This chapter explains how to install and start RSLogix Emulate software. This
chapter includes information on the following:
- system requirements
- installation methods
- installation procedures
- updating an existing installation
- starting procedures
After installing the software, we recommend that you read the release note
located in the online help. The release note may contain more up-to-date
information than was available when this document was published. To view the
release note, start RSLogix Emulate software; then, choose Help > Release
- standalone workstation
- network
- client-server
To install RSLogix Emulate software, perform the following steps
Insert the RSLogix Emulate CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive
Perform the following steps:
a. Click Start, then click Run. The Run dialog box
appears.
b. In the Open field, type x:\setup, where x is the letter
of the drive containing the RSLogix Emulate CDROM.
c. Click OK. The Welcome dialog box appears.
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
a. On the Welcome dialog box - Read the RSLogix Emulate introductory
information, and then click Next.
b. On the Software License Agreement dialog box - Read the entire
Software License Agreement. Click Yes to accept and continue
installation, or click No to decline and exit the installation.
On the Registration Information dialog box - Type your name, the
name of your company, the support ID number of your RSLogix
Emulate software, and then click Next.
On the Select Folder dialog box - Select a directory location for the
RSLogix Emulate application files
Select installation options. In the Product (left) pane, select the RSLogix Emulate product(s) that
you want to install. In the Product Options (right) pane, select the
component(s) of each product that you want to install. Click Next.
On the Specify Start Menu Item dialog box - Accept the default
program folder, or type the name of the program folder in which you
want the RSLogix Emulate application icons to appear. Click Next.
A dialog box appears, indicating the specified location of the RSLogix
Emulate icons in the Start menu. Click Yes to confirm, or No to exit.
On the RSLogix Emulate dialog box - Confirm your previous
selections, and then click Next. The Setup dialog box appears while
files are being copied to the hard disk drive.
h. On the Setup Says! dialog box - Review the Rockwell Software
contact information, then click Next.
i. On the Setup is Complete dialog box - Select the activation and
readme viewing options and click Finish.
To begin activation, insert the Master disk into the 3.5-inch disk drive.
On the EVMOVE dialog box - Follow the instructions that appear on
the screen to activate RSLogix Emulate software. For more
information on activation, see the Activation Help file (click Start >
Programs > Rockwell Software > Utilities > Activation Help).
On the Restart Windows dialog box - Specify the restart option for
your operating system and click Finish. The installation is complete.
3. When you are finished installing the software, remove the RSLogix
Emulate CD-ROM from the CD-ROM drive and the RSLogix Emulate
Master disk from the disk drive. Store them in a safe place
Starting RSLogix Emulate software
Click Start, and then select Programs > Rockwell
Software > RSLogix Emulate (5 or 500) (folder) >
RSLogix Emulate (5 or 500) (executable) from the
Start menu.
Double-click the product executable (for example,
RSLogix Emulate.exe) located in the \RSLogix
Emulate (5 or 500)\System network subdirectory
specified by your system administrator.
Click Start, and then select Programs > Rockwell
Software > RSLogix Emulate (5 or 500) (folder) >
RSLogix Emulate (5 or 500) (executable) from the
Start menu
What RSLogix Emulate does
RSLogix Emulate is a troubleshooting and debugging tool that can emulate
most operations of Allen-Bradley PLC-5 and SLC-500 family processors. It
executes your ladder logic programs in your computer, updating your
programs' data tables, allowing you to approximate what is going to happen
when you download your programs to physical PLC-5 processors
There's something missing when RSLogix Emulate runs a processor's program:
the I/O. Since your computer will not be connected to your I/O modules,
RSLogix Emulate uses debug files to simulate the inputs for your ladder logic
program.
Debug files are sections of ladder logic that you program to simulate your
process' inputs. The ladder logic in a debug file can be edited like any other
program file. For more information about using debug files, see page 15.
RSLogix Emulate has some powerful troubleshooting features. You can:
scan your ladder logic continuously, one rung at a time, or one program scan
at a time
restrict the program scan to a block of rungs that you specify
set breakpoints in your ladder logic to stop execution when a specified event
occurs (e.g., when an important value goes out of range), freezing the
conditions that caused the breakpoint to trigger
What happens when RSLogix Emulate runs
RSLogix Emulate uses your computer's CPU to scan the rungs in your ladder
program. The rungs in your program read inputs from and write outputs to the
data table stored offline with your ladder logic project. The offline data table is
also active during emulation.
RSLogix Emulate reads the ladder program and data table into your computer's
memory before executing the ladder logic. The files on your disk are not
affected by the emulator.
The basic order of events during emulation is no different from when a
processor runs a project. RSLogix Emulate scans your rungs, pauses to update
the output and input image tables, and scans your rungs again. (During normal
operation, RSLogix Emulate repeats the program scan until you tell it to stop.
There are other scanning modes you can use.)
Since there is no real I/O, the emulated ladder logic takes cues only from the
state of the data table. To generate responses in your ladder program, you will
need to change the value of the desired I/O bits, storage bits, or storage words
acting as inputs to your ladder program.
When you are using Rockwell Software ladder logic editors with RSLogix
Emulate, the software owns the edit resource for the project. This means that
you cannot edit the ladder logic that is in RSLogix Emulate's memory. To
change the project, you must edit the project offline and reload the project into
RSLogix Emulate. You can change data table values while online
Starting your work
If all you want to do is see if your logic runs, there's very little you need to do
with RSLogix Emulate. If you need to simulate your I/O with debug files or
set up a Channel 0 device, you will need to do some more work.
Here are the steps to get going with RSLogix Emulate:
1. Set up communications for RSLogix Emulate. See “Set up
communications for RSLogix Emulate” on page 12.
2. Load your ladder logic project into RSLogix Emulate. See “Load a ladder
logic project into RSLogix Emulate” on page 13.
3. Start your ladder logic editing application, and go online with RSLogix
Emulate. See the documentation for your ladder logic editing software.
4. Click the Run button in the RSLogix Emulate window.
You can then monitor data table and ladder logic files for your process as if it
was running in an actual processor.
If you have set up your communications to your physical processors in your
communications software, you'll find setting up communications for RSLogix
Emulate a simple procedure. Basically, you'll set up communications between
RSLogix Emulate and your communications software exactly as if RSLogix
Emulate is a hardware device.
Setting up communications with RSLinx
Here's how to set up communications between RSLinx and RSLogix Emulate:
1. Open RSLinx.
2. In RSLinx, click Communications > Configure Drivers. RSLinx
displays the Configure Drivers dialog.
3. From the Available Driver Types list, select PLC-5 (DH+) Emulator or
SLC-500 (DH485) Emulator, and click the Add New button. RSLinx
displays a dialog for naming the driver you selected. Click OK to
continue.
4. RSLinx displays a dialog for configuring the driver. Type a station number
for RSLogix Emulate in the Station Number field. Remember, RSLogix
Emulate is being treated as if it were a hardware device, so it needs a
unique station number. You can also type a name for RSLogix Emulate in
the Station Name field.
5. When you have configured the driver, click OK. The driver configuration
dialog closes.
When RSLogix Emulate is running with programs in memory, you can use the
Who Active or RSWho functions and see the emulator as if it was a PLC-5 on
a Data Highway Plus network or an SLC-500 on a DH-485 network. Other
applications that use RSLinx can also access the programs as if they were on a
communications network.
Debug files are ladder logic. Your program uses ladder logic to control a
process; a debug file uses ladder logic to simulate the process.
Anytime your program acts on a specific sequence of events (e.g., parts coming
down an assembly line), you can simulate the process by programming ladder
logic in a debug file. The following is an example.
Let’s suppose you have a process that monitors a part’s progress down an
assembly line. There is a bit in your process that controls the conveyor motor.
You have proximity switches that trigger operations when a part reaches
specific areas of the assembly line. A debug file can easily simulate the part
moving down the assembly line. Here is an example of how you can do this
By using debug files, you can emulate the activity of Block Transfer Read (BTR)
instructions.
BTR instructions take a specific number of words from an I/O module, and
place those words in an area of the processor’s data table. Since there is no real
I/O while emulating a process, BTR instructions have no data to read.
To emulate a BTR, place a Sequencer Output (SQO) instruction in a debug file.
Program the SQO so that the destination address of the SQO is the same as
the BTR’s Data File address. Enter the test data into the source words of the
SQO. (You might want to enter a few values that are out of range for your
process to test how the ladder logic program handles the erroneous data.)
When the SQO is executed by the emulator, it passes the data to the BTR’s
Data File. Your process can then use the data. You can execute the SQO
automatically by triggering it off the done bit (.DN) of a free running timer in
the same debug file.