Hi,

I am working on a University project at the moment. The project scope is to implement a simple PID Program for a process tank and implement a SCADA/ HMI using Allen Bradley Micro830 PLC.

I know AB has its own HMI/ SCADA hardware. However, the aim of the project is to use software only.

So my questions are,

1) is it possible to implement a SCADA/ HMI on the computer with a generic RS232 cable + available SCADA/ HMI software or I need a RS232 cable that specifically made for Micro830?

2) how do I make my Micro830 communicate with the computer via RS232 cable? Are they able to communicate just by having the same modbus code? I am not sure how to do it.

3) how do I go about doing it? What are the available softwares? I thinking of using GE's CIMPLICTY but haven't got around to try it yet.

Ok, lets say the cable works. How do I "bridge" my pc and PLC together? Is the cable going to do the job or the scada software is going to do the job? Or is it the program itself? Can you please enlighten me on this? How do I store and extract data from my plc? Eg, I am recording water level and flow rate. How do I extract it from my pc to put on my pc's screen? I am so new to this.