DirectSOFT has no pre-formatted timer table for a DL405 CPU such as the D4-440. Each timer is three separate addresses: the preset V word your rung names, the accumulator (TA2 is V2 for Timer 2), and the same-numbered T done bit. Add them as individual data view entries; a constant K preset has no register to watch.
If you learned timers on a PLC that keeps each one in a single table row, the DL405 family looks unfamiliar at first. A D4-440 stores those values in separate places. DirectSOFT opens no pre-formatted timer table that gathers them for you. Nothing is missing. The accumulator lives in a V word. The done bit is the T contact numbered like the timer. The preset is either the V word named on the rung or a constant K value carried inside the instruction. You build the view yourself: three data view entries for a timer with a variable preset, two for one with a fixed K preset. This page gives the mapping, the steps, a worked example with three timers, and the cross-check that tells you the view is right.
Where each timer value lives
The family splits one timer across three kinds of elements, and each kind is addressed on its own:
| Value | Where it lives | What you enter in the data view |
|---|---|---|
| Preset, variable | the V word named on the timer rung | that exact address, for example V2000 |
| Preset, constant K | inside the instruction | nothing to enter, no register exists |
| Accumulator | V words in sequence starting at V0, one word per timer | TA with the timer number, or the same-numbered V word |
| Done bit | the contact with the same number as the timer | T with the timer number |
| Timing-in-progress | no bit in this layout | no entry exists for it |
The accumulator words start at V0 for TMR0 and continue one word per timer. The accumulator for Timer 2 is word V2, and when aliases are enabled the software also accepts the name TA2 for that same word. The memory map for the D4-440 is printed in the 405 User Manual on page 3-41, and it states the full range of the timer words. The manual's appendix also carries a timer status bit map that lists the word and bit for each timer contact. That map is handy when you want to read done bits as words instead of one contact at a time.
The done bit does the same job as the done field in a single-row timer layout: it switches on when the accumulator reaches the preset. The preset comes off the rung. If the operand is a V word, that word holds a live value the view can read. If the operand is a constant K, the value is part of the instruction and there is no timer preset register to watch. This layout also leaves out a timing-in-progress bit: the family exposes the done bit and the accumulator, and no separate timer-is-timing status bit exists.
What you need
- The programming laptop with DirectSOFT, connected online to the PLC. A data view reads live values only while the connection is up.
- The ladder rung for each timer you plan to watch. The rung is where the timer number and the preset operand are written down.
- The 405 User Manual, which carries the D4-440 memory map and the timer status bit map in its appendix.
- The HMI or SCADA project, if these values will also show at the machine.
Build the data view, entry by entry
- Open or create a data view. The window is free-form: you enter every element yourself, and nothing fills a timer table in for you.
- Work one timer at a time. Find its rung, note the timer number, and read the preset operand.
- If the preset operand is a V word, enter that exact address as the first entry. Presets sit wherever the program stores them, so read the operand off the rung instead of deriving the address from the timer number.
- Enter the accumulator next: TA with the timer number, or the same-numbered V word when alias names are not enabled.
- Enter the done bit: T with the timer number.
- Label the three entries with the timer number and its job, and keep each timer's group together. A column of bare V words and T bits is hard to read at speed.
- Move to the next timer and repeat. A timer with a constant K preset gets two entries: accumulator and done bit.
- Leave the view online and watch one full cycle of each timer before you trust it.
One rule while the line runs: treat the data view as read-only. An edit in a data view cell is a write to the live register, so a changed preset word changes the target a running timer counts toward. Change presets with the line stopped or under the site's change procedure.
Example: three timers on a packaging line
Scenario: changeover is finished and you want to watch three timers through the first boxes. All three run on a 0.1 s time base, the common base for this instruction family.
- Timer 2, seal dwell: the rung reads its preset from V2000 because the supervisor adjusts it between products. Entries V2000, TA2, T2. Three entries.
- Timer 5, vacuum hold: the rung carries a constant K50. At a 0.1 s base, K50 is a 5.0 s hold. The 50 lives in the instruction, so the view gets TA5 and T5, with no preset entry. Two entries.
- Timer 7, jam delay: the rung reads its preset from V2012. Entries V2012, TA7, T7. Three entries.
The count: two variable-preset timers at 3 entries plus one constant-preset timer at 2 entries gives 2 x 3 + 1 x 2 = 8 entries.
| Entry | Address | Element |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | V2000 | Timer 2 preset |
| 2 | TA2 | Timer 2 accumulator |
| 3 | T2 | Timer 2 done bit |
| 4 | TA5 | Timer 5 accumulator |
| 5 | T5 | Timer 5 done bit |
| 6 | V2012 | Timer 7 preset |
| 7 | TA7 | Timer 7 accumulator |
| 8 | T7 | Timer 7 done bit |
Run the line and read the pattern. TA5 climbs in 0.1 s steps to 50 and holds there with T5 on until its input goes away, so 25 on the view means 2.5 s of hold has elapsed. TA2 counts up toward the value in V2000, and T2 switches on when it arrives. The accumulator returns to 0 when the rung input drops. If TA2 sits at 0 while the machine is clearly dwelling, the rung input is not making it to the timer, and the problem is in the logic feeding the rung, not in the view.
How to check the view is right
Turn status on in the ladder view. With status on, DirectSOFT shows the preset and the current accumulator value beneath the timer bit. The bit carries a blue background when it is on and the normal color when it is off. Compare each rung against its group in the data view:
- The accumulator in the view matches the number under the rung: the address is right.
- The done bit switches on in the view at the same moment the rung bit turns blue: the bit number is right.
- The preset entry never changes while the supervisor says the dwell is adjustable: go back to the rung. Either the preset operand is a constant K or the entry points at a word the program does not use for that preset.
- The accumulator entry stays blank or frozen: the software is offline, or the address falls outside the timer area, and the memory map on page 3-41 settles which.
Watch the same values from an HMI
The data view lives on the programming laptop, so it is a commissioning and troubleshooting tool. At the machine, an operator panel shows the same three elements by reading the same addresses: the accumulator tag points at the TA word, the done tag at the T bit, and the preset tag at the preset V word. Show an HMI timer counting from a PLC current value covers the accumulator display, and Display a PLC countdown timer on an HMI panel covers the countdown format. When a tag on a live V word shows a nonsense number, the first suspect is the data type the tag carries: HMI shows nonsense numbers from a PLC BCD analog register works through that fix. And when a preset typed at the panel drops back to zero, Fix an HMI timer preset that resets to zero in the PLC is the follow-up.
Recommendation: Build the view as three entries per timer with a variable preset and two entries per constant-preset timer, ordered preset, accumulator, done bit, grouped by timer with the timer number in every label. Use the view online while you commission, cross-check each group against ladder status with the blue highlight, and carry the same three addresses into the HMI tags once the view reads clean. Keep edits out of the data view while the line runs.
Questions
Is there a bit that shows a timer is still timing?
No. This family exposes the done bit and the accumulator, with no timing-in-progress status bit. The two watched values tell you the state anyway: accumulator between 1 and one count below the preset means the timer is counting toward its target, accumulator at the preset means the done bit is on, accumulator at 0 means the timer is reset or its input has not come on. Label the accumulator entry so whoever reads the view can follow that progression without the ladder open.
What do the preset and accumulator numbers mean in seconds?
Both are integer counts in the time base of the timer instruction, and the manual's timer chapter prints the base for each instruction type. The conversion is one multiplication: on a timer with a 0.1 s base, a preset of 50 is 5.0 s and an accumulator reading of 25 means 2.5 s has elapsed. Convert once per timer, then write the seconds figure into the data view label or the HMI caption so nobody re-derives it at the machine.
How many timers can one data view watch?
As many as you add entries for. The window is a free-form list with no timer-table format behind it, so the real limit is how many rows an operator can scan during one cycle. At three rows per timer, six timers make 18 value rows plus separators, which is the practical top for a single view; beyond that, split the board by machine area so each view stays scannable.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.