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Codesys

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use Codesys with the SoftPLC emulator to connect to ATOM using Profinet and perform some basic operations and monitor data. You can follow along using the SoftPLC emulator or your own PLC.

We provide examples for both ladder logic and structured text.

If you haven't yet, please review ATOM's Profinet Profile.

If you'd like to skip the tutorial, you can download a completed example project:

Prerequisites​

  1. Install Codesys
  2. Download ATOM's GSDML file

Hardware setup​

Important

When Atom is configured for Profinet, the Ethernet port closest to the 24V power connector is disabled. You must use opposing Ethernet port nearest the reset button as shown below or the PLC won't be able to connect to Atom.

Connect 24V to your PLC and Atom unit with the provided power cable. Connect Atom to your PC with an Ethernet cable.

Atom and PLC hardware setup

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To simplify this diagram, we have not connected a load to Atom. You may connect a load or leave it disconnected, either way is fine for the purposes of this tutorial.

If you do not connect a load, you can still verify your PLC is working by connecting a USB cable to Atom and using Control Panel to watch the parameters change/verify the PLC is receiving the correct monitor data.

Configure Windows firewall​

Codesys requires you to allow incoming Profinet UDP packets through the Windows firewall so that the SoftPLC is able to receive UDP Profinet requests from Atom.

  1. First, search for Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and open it:

Open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security

  1. Right click on Inbound Rules and select New Rule:

Add inbound rule in Windows firewall

  1. Select Port, then click Next:

Select port

  1. Select UDP, then select Specific local ports and enter 34964, 49152-65535, then click Next:

Configure UDP local ports

  1. Select Allow the connection, then click Next:

Select allow the connection

  1. Select which network types this rule applies to, then click Next:

Select applicable network types

  1. Name the rule Profinet, then click Finish:

Name the rule and finish creating it

Create a Codesys project​

Create a new Codesys project using the Standard project with Application Composer template:

Create project step 1

Check each library to include it in the project and select CODESYS Control WIN V3 x64 as the device:

Create project step 2

Adding a Profinet Controller​

Next we'll add a Profinet Controller device. This allows the SoftPLC to discover Profinet I/O devices on the network (in our case, ATOM) and establish a connection with them.

First, right click Device and select Add Device:

Add device step 1

Next, expand PROFINET IO > Ethernet Adapter and select Ethernet, then click Add Device:

Add device step 2

The newly added Ethernet device will now appear in the device tree. Double click Ethernet (Ethernet) to open its configuration tab. Within the General configuration tab, use the button indicated by the red arrow to select the network interface of the host machine that will be used to communicate with ATOM. In our case, we have a TEST-NET interface but this will be different for you.

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Note, you may get an error dialog displaying "Gateway not configured properly". If this is the case, make sure your SoftPLC is online by right-clicking the Codesys Win SysTray icon and starting the PLC. Navigate to the CODESYS Control Win V3 device in Codesys and use Scan Network to make sure the gateway is detected. Then, you can select the network interface.

Add device step 3

Next, right click Ethernet (Ethernet) and select Add Device:

Add device step 4

Expand PROFINET IO > PROFINET IO Master, select PN-Controller then click Add Device:

Add device step 5

Your device tree should update to include the PN-Controller device.

Adding ATOM to the controller​

First, we'll import ATOM's GSDML file you downloaded earlier into our Codesys device library. Open the tools menu and select Device repository:

Import eds step 1

Next, click Install and select the GSDML-V2.43-Control-Concepts-ATOM_20231108.xml file. After you click install, Atom will appear under the PROFINET IO > PROFINET IO Slave > I/O category. Click Close to dismiss the dialog:

Import eds step 2

Now, we'll add ATOM to the PN-Controller. Right click EtherNet/IP Scanner (EtherNet/IP Scanner) and select Add Device:

Add ATOM step 1

Expand PROFINET IO > PROFINET IO Slave > I/O > CCI-ATOM and select ATOM SCR, then click Add Device:

Add ATOM step 2

Finally, double click Atom (Atom) to open its configuration tab. In the General tab, set the Station name, IP Address, and Subnet mask for your ATOM SCR:

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You can find or change these parameters in Control Panel, or using a tool like Proneta. Make sure your station name and IP settings on Atom are properly set to the same values you enter here so that Codesys can connect to ATOM.

Proneta

If you're using Proneta, make sure to change the IP settings with Store permanently checked.

Change network settings

Control Panel

Connect your Atom unit to your PC using a USB cable. Open Control Panel and update your Atom's communication parameters. When you're finished, click Send IP Address, then go to Actions in the upper right and select Store Parameter Values to EEPROM: Change network settings

Add ATOM step 3

Next, right click ATOM_SCR (ATOM SCR) and select Add Device:

Add ATOM step 4

Here, you can choose which Profinet I/O modules to enable for your Atom. Select DIO 8xLogicLevel which allows both input and output of data to/from Atom. You can add other I/O modules if needed. Then, click Add Device:

Add ATOM step 5

Create a program​

Next, we'll create a PLC program. We provide examples for both ladder logic and structured text:

Example: Ladder logic​

Creating the program​

Right click Application and select Add Object > POU:

Ladder logic example step 1

Set the name to AtomProgram and select Ladder Diagram (LD) as the Implementation language:

Ladder logic example step 2

Copy the following code into the top panel of the AtomProgram editor:

PROGRAM AtomProgram
VAR
    
RUN_SWITCH: BOOL;
SETPOINT: DINT;
TEMP: REAL;

ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT: DINT;
ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE: USINT;
ATOM_INPUT_TEMP: REAL;

END_VAR

After you've copied the code over, the editor for AtomProgram should look like this:

Ladder logic example step 3

In the bottom panel of the editor, we'll create a simple ladder logic program using the variables we just added above.

  1. Create 3 networks total by right-clicking and selecting Insert Network three times.
  2. For the first two rungs (networks), insert a contact and a coil.

Ladder logic example step 4

After you're finished, your ladder logic program should look like:

Ladder logic example step 5

On the third rung, right click and select Insert Box:

Ladder logic example step 5a

Add a TO_USINT box:

Ladder logic example step 5b

For the first two rungs, replace the ??? with the corresponding variables:

  1. Rung #1 - ATOM_INPUT_TEMP and TEMP
  2. Rung #2 - SETPOINT and ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT

On the third rung, set the input to EN to TRUE and set the input parameter to RUN_SWTICH and output parameter to ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE. After you're finished, your ladder logic program should look like:

Ladder logic example step 6

Finally, we'll add a task to call AtomProgram from the PLC's control loop:

Right click Task Configuration and select Add Object > Task:

Ladder logic example step 7

Name your task AtomTask and click OK:

Ladder logic example step 8

Next, double click AtomTask (IEC-Tasks) to open its configuration tab. Click Add Call and select Application > AtomProgram. After doing so, AtomTask's configuration should look like:

Ladder logic example step 9

Setting up visualization​

Next, we'll set up a simple visualization display to control and monitor ATOM.

Right click Application and select Add Object > Visualization:

Visualization step 1

Make sure to check Active for VisuSymbols (System), then click Add:

Visualization step 2

Name your visualization AtomVisualization and click Add:

Visualization step 3

Double click AtomVisualization to open its configuration editor. From the Visualization ToolBox panel on the right, select the Lamps/Switches/Bitmaps category and add a lamp and a dip switch:

Visualization step 4

Next, in the Common controls category, add a slider:

Visualization step 5

Finally, in the Measurement controls category, add a meter:

Visualization step 6

Wiring up the controls​

Next, we'll connect the controls to our PLC program. Select the dip switch and set the Variable field to AtomProgram.RUN_SWITCH as indicated by the red arrow:

Visualization config step 1

Select the lamp and set the Variable field to AtomProgram.RUN_SWITCH as indicated by the red arrow:

Visualization config step 2

Select the slider and set the Variable field to AtomProgram.SETPOINT and set Scale end to 10000:

Visualization config step 3

Select the meter and set the Variable field to AtomProgram.TEMP:

Visualization config step 4

Mapping variables​

Finally, we'll map our PLC variables to ATOM. Double click DIO_8xLogicLevel (DIO 8xLogicLevel) in the device tree to open its configuration window. Select the PNIO Module I/O Mapping tab:

Ladder mapping step 1

Above, select the button indicated by the red arrow. This will open the Input Assistant dialog. Select Application > AtomProgram > ATOM_INPUT_TEMP and click Add:

Ladder mapping step 2

After doing so, your input I/O mappings should look like:

Ladder mapping step 3

Repeat this for your output I/O mappings:

  1. Map Digital setpoint to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT
  2. Map Digital run enable to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE

Change the Filter to Show only outputs and repeat the process for the outputs. Map Digital setpoint to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT and Digital RUN Enable to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE.

Ladder mapping step 4

You're all set! Go to the Running the program with SoftPLC section to run your program.

Example: Structured text​

Creating the program​

Right click Application and select Add Object > POU:

Structured text example step 1

Name your POU AtomProgram and select Structured Text (ST) as the language:

Structured text example step 2

Next, let's create a basic program. We'll check to make sure no alarms are active and then write a setpoint value of 8000 and set run enable to true.

Copy the following code into the top panel of the AtomProgram editor:

PROGRAM AtomProgram
VAR
	
ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT: DINT;
ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE: USINT;
ATOM_INPUT_INHIBIT_ALARM: BYTE;

END_VAR

Copy the following code into the main program section:

IF (ATOM_INPUT_INHIBIT_ALARM = 0) THEN
	ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT := 8000;
	ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE := 1;
END_IF

Your editor should look like:

Structured text example step 3

Next, we'll add a new task to call our program. Right click Task Configuration and Select Add Object > Task:

Structured text example step 4

Name your task AtomTask and click Add:

Structured text example step 5

Next, double click AtomTask (IEC-Tasks) to open its configuration tab. Click Add Call and select Application > AtomProgram. After doing so, AtomTask's configuration should look like:

Structured text example step 6

Mapping variables​

Finally, we'll map our PLC variables to ATOM. Double click DIO_8xLogicLevel (DIO 8xLogicLevel) in the device tree to open its configuration window. Select the PNIO Module I/O Mapping tab:

ST mapping step 1

Above, select the button indicated by the red arrow. This will open the Input Assistant dialog. Select Application > AtomProgram > ATOM_INPUT_INHIBIT_ALARM and click Add:

ST mapping step 2

After doing so, your input I/O mappings should look like:

ST mapping step 3

Repeat this for your output I/O mappings:

  1. Map Digital setpoint to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT
  2. Map Digital run enable to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE

Change the Filter to Show only outputs and repeat the process for the outputs. Map Digital setpoint to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_SETPOINT and Digital RUN Enable to Application.AtomProgram.ATOM_OUTPUT_RUN_ENABLE.

ST mapping step 4

You're all set! Go to the Running the program with SoftPLC section to run your program.

Running the program with SoftPLC​

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The instructions to run your program are the same regardless of whether you are using ladder logic or structured text.

The only difference is that in the ladder logic example, a visualization window will open that allows you to control ATOM.

To debug the program, first make sure you start Codesys WIN Control V3 - x64 SysTray

Debug step 1

This will launch the Codesys SoftPLC. You should see an icon appear in your systray and you can right click it and select Start PLC to start the SoftPLC:

Debug step 2

Next, connect your Atom to your PC via an Ethernet cable, ensuring to use the network interface you specified in the Adding a Profinet controller section.

Next, in Codesys double click Application to open its configuration window. Here you can select Scan Network to discover your SoftPLC:

Debug step 3

Finally, Login to your SoftPLC:

Debug step 4

Then you can start debugging the program:

Debug step 5

If you use Control Panel to monitor ATOM, you should see the Stop / Run state and the Digital Setpoint values change to reflect the PLC program's instructions. If you followed the structured text example, the values will change once and remain fixed. If you followed the ladder logic example, a visualization control panel will appear. Flipping the dip switch or adjusting the slider will immediately update ATOM and the changes should reflect in real-time:

Debug step 6