Data Recording

Setup Guide
COMMANDbatch V1.7.5.0 & Later
10/14/08

Command Alkon Inc.

5168 Blazer Parkway
Dublin, Ohio 43017
1.800.624.1872
Fax: 614.793.0608
Part Number: 25543
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 Contents

Contents ........................................................................................ 3

Introduction .................................................................................. 4
Purpose ................................................................................................ 4
Audience ............................................................................................... 4
Revision Summary ................................................................................. 4

Data Recording .............................................................................. 5

Overview .............................................................................................. 5
Prerequisites ......................................................................................... 5
Operation .............................................................................................. 5
COMMANDbatch Setups .......................................................................... 6

Index ........................................................................................... 12

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 Introduction

Topics in This Section

Purpose
Audience
Revision Summary

Purpose
This guide explains how to configure the Data Recording feature in
COMMANDbatch so that information such as plant power usage or water
temperature can be recorded.

Audience
This guide is intended to be used by Command Alkon installation and service
personnel, as well as plant personnel authorized to install and configure
COMMANDbatch.

Revision Summary

CMDbatch
Date Version Revision
Nov. 13, 2007 1.06.288e Document created.
Nov. 26, 2007 1.06.288e Added steps for configuring backups.
Mar. 10, 2008 1.06.288h Distributed manual for Beta testing.
Jun. 27, 2008 1.7.2.2 Distributed manual for more testing.
Oct. 2, 2008 1.7.4.1 Distributed manual for release.
Oct. 14, 2008 1.7.5.0 Updated manual for COMMANDbatch V1.7.5.0.

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 Data Recording

Topics in This Section

Overview
Prerequisites
Operation
COMMANDbatch Setups

Overview
The Data Recording feature allows users to record data from IO registers.
When connected to a PLC, information such as plant power usage, water
temperature, or air pressure can be recorded. Users can choose which
registers they want to monitor.
Data Recording is installed with COMMANDbatch but runs as a separate .NET
application.
The Data Recording module is configured from a form inside COMMANDbatch.

Prerequisites
• COMMANDbatch V1.7.5.0 or later must be installed.
• PlantWatcher (latest version) must be installed.
• Plant devices to be monitored must be controlled by either a PLC or a
Manual Station such as the E-Z Cal.

Operation
Each time the value of a register changes, the data is captured and recorded
in a local database on the COMMANDbatch PC.
The PlantWatcher application retrieves data pertaining to mixer power, total
plant power, and total water and distributes it to recipients via email.

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 COMMANDbatch Setups
Interface Parameters Form

1. Open the Interface Parameters form and create a record for the
PLC.

2. Enter/select/verify the following information on the top part of

the form.

Interface Example: Sand Temperature

Desc (Optional) Description of the PLC.
Type Select "PLC".
Connection “Ethernet TCP/IP”, the only choice, is already selected.
Control Node "1" is selected by default for a single-node system. For a
multi-node system, select the appropriate node.
In Use Leave this box checked.
BCP Port If the PLC device is attached to the RTC, check this box.
(Data Recording Only): If the PLC device is attached to the
COMMANDbatch PC, uncheck this box.

3. Click on the Common tab and enter/verify the following

information.

Trace Type Select the type of debugging (Error Logs, None, Perfor-
mance, or Verbose Error Logs). Defaults to “None”.
Unit # Make sure the Unit # starts at “1” for the first PLC interface
parameter record then increments by 1 for each subsequent
PLC record that is added.
IO Poll Seconds between the times that COMMANDbatch polls the
PLC IO.
Defaults to 1.
Input Register Seconds (ms) between the times that COMMANDbatch polls
Poll the PLC Input Register.
Defaults to 1.
Holding Seconds (ms) between the times that COMMANDbatch polls
Register Poll the PLC Holding Register.
Defaults to 1.
Registers (Data Recording Only): If this box is checked, data will be
(Always Send) recorded at the specified polling time even if the data has not
changed. If this box is not checked, data will only be
recorded if it has changed.

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 4. Click on the TCP/IP tab and enter/verify the following
information.

IP Address 192.168.77.4
IP Port 502

5. Save your changes and close the Interface Parameters form.

IO Assignments Form

6. Open the IO Assignments form and select the PLC record.

7. Click on the PLC tab and select IO’s for Inputs, Outputs, and
Holding Registers.

8. Save your changes and close the IO Assignments form.

Data Recording Configuration Form

9. Open the Data Recording Configuration form and click the New
Tag button at the bottom of the form.

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 10. At the top of the form, enter a Tag Name (example: Sand
Temperature).

11. In the Type field, select one of the following data types for
incoming (raw) data. For example, you might select
UnsignedShort for recording temperature.

Type Raw Data Range Hexadecimal Stored Data

Equivalent Range
Boolean 0 or 1 0 or 1
Integer 0 to 4294967295 0 to FFFF FFFF -2147483648 to
2147483647
Short 0 to 65535 0 to FFFF -32768 to 32767
UnsignedInteger 0 to 4294967295 0 to FFFF FFFF 0 to 4294967295
UnsignedShort 0 to 65535 0 to FFFF 0 to 65535

12. Right click in the IO Point(s) area and select “Add IOPoint”.

The Get IO Point window is displayed.

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 13. Select the appropriate Source then select the appropriate IO point
and click the Add button.

The selected IO point is added to the Data Recording record.

14. In the UOM field, enter a unit for the data to be recorded
(example: Celsius).

15. To calibrate incoming raw data, check the Use Scaling box and set
the range for Raw Count and Value.

Example:

Raw Low 0
Raw High 20000
Value Low 0
Value Low 100

To use 1:1 scaling (meaning incoming raw data IS the Value recorded),
leave the Use Scaling box unchecked.
16. Click the Save button to save the Data Recording record and see
the Scaling Factor.

The following screen example shows a Scaling Factor of 0.005 for the
ranges specified in the example in step 15.

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 17. Select the Setup tab on the Data Recording Configuration form.

18. Enter/verify the following information. Ignore the Schema

Version, Modified By, and Last Modified read-only fields.

Backup Database At Start Leave this box checked so that the database is
backed up whenever the COMMANDbatch PC is
started (such as after a reboot) or whenever
the CBManager service is restarted.
Auto Backup Database Leave this box checked if you want the Data
Recording database to be backed up automati-
cally at the Interval specified.
Interval (hrs) Period of time from one Auto Backup til the next
one. Defaults to 120 hours.

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 Auto Purge Leave this box checked so the database can be
purged on a regular basis after the number of
days specified in the Days to Keep field.
Days to Keep (days) Maximum number of days worth of data that
can be left in the database when the Purge pro-
cess runs. Data older than this (counting back
from the current date) will be purged when the
Purge process runs.

19. Click the Save button and close the Data Recording Configuration
form.

10/14/08 11
 Index

D
Data Recording
COMMANDbatch Setups 6
Operation 5
Overview 5
Prerequisites 5
I
Introduction
Audience 4
Purpose 4
Revision Summary 4

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