to an Applicom OPC Server as an OPC Client using the OPCClient object. Here is a brief tutorial of how to set up Lookout as an OPC Client to connect to an Applicom OPC Server.
1. In Lookout create a new object by choosing Object>>Create.

2. Choose OPCClient from the object list.


3. In the Server Name drop-down list, choose APPLICOM.OPCServer. The OPC Server is a Local Server and it supports Hierarchical browsing. Click OK when you're done.


4. If the connection is successful, you should see a small OPC icon on the taskbar in the lower-right corner of your screen.


Now you should be able to access the registers on the profibus device. For assistance in reading and writing to object data members, please check out our document Accessing Lookout Object Datamembers.

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Connecting to the Applicom OPC Server from ServerExplorer

The Applicom OPC Server, like any other OPC server, can be connected from any OPC client software, such as ServerExplorer and Lookout. In the following example, we are going to show you how to connect ServerExplorer to the Applicom OPC Server.
1. Start ServerExplorer. If you installed the Applicom OPC Server correctly, then you should see APPLICOM.OPCServer on the server list.


2. Right-click on APPLICOM.OPCServer and choose Wizard.


3. It should bring you to a connection wizard window. Click Next to connect to the Applicom OPC Server. Notice that ServerExplorer has set the connection type to be Local Server.


The traffic light should start blinking as ServerExplorer is connecting to the OPC Server, and the light will turn green when connected to the server. If you can't connect to the server, check the OPC Server installation.


4. Define the group name, which can be any string. Leave the update rate with its default value.


5. Choose the data member that you want to read. Don't worry if you can't find the registers you want; you can add them later, which will be discussed in step 6. Click Finish when you are done.


Now you should be able to read the registers that you just connect on the main window in ServerExplorer.


6. If you need to read more registers, right-click on the group name and choose Add/Edit Items.


7. Under Item Definition, browse to find the items that you want to read according to the card, channel, and equipment number. In this example, we are trying to connect to register E0.0 which is under Card 1, Channel 0, equipment 0, and E*.*. Make sure the Item ID textbox on the lower left of the dialog box has the correct item that you want to read.
8. Click Add to add the item into the list of items to read on the right side of the window.


9. Validate each item by highlighting the item name and clicking Validate! If validation failed, check the Item ID textbox for a possible typo. If validation still failed, it could also mean the item you are trying to connect to does not exist.


10. Click OK when you're done. Now you should see all the items you just connected.

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