Training Exercise

Battery Manufacturing Plant

V.73117
Overview
This training exercise provides instructions on creating a channel, device, and tags in
KEPServerEX for communications with a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) from Semaphore. The
RTU will connect to the computer through an Ethernet interface, using the Modbus
protocol.

This exercise will also guide you through importing pre-built simulator tags and advanced
tags in order to simulate data for a Battery Manufacturing Plant.

Before you begin, please download the three CSV files from the Resources section of the
website.

1. Creating a Modbus Channel

1.1. Launch the KEPServerEX Configuration.

1.2. Right-click on Connectivity and select New

Channel.

1.3. The Add Channel Wizard will appear. From

the drop-down list, select the Modbus
TCP/IP Ethernet as the type of channel to be created. Click Next.

1.4. In Name, enter a unique name such as “TBox Modbus” to represent the
Semaphore RTU. Click Next.
 1.5. Leave Virtual Network and Transactions per Cycle at the default settings. Click
Next.

1.6. In Network Adapter, select the NIC from the list that has the IP address of the
external network on which the TBox resides. For example, the NIC’s IP address
should be associated with your PC’s specific IP address. Click Next.

1.7. Leave the remaining screens at their default settings. Click Finish.

2. Creating a Modbus Device

2.1. Right-click on the channel
and select New Device.
Leave the Device name as
“Device1”. Click Next.

2.2. In Device Model, leave the

selection as Modbus. Click
Next.

2.3. In Device ID, enter the

Device ID (IP address and
Unit ID) to connect to the
TBox, “24.97.250.66.1”. The
IP address is 24.97.250.66
and the default Unit ID
number is 1.

2.4. Leave Scan Mode,

Timeout(s), Demote on
Failure, and On Device
Startup at their default
settings. Click Next.
2.5. In Port, type the number
“20000”. Click Next.

2.6. Using the drop-down

menus, set Zero-Based
Addressing to Disable and
Zero-Based Bit Addressing
to Disable. Click Next.
2.7. Using the drop-downs, in First
Word Low select Disable.
Keep Modbus Byte Order
and First DWord Low set to
Enable. Click Next.

2.8. Change the values in

Internal Registers and
Holding Registers to 1 (you
may need to scroll down or
expand the window to see
the Internal Registers and
Holding Registers at the
bottom of the window).

Keep Output Coils at 32,

Input Coils at 32, and Block
Read Strings at Disable. Click
Next.

2.9. Leave everything else at the

default settings, clicking Next
until you reach the end of the
Device Wizard set-up. Click
Finish to exit the Device
Wizard.
3. Creating Modbus Tags
3.1 After the device has been created,
right-click on Device1 and select
Import CSV from the menu.

3.2 From the folder where you

downloaded the files from the
website Resources, select the file
TBoxModbusTags.csv and click Open.

3.3 The KEPServerEX Configuration

window will open, with a list of
imported tags for the Modbus device.

4. Creating a Simulator Channel,

Device, and Tags
4.1. Create another new
Channel, following the
directions in Step 1 of this
document. Select the
Simulator driver, and
name it “Simulator”.
Leave all other settings at
default and click Next
until you reach the end
of the wizard, and then
click Finish.

4.2. Under the Simulator

channel, create a new
Device and leave all
settings in the device
wizard at default. Click next until you reach the end of the wizard, and then click
Finish.

4.3. Under the “Simulator” channel, right-click on Device1 and select Import CSV.

4.4. From the folder where you downloaded the files from the website Resources,
select the file BatterySimTags.csv and click Open.
4.5. A list of imported tags for the simulator device will appear in the KEPServerEX
Configuration window.
5. Importing Advanced Tags
5.1 In the Project Tree, right-click on Advanced
Tags and select Import CSV.

5.2 From the folder where you downloaded the

files from the website Resources, select the
file _AdvancedTags.csv and click Open.

5.3 A list of imported tags for Advanced Tags will

appear in the KEPServerEX Configuration
window.

6. Reading Tags with the Quick Client

6.1 From the KEPServerEX
Configuration window,
launch the Quick Client
by clicking on the blue
and white Quick Client
icon in the toolbar.
 6.2 In the OPC Quick Client window, find the green group folder for TBox
Modbus.Device1 and select this group. You will see “0” for most of the data
under Value and a “Good” in the Quality fields.

6.3 Open a web browser and in the URL address box enter the IP address of your
TBox in the format “192.168.42.71” and press Enter. You will see a visual
representation of a battery manufacturing plant.

Training Exercise Complete

You have now successfully created a channel, device, and tags in KEPServerEX for
communications with a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) from Semaphore, and imported pre-built
simulator tags and advanced tags in order to simulate data for a Battery Manufacturing
Plant. For more information about KEPServerEX, please email elearning@kepware.com.
Kepware is a software development business of PTC Inc. located in Portland, Maine. Kepware provides
a portfolio of software solutions to help businesses connect diverse automation devices and software
applications and enable the Industrial Internet of Things. From plant floor to wellsite to windfarm,
Kepware serves a wide range of customers in a variety of vertical markets including Manufacturing, Oil
& Gas, Building Automation, Power & Utilities, and more. Established in 1995 and now distributed in more
than 100 countries, Kepware’s software solutions help thousands of businesses improve operations and
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