ABB 800xA with Advant Master integrated configuration

3.2 Constructing Control Structure

There are primarily two ways to construct a Control Structure:

Online construction: This is the most direct approach. After creating the RTA board object and the corresponding controller node object, use the MB300 Uploader aspect on each controller node and click "Start Upload". The system will read all process objects and system objects in the controller in real-time through the MB300 network and automatically generate corresponding instances in the Control Structure.

Offline construction: This method is suitable for the early stages of a project or scenarios where network connectivity is not available. It utilizes the output of the Function Chart Builder (FCB) engineering tool for construction. The steps are as follows:

On the engineering station, export the controller database as a source file (.OCD) through the MB300 Uploader option of FCB.

Copy the file to the 800xA server.

In the MB300 Uploader aspect of 800xA, select the "From FCB" tab, specify the source file path, and then upload.

This approach allows for step-by-step construction without the need to connect to a physical controller. Once the controller is finally deployed online, perform another online upload to obtain dynamic address information.

3.3 Naming and relocation of processing objects

In practical maintenance, situations may arise where it is necessary to replace an I/O channel. If objects are simply renamed, it can lead to the invalidation of existing graphics and trend links. The manual provides a standard process for safely relocating objects to avoid such issues:

Mask the alarms of faulty channels.

In the controller engineering tool, rename the DB element of the fault channel.

Name the DB element of the new channel as the original name of the old channel.

In the Control Structure of 800xA, drag the process object to a new location.

Execute upload and complete associated updates.

4. Alarms and Events: Customized Information Processing

The alarm and event handling capabilities of Advant Master are a significant manifestation of its practicality. 800xA fully integrates it and enhances its configurability.

4.1 Event handling mechanism

The configuration of event processing is divided into three levels:

Controller layer: In the Advant Master controller, each process object has an event handling pointer (such as ERR_TR, LIM1_TR), which points to the number of an event handling database element (EVENT).

RTA board layer: The RTA board maintains an Event Treat database, which defines the specific behaviors (such as priority, whether to sound, whether to confirm, whether to block, etc.) of each EVENT element, as well as the text used for display.

800xA system layer: By configuring alarm and event lists, you can define how these events are presented on the operation interface (colors, fonts, classifications, etc.).

4.2 Custom Alarm and Event Text

By configuring the EVENT20 to EVENT300 elements on the RTA board, users can fully customize the text of alarms and events. For example, to set an upper limit alarm EVENT20 for an AI signal, users can:

In the configuration of the RTA board, use the MDB EVENT20 command.

Set its attributes, such as AUDIBLE = 1 (audible), AL_PRIO = 2 (priority 2).

Define event text (such as "oil level too high") in Segment S2, and define attribute text (such as "oil level") in Segment S3.

Finally, save the configuration through RTA Board Backup.

4.3 Alarm refreshing and system alarms

Advant Master Alarm Refresh: After the communication failure is restored, this function will automatically send a status query request to the controller to update the alarm status in 800xA, ensuring the accuracy of the alarm list. For object types that do not support automatic refresh (such as Engineered drive), this function should be used with caution.

System Alarms: 800xA for Advant Master generates two types of system alarms to aid in diagnosing the health status of the system. One type originates from the MB300 node (such as loss of connection), while the other type comes from services (such as RTA board failure). These alarms are collected in the system alarm list of network objects.

5. Historical data: Deep integration of TTD logs

The Time Tagged Data (TTD) function built into the Advant Master controller serves as an efficient mechanism for recording historical data. 800xA for Advant Master considers TTD as the preferred source of historical data.

5.1 TTD Configuration View

Each AC 400 series controller node features a TTD Node Configuration aspect, which offers three key views:

Main View: Lists all currently configured TTD logs, along with their associated objects and attributes.

Controller View: Displays the log groups defined in the controller, including group number, storage interval, and storage capacity.

Synchronize View: Used for uploading and downloading TTD configurations with the controller. Clicking "Upload" can import the existing TTD log configuration of the controller into the historical configuration system of 800xA, automatically creating a Log Template and Log Configuration. Clicking "Download" can then download the newly configured logs to the controller.