Set the PLC type in C-More Micro Panel Manager

Where do I set the PLC type in the panel project?

Under Function > Setup > Panel Manager in the C-More Micro programming software; that dialog holds the panel's PLC configuration, and it is where the project learns which PLC family sits on the other end of the cable. The PLC's own project never sets it.

The panel project and the PLC project are two separate files. Writing the ladder logic tells the panel nothing about who it talks to; that choice belongs to the panel software. The same system configuration is also reachable through Tools > System Configuration in the Project Browser, which saves a trip when the Project Browser is already open. Either route lands in the panel's PLC configuration, and that is where the driver for your PLC family gets chosen. Make the change there once, save, and every object editor in the project follows it.

Why does the software offer memory type V only?

Because the memory-type list in every object editor follows the PLC configuration saved in the panel project, and that configuration is still on its default. Numeric displays, recipe buttons and graphs all show V until you change it.

A fresh project opens on a default PLC configuration. Under that default the editors offer memory type V and nothing else, on numeric displays, recipe buttons and graphs alike. Select your PLC family in Panel Manager and the memory-type lists follow the selection. The features were never locked out; the project was answering to the wrong PLC.

The numeric display reads one value, which is the lightest job on the link, which is why it is the object that works while the heavier ones sit there. A recipe button changes the value of a tag or several tags in one press, the way a pushbutton does, and its values live in recipe tables in PLC memory. A graph needs trend history stored in PLC memory before it can draw a line. Set the driver first, then judge what the features support. For the value layout, recipe tables stored in PLC memory covers the storage side, and why trend graphs need PLC memory history covers the graph side.

What do you need before you change the panel setup?

Three things: a saved copy of the panel project, one PLC address that already holds a value you can predict, and the machine in a state where an accidental write moves nothing. Add the transfer cable you already use.

• A saved copy of the project under a new name. If a later step misbehaves, you reload the copy and keep your working setup.
• One PLC address that already holds a predictable value: a case counter, an accumulator, a timer value that moves on its own. The test compares the panel against it.
• The machine in a safe state, with drives off or the cell in a mode where a stray write starts nothing.
• Your normal transfer path to the panel. If the transfer cannot find the panel, the hardware manual's troubleshooting chapter starts with the USB driver in Windows Device Manager; clear that before touching the PLC configuration.
• A backup of recipe data if this project already carries any. Backing up recipe files before a project download is the pattern to follow.

How do you set the PLC selection step by step?

Open the project, choose Function > Setup > Panel Manager, select your PLC family in the panel's PLC configuration, apply, and save. Six steps cover it, and step five is the check: one numeric display whose memory-type list matches the PLC you picked.

1. Open the panel project in the C-More Micro programming software and save a copy under a new name.
2. Choose Function > Setup > Panel Manager. Tools > System Configuration in the Project Browser reaches the same place.
3. Open the panel's PLC configuration and select the CLICK family, or whichever PLC family your cable lands on.
4. Apply the selection and save the project.
5. Drop one numeric display on a screen and open its tag editor. The memory-type list should now match the PLC you selected; if it still shows the default list, redo step 3 and save before continuing.
6. Save the project. Leave the transfer for after the test screen is sized.

How big should the digits on the test screen be?

At 20 ft of viewing distance per inch of digit height, a reader 6 ft from the panel needs 0.3 in digits; the FHWA planning figure of 30 ft per inch gives 0.2 in, so take 0.3. Line spacing for message text runs 1.7 x capital height.

Size for the farthest reader who will use the screen; the closest one is always fine. Take the distance off the table, then set the numeric display object's height so its digits render at or above that number. Message text above or below the value keeps line spacing at 1.7 x capital height, so the lines stay separate at the same distance.

The 20 ft per inch column is the one to build to. The 30 ft per inch figure is the FHWA planning number, and reading a changing value quickly, under plant lighting, wants the extra height.

How do you prove the link before building the rest?

Transfer the project with one read-only numeric display on one known address, then compare the panel's number with the PLC's number. When they match, the link checks out for that address and data type; build the rest on that footing.

Run the screen in the programming software's simulator first; testing function keys in the C-More Micro simulator walks the same loop for pushbuttons. The simulator checks your screen. The live comparison checks your link.

Transfer the project and watch the display against a value you already know: a counter climbing, an accumulator holding steady. Agreement there means the link works for that address and that data type, and every object you build next sits on that base.

If the two disagree, run three checks in order: the PLC selection in Panel Manager, the address in the object, the data type of the tag. If the panel still stays silent after all three, check the panel driver list before tuning serial settings. The driver comes first; the serial parameters come after it.

When the read matches, test the other direction on a spare address: write one value from the panel, watch it land in the PLC, then point the control where it belongs. Keep the machine stopped until every write lands on the address you aimed at. Testing panel writes before motion covers that sequence in full.

How does the whole setup run in one example?

One filler line, an operator at 6 ft, a supervisor at 10 ft: the test display holds 0.5 in digits, Panel Manager switches to the CLICK family, one numeric display tracks a counter, and the numbers match on both ends. Then the recipe button.

Digit height for the operator: 6 ft ÷ 20 ft per inch = 0.3 in. For the supervisor: 10 ft ÷ 20 ft per inch = 0.5 in. Build the display at 0.5 in and both distances are covered. The FHWA figure would allow 0.2 in and 0.33 in; the larger numbers win.

Panel Manager opens from Function > Setup, the panel's PLC configuration switches to the CLICK family, and the project saves. One numeric display goes on the first screen, pointed at a case counter in V memory that increments every cycle, digits at 0.5 in. Transfer. The panel counts in step with the PLC, so the link is good.

The recipe button comes next. It writes two setpoint tags in one press, so the write test runs first on a spare V address with the line stopped: press, watch both values land in the PLC, then point the button at the real setpoints. The graph goes in last, once the history it draws from is collecting in PLC memory.

Recommendation: set the panel's PLC under Function > Setup > Panel Manager before you place a single object, and accept the project only after one read-only numeric display on one known address matches the PLC value. Hold test digits at 0.5 in when the farthest reader stands 10 ft away. Add recipe buttons and graphs after the read passes, and test their writes on a spare address with the machine stopped.

If the same cell also wants counts and notices on a board with no PLC behind it, shop-floor signage screens play images and video from a memory card, with no link to configure.

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