Yes, the C-more Micro connects to a CompactLogix over DF1, but it reads mapped SLC/PLC-style data-table addresses, never Logix tag names. Map the tags you need in the controller, pick the panel's DF1 SLC 500 driver, enter the mapped addresses and verify with one value you change on both ends. Help topic CMM310 in the panel documentation covers the mapping requirement.
No mistake: a C-more Micro connects to a CompactLogix over DF1. The piece that is easy to miss is that DF1 Full Duplex is only the serial transport. It carries no Logix tag names. The panel offers three legacy DF1 choices, DF1 MicroLogix, DF1 SLC 500 and DF1 PLC-5, and all three read classic data-table addresses such as N7:0. So the CompactLogix must publish the panel's values through SLC/PLC mapping, and the panel references them at those mapped addresses. The panel help topic CMM310 documents this requirement. This article gives the serial settings, the mapping to enter on each side, a worked example with two values, and the check that separates a link fault from an addressing fault.
Separate the link from the addressing
DF1 Full Duplex is a point-to-point serial protocol: one panel, one controller, one RS-232 cable. At the standard's rated load, RS-232 reaches about 15 m (50 ft); How far can an HMI be from the PLC on DF1 RS-232 covers the options when you need more.
The driver you pick in the panel project decides what the references inside those frames mean:
| Panel driver choice | What its references address |
|---|---|
| DF1 MicroLogix | MicroLogix-style data tables |
| DF1 SLC 500 | SLC-style data files: N integer words, B binary bits, T timers, C counters |
| DF1 PLC-5 | PLC-5-style data tables |
None of the three resolves a CompactLogix tag name. The controller meets them halfway with SLC/PLC mapping, which publishes Logix tags at data-table addresses the legacy drivers can read.
What you need
- The controller programming software on your PC, with the running CompactLogix project.
- The C-more Micro project software. Setting its PLC type is its own short job; we walk it in Set the PLC type in C-more Micro Panel Manager.
- A serial cable wired for DF1 between the two, built to the wiring diagram in the two manuals, since the connector wiring differs by controller family.
- The serial settings for the controller port and a list of three or four values the panel must show.
- Help topic CMM310 from the panel documentation, open while you work.
Set the controller: serial channel and mapping
- Set the serial channel to DF1 full duplex and leave the shipped defaults: 19200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. Note the error detection setting; both ends must carry the same one.
- List what the panel needs. For each value write down its Logix tag, its type (INT, BOOL, DINT, REAL) and whether the panel may only read it or may write it.
- Create the SLC/PLC mapping entries. Bind each tag to a data-table address: integer tags to N7 words, bits to B3 bit addresses. Number the words so no two tags share one.
- Download the project to the controller and check that the serial channel comes back ready.
Set the panel: driver and mapped references
- In the panel project, open the driver list and pick DF1 SLC 500 for mapped SLC-style data. The list also offers DF1 MicroLogix and DF1 PLC-5 for controllers whose data follows those styles. CMM310 is the documented pairing for your controller revision, and it is the authority if it directs a different choice.
- Set the panel's serial settings to match the controller channel exactly, including error detection.
- Give every object a mapped address as its reference: a numeric object on N7:0, a lamp on B3:0/0. The panel has no tag-name addressing on this link, so a Logix tag name gives the driver nothing to read.
- Build one screen with those objects first and add the rest once the values prove live.
Worked example: two values from a cell controller
Scenario: a machining cell runs a CompactLogix and the panel must show the day's parts count plus a green lamp for cycle running.
Controller side. The serial channel is DF1 full duplex at 19200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. Two mapped values: Prod_Count, an INT, mapped to N7:0; Cycle_Run, a BOOL, mapped to B3:0/0.
The arithmetic that decides the word size: an SLC integer word is 16 bits, so N7:0 holds at most 32,767 signed. This cell makes about 2,000 parts a day, and 32,767 / 2,000 = 16.4, so one word carries over 16 days of counting before the count resets or the value widens to a DINT.
Panel side. Driver DF1 SLC 500, the same serial settings, a numeric object on N7:0 and a lamp on B3:0/0.
Check. Change Prod_Count from 4 to 5 in the controller and the panel shows 5 on its next poll. Toggle Cycle_Run and the lamp follows. A 32-bit DINT needs two consecutive words, for example N7:1 and N7:2; check the driver's long-integer handling in the panel documentation before you map one.
Check it worked, and read the two failure types
- Connection. If the panel objects flag a communication error, the cause is physical or serial: cable, COM port, or settings that differ between the ends.
- Live values. Watch one value that changes in the controller and compare it against the panel. Then test a write from the panel to a mapped address that nothing in the running logic acts on, or with the machine safely stopped, and check that the controller value moved.
- Wrong values. A live link with a wrong or frozen number is an addressing fault: the word number, the file letter or the bit is not where the mapping put it. Correct the reference against the mapping table. Revisit the driver choice only when the link itself will not come up.
One later trap: if you move the same values to a tag-based Ethernet link and strings arrive blank, byte order is the usual suspect; HMI panel shows blank string from a CompactLogix PLC: check byte swap walks that fault.
Recommendation
Recommendation: map first, then connect. List the panel's values, put SLC/PLC mapping entries on those tags in the controller, then pick DF1 SLC 500 on the panel per CMM310 and enter the mapped N7 and B3 references. Keep this serial link for a few values within RS-232's short reach. When a project depends on tag names or many values, the panel's Ethernet connection is the path that carries Logix tags; Connect a PC HMI to a PLC over a serial protocol or Ethernet compares the two routes. And if the same parts count also belongs on a public floor board, that is a separate display job from the operator panel; our shop-floor signage range is built for it.
Questions
Which DF1 protocol do I pick on the C-more Micro for a CompactLogix?
The panel lists DF1 MicroLogix, DF1 SLC 500 and DF1 PLC-5, one choice for each legacy data-table style. The worked example picks DF1 SLC 500, because SLC/PLC mapping exposes CompactLogix data in exactly the shape that driver reads: N integer words and B binary bits. The panel help topic CMM310 is the documented pairing for your controller revision, so check it before you commit the project.
Can the panel read CompactLogix tag names over DF1?
No. DF1 Full Duplex names only the serial transport between panel and controller. What the panel asks for over it are data-table addresses, and the CompactLogix answers from mapped memory. Every object on the panel therefore carries a mapped address such as N7:0 or B3:0/0. When a project depends on tag names, the panel's Ethernet connection is the path that carries Logix tags; the serial DF1 link is not.
Can I import my controller tag file into the panel project?
Tag import in the panel project software covers SLC-style tag files: RSLogix 500 files for the PLC-5, SLC 500 and MicroLogix families. That helps when your mapped addresses mirror an SLC program, because the references arrive as data-table addresses ready to use. Import does not give DF1 access to CompactLogix tag names; the controller mapping is still what the panel reads. Verify the imported list before you build screens on it.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.