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+ - Ask Slashdot: Getting a new HMI to interface with a PLC

Submitted by william.meaney1
william.meaney1 writes "I work as the Network Manager of a small company, which manufactures and assembles diffusion furnaces. We have an automation system that uses a Panasonic FP2SH PLC, and used (until recently) a panasonic GV display. The PLC was coded using FPwin Pro (which panasonic includes with the controller) and the display was programmed using the included GVwin software. Being once of the few who understands computers and has any semblance of programming (Which is the few little projects i use to do as a kid, making the command prompt spit out "hello world" was as far as i really got)

Unfortunately, the touchscreen is going out of production. We use to have to get the display, power it on, and load the entire display program from a laptop straight into the display via parallel. The display software was nice, because it was made by panasonic, and it worked really well with the PLC, making it easy to see what functions on the display affected which piece of memory in the PLC.

Now, the new displays (still panasonic, but the GN series) come with Windows CE preloaded, and an editor called Movicon. I was wondering if anyone in the slashdot community had worked with Movicon recently (version 11). I have very little experience programming, and none working with Windows CE (when the display comes in, this will be my first time seeing it)

From what little research I've been able to do, i won't be able to convert my GV series programs to work with Movicon. I'll need to rebuild from the ground up...

Now the fun part, I've got little to no knowlege of the original development of the system. I've helped out with the assembly of the systems, and i know how they're supposed to work, but the coding was done out at our parent company in the midwest. There's some bad blood with the original programmer (s\he didn't like the development being moved off site) so I'm SOL in asking for help from anyone who knows what they're doing. Hopefully you guys can show me some love? If i can get the info on how Movicon interfaces with a Windows CE display, and maybe some pointers as to what my best route would be. I know i'll have to redesign all the screens, which is fine because the old display only had 128 colors. Not 128k, 128 flat. (right out of the 80s.)

I think if I can find out how Movicon manipulates the PLC, that all i need. I have been able to modify the current display to show voltages of the different axis' while in motion, and all i had to do was put a data display box and have it monitor a certain memory address. Will I be able to translate these ideas over to Movicon?"

Comment: Re:Next up, antimalware built into boot sectors. (Score 3, Interesting) 104

by bioteq (#37798612) Attached to: Most Sophisticated Rootkit Getting an Overhaul

I'm all for a physical switch.

Most of my customers would not be, however.

Then again, I see writing to the partition table / boot sector as on the same level as flashing firmware; it should only be done when absolutely needed and by someone who knows what they're doing and quite qualified. Which would put me rooting for a physical switch even more (I'd have less customers, though).

But the question still begs: Why are we allowed to write to this stuff from userland? Even with admin / root privs?

Comment: Re:Next up, antimalware built into boot sectors. (Score 2) 104

by bioteq (#37798508) Attached to: Most Sophisticated Rootkit Getting an Overhaul

Or, you know, disable the ability to write to the boot sector / partition table without specialized permission.

One time toggle in the bios means you can write to partition table on next boot. Want to write to it again? Toggle it in bios again.

Also, why can we write to the partition table and bootsector from userland again?

Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box of candy weighing less than fifty pounds.

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