Configuring an Alarm Group

Steps for Configuring an Alarm Group

After you have created an alarm class as described in Configuring an Alarm Class, create an alarm group with an alarm for monitoring the PartsShortage:

Step

Action

1

In the Tools tree, right-click the Alarm Configuration node and execute the command Add Object > Alarm Group....

Result: The Add Alarm Group dialog box opens.

2

Enter the Name PartsShortage and click the Add button.

Results:

  • The alarm group PartsShortage is added as new subnode of the Alarm Configuration node and the PartsShortage alarm group editor opens on the right-hand side.

  • A PartsShortage text list is automatically created.

3

In the PartsShortage alarm group editor, set the parameter Archiving to (none).

4

Double-click the Observation Type column and select the option Digital from the list.

5

Configure the following parameters for the alarm:

  • Set Class to PartsShortage.

  • For Message enter Parts shortage at Station 1 - Fill level: <LATCH1>.

    (<LATCH1> is a placeholder for the latch variable 1.)

  • For Min. Pend. Time enter T#5s.

  • For Latch Var 1 enter iFillLevel or select from the Input Assistant.

6

In the Digital section of the editor:

  • Click in the Expression input field and type bPart1Empty or use the Input Assistant to select the variable.

  • Type the value TRUE in the field on the right-hand side.

Result: The statement bPart1Empty = TRUE is displayed in the Details column of the editor.

7

From the Archiving list, select DatabaseFileAlarmStorage which you have configured with the alarm storage.

Results:

If the variable bPart1Empty switches to TRUE, EcoStruxure Machine Expert triggers a message. The value of the variable iFillLevel is issued with the message. The acknowledgment response and the display are executed according to the PartsShortage alarm class. The alarm will be archived.

Using Latch Variables to Extend Alarm Messages

When you define one or more alarm messages as Message <n> for an alarm in the alarm group editor, you can also indicate that the value of latch variables is taken over to these messages. To achieve this, insert one or more corresponding placeholders <LATCH1>, <LATCH2> in the message text. As a result, the alarm message will also contain the value of the latch variables when the alarm becomes active (for example, an error ID or a measurement value).

For further information, refer to Filter alarm events by the contents of the latch variable in the CODESYS Online Help.

NOTE: You can configure the alarm visualization so that in online mode the user can filter the alarms by the contents of a latch variable value.