Edit Step properties

In

Type

, click

Normal

to designate this step as a normal step, or

Initial

to designate it as the initial step in the routine.

In

Preset

, enter the value that the ‘T’ value must reach before the Step’s DN bit is set.

To enter this time value as an expression, so the value is calculated at run time, select

Use Expression

, then select

Define

.

In

Timer

, enter the T value of the step.

This value indicates how long (in milliseconds) the Step was active during this Step activation. When a Step is first activated, this value is reset to 0. When a Step is no longer active, this field retains the elapsed time, thereby reflecting how long the Step was active the last time it was activated.

In

Timer Max

, enter the TMax value for the step.

This value indicates the highest value ever reached by the Step Timer (T). When a Step transitions from active to inactive, the Step's T value is compared to its TMax value. If T is greater than TMax, TMax is set to equal the value of T. The Timer Maximum value is automatically reset when the SFC is reset.

In

Count

, enter the Count value for the step.

This value indicates how many times the Step was activated since the Step Count was last reset. If this counter reaches its upper limit, the counter rolls over to 0 and continues counting. The Count automatically resets when the SFC is reset.

Select

Pause Timer When Routine is Paused

if the Step Timer should not increment while the SFC routine is paused. Clear the selection if the Step Timer should jump forward when the SFC routine resumes execution after being paused. The Step Timer jumps forward by the amount of time of the pause.

In

Alarming

, check

AlarmEnable

to generate High and Low alarms (that is, to set the AlarmLow and AlarmHigh attributes).

In

LimitHigh

, enter the maximum time that the Timer value can reach before the step’s AlarmHigh bit is set.

The AlarmHigh bit is only set if the AlarmEnable bit is set. Once set, this bit remains on until you reset it. Enter this time value as an expression to calculate the value at run time.

In

LimitLow

, enter the minimum time the step must be active.

If the Timer value is less than LimitLow when the Step deactivates, the AlarmLow bit is set. The AlarmLow bit is only set if the AlarmEnable bit is set. Setting LimitLow to 0 also disables this alarm checking, regardless of the AlarmEnable bit setting. Once set, this bit remains on until you reset it. Enter this time value as an expression to calculate the value at run time.

Select

Show Actions in Routine

, to display the action list next to the step.

This setting is saved in the controller and in the offline project. To temporarily override this configuration click

Hide/Show Action List

on the Step, choose the

Edit > Edit SFC Element > Temporarily Hide Actions

menu option, or choose the

Temporarily Hide Actions

option from the right mouse menu.

Select

Never Display Description in Routine

to never display the step's description within the sequential function chart routine, even if the Workstation Options are set to show descriptions.

This check box applies to the current step only; if the Workstation Options item is set to show descriptions, they are shown for all other steps unless similarly configured.