Good video! You ran into most of the same issues that I encountered. It’s really a pain to setup the PLC using the IDE. I don’t know why they made it so user unfriendly. It’s okay once setup. Not great, but usable. One major issue though is that they removed the ability to program the PLC over Ethernet in v1.0.6. You’ll see that the Modbus TCP option has been removed. You can still connect to the PLC to read/write variables using Modbus TCP, but you can’t program the PLC. This means that you need to connect your computer to the PLC using USB in order to program, which is a pain. Why would they remove that as a feature? Very strange decisions made when developing this product. It is cheap though, so a good option to consider over something like a Siemens Logo or Micro800. I just wish they’d improve the software to make it more user friendly.
Do not buy an opta until they fix the plc ide. For the past year it has been impossible to get time over Ethernet. I have not yet tried 1.0.6 and have my fingers crossed.
Looks good - personally I am mostly interested in the 4-20mA module, but sadly it isn't released yet. Something I am really struggling with: Why would I chose the OPTA solution over something like a CX7000? I really like the CX7000. The main two reasons I can come up with for using the OPTAs are 1. ModbusTCP (LOL Beckhoff) and 2. C++ code.
You can converter 4..20 mA to 1 to 5 volts with a resistor you know. I doubt the analog only module is triple-isolated so no using pH sensors for example.
beckhoff slices are cheaper. Yes the "PLC" (actually an IPC) is expensive but you get an unlimited 7 day trial and you can probably bypass it with a little Automation Interface and OCR magic.
@@Flamechr That's what Automation Interface is for. You can set it up so it auto activates. When your PLC loses power something has gone wrong anyway. It's much safer to diagnose and manually start it up.
Thanks a lot for your work here. I will follow your steps to try my opta plc. Would you please make a video on how to install and use two virtual boxes for using two versions of PLC software on one PC. How to make usb ports and ethernet ports working with the PLC hardware.
Thanks for doing this. Its difficult to find resources with opta plc or arduinon machine control plc. What would be the benifit of using this over arduino machine control (plc) over this combination with opta and opta extention? Thank you
I can said this: OPTA is the worst device if you turn on the ethernet network. After hours of working without problem the device will go in error mode stop ModBus communication and stop working completely without reason or way to debug. the device needs to power cycle to get out of this status.
I have the same issue. I have an Opta PLC controlling something at home and it completely freezes every now and then. I even added a relay to power cycle the Opta when modbus communication is lost. The relay is controlled from Node-Red on a Raspberry Pi communicating modbus with the Opta. I have not tried the new firmware yet. I will try later.
Finally I was able to test. Now the Modbus is stable. Beware anything from the previous versions must be removed.But with the new version I cannot connect anymore to program with Ethernet 😅.
I'd love to see how you'd do the automated testing, even in the TwinCAT environment as an example. Thanks for the effort that went into recording and uploading this. Cheers
You're lucky today! I have a whole course here on RUclips on how to do automated testing using TwinCAT. Check the two episodes about test driven development on my TwinCAT 3 course here on my RUclips.
![[Fireside Chat] OT Fuels the IIoT:How Arduino and Blues Put Industrial Automation in Your Control](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hSBGAxgS8y4/mqdefault.jpg)
Good video! You ran into most of the same issues that I encountered. It’s really a pain to setup the PLC using the IDE. I don’t know why they made it so user unfriendly. It’s okay once setup. Not great, but usable. One major issue though is that they removed the ability to program the PLC over Ethernet in v1.0.6. You’ll see that the Modbus TCP option has been removed. You can still connect to the PLC to read/write variables using Modbus TCP, but you can’t program the PLC. This means that you need to connect your computer to the PLC using USB in order to program, which is a pain. Why would they remove that as a feature? Very strange decisions made when developing this product. It is cheap though, so a good option to consider over something like a Siemens Logo or Micro800. I just wish they’d improve the software to make it more user friendly.
Just get the real PLC with that price level. Don’t waste your time & money. Get NAIS FP1/2
Do not buy an opta until they fix the plc ide. For the past year it has been impossible to get time over Ethernet. I have not yet tried 1.0.6 and have my fingers crossed.
Hello Jakob, nice explanation. Can you help with how we can implement this in the GUI to control the entire program?
Looks good - personally I am mostly interested in the 4-20mA module, but sadly it isn't released yet. Something I am really struggling with: Why would I chose the OPTA solution over something like a CX7000? I really like the CX7000. The main two reasons I can come up with for using the OPTAs are 1. ModbusTCP (LOL Beckhoff) and 2. C++ code.
The c++ part just gives you so many options for modern software development 😂
What is your current favorite set up for 4-20 mA sensors?
You can converter 4..20 mA to 1 to 5 volts with a resistor you know. I doubt the analog only module is triple-isolated so no using pH sensors for example.
beckhoff slices are cheaper. Yes the "PLC" (actually an IPC) is expensive but you get an unlimited 7 day trial and you can probably bypass it with a little Automation Interface and OCR magic.
But you will need to reactivate it if you restart or lose power.
Do you have ota options For becckhoff ?
CI/CD out of the box ?
@@Flamechr That's what Automation Interface is for. You can set it up so it auto activates. When your PLC loses power something has gone wrong anyway. It's much safer to diagnose and manually start it up.
Thanks a lot for your work here. I will follow your steps to try my opta plc. Would you please make a video on how to install and use two virtual boxes for using two versions of PLC software on one PC. How to make usb ports and ethernet ports working with the PLC hardware.
I did try to use a VM for this video but encountered problems (as can be seen in the video). The VM topic is worth to look into again.
Thanks as always, is there a way too control a stepper/servo driver with some of the expansion?
Use RS485 /Modbus
Thanks for doing this. Its difficult to find resources with opta plc or arduinon machine control plc. What would be the benifit of using this over arduino machine control (plc) over this combination with opta and opta extention? Thank you
I can said this: OPTA is the worst device if you turn on the ethernet network. After hours of working without problem the device will go in error mode stop ModBus communication and stop working completely without reason or way to debug. the device needs to power cycle to get out of this status.
I haven't tried any long-term tests with the Opta. Did you try to upgrade it to the latest firmware? (1.1 instead of 1.0, like I did in the video)?
I have the same issue. I have an Opta PLC controlling something at home and it completely freezes every now and then. I even added a relay to power cycle the Opta when modbus communication is lost. The relay is controlled from Node-Red on a Raspberry Pi communicating modbus with the Opta. I have not tried the new firmware yet. I will try later.
@@JakobSagatowski I still have to do the test.
Finally I was able to test. Now the Modbus is stable. Beware anything from the previous versions must be removed.But with the new version I cannot connect anymore to program with Ethernet 😅.
Please how do I interface the opta with an Hmi from a different brand using modbus Rs-485
Guys I find Delta PLC to be the most stable and reliable so waste no times with this rushed product ❤
I'd love to see how you'd do the automated testing, even in the TwinCAT environment as an example. Thanks for the effort that went into recording and uploading this. Cheers
Additionally, I think @12:00 you are supposed to 'Apply detect config', I think this means 'Apply the detected configuration' to the current project.
You're lucky today! I have a whole course here on RUclips on how to do automated testing using TwinCAT. Check the two episodes about test driven development on my TwinCAT 3 course here on my RUclips.
OMG OMG.. what a great video! Can I subscribe twice?