Area Recipe Server
Central server to distribute production recipes and collect process data from Human Machine Interface (HMI) computers.
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Description of this project. |
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Hardware utilized for this project. |
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Software packages utilized for this project. |
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Installation physical and logical environment. |
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Interactions with other systems. |
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Synopsis:
Setup information for the manufacturing equipment is stored in Access on an NT Server located in the manufacturing area. This data is automatically downloaded to the local HMI controlling a PLC or group of PLCs when changes are posted.
Downloads are flagged when a table is updated and scheduled at regular intervals by a timer. The Access application is launched as an NT Service on the server eliminating the need for anyone to be logged on.
Another timer triggers tasks that poll the HMI computers for production data. This data is collected in central files on the area server and made available to the upstream host computer.
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Required Hardware:
The server is a generic Intel Pentium with SCSI drives in a tower permitting it to be expanded as required. The existing HMI and Win95 desktops are incorporated in the application.
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Required Software:
The server is a Microsoft NT Server 4.0 Primary Domain Controller (PDC). Access97 is required for the partial database replication and other advanced features employed by the application. The HMI computers are NT Workstation 4.0 with Access97, or Windows 3.11 for HMI applications that do not support Access97.
Recipes are edited by process engineers from Windows 95 workstations located throughout the facility. These workstations must have Access97 installed in order to run the Access forms the update the database.
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Environment:
This is a major manufacturing facility with existing fiber optic and 10 Base T ethernet and Novell file servers and networking software loaded on Windows 3.1 workstations.
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Application Interfaces:
The recipe files are comma separated variable (CSV) or Access97 as required by the specific application enabler. A list of the HMI computers and their interface requirements is maintained in the Access97 application. The application formats downloads and uploads as directed by these parameters.
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Last Revised: Sunday, January 4, 1998
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