MicroLogix to Micro800: Automation Tech Talk for 09/04/25

Shawn walk’s through converting an RSLogix / MicroLogix program to a CCW / Micro800 project in today’s episode of #AutomationTechTalk Lunchtime Edition livestream:

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NOTE: There is no show planned for this Friday (9/5).

Links mentioned in video:

– Migration Guide
– Conversion Tool Released
– Conversion Tool Updated
– Conversion Tool Download
– Conversion Tool How To Article
– Conversion Tool How To Video
– Shawn’s Online Courses
– Shawn’s In-Person Courses

Read the transcript on The Automation Blog: (automatically generated)

Shawn Tierney (Host): Hey, everybody. Welcome to Automation Tech Talk lunchtime edition. Shawn Tierney here from Insights. And today, we’re gonna take a look at something different. We’re gonna take a look at migrating a Micrologix program to a Micro 800 program, and we’re going to do this because, I had somebody ask a question about connecting to a Micro 800 from a SCADA package.

And, you know, when I did my VSC course, I did I think every Allen Bradley PLC except for the Micro 800. So I thought, you know, this would be a good time to convert my my VUSC application that I use to simulate the data for that for that course. And, anybody in my VUSC course can download that, in Micrologic, PLC five, ControlLogics, CompactLogics, multiple versions. You know, you know, I recently converted it to Siemens because I wanted to add those advanced graphical lessons to my unified comfort panel and unified, a basic panel course. So I need to convert it to Siemens, and then somebody asked me to test their SCADA package with Codesys.

And as you know, I had a couple of vendors step up and send me Codesys PLCs. So I converted well, not all of it. There’s five molding lines. I wanted to do something different than a bottling line or, you know, a a widget maker. And so, I only did one molding line into the into the code Sys because, you know, I I I we all we’ve talked about that before.

But in any case, needs a little love and tender love and care to the code sys, IDE does. But in any case, yes. I figured, hey. Let’s use this to convert my existing program, which I which I wrote from scratch to the micro 800, and let’s see how it goes. Now I did this this morning around 04:30.

I went through it once, and it seemed to work okay. So I figured, we would do this during lunchtime. And so if you guys have any questions on this or anything, let me know. Oh, a couple of housekeeping things. There will be no episode of the show tomorrow.

I’m kinda backed up trying to get through a couple of videos that I’m, sponsored videos with vendors. And, also, I have to, just get all the stuff to do with the the automation school, but I do I did record this morning an update for any students at the automation school. So that I’m gonna schedule that to go out this afternoon because I said September 4 in it. Now looking backwards, I probably should have said September 5. But in any case, that’ll come out this afternoon, and I kinda update a lot of the new lessons over at the automation school.

So, especially customers and PLC courses, PAC courses over there, you wanna check that out. I did have a great conversation with a gentleman who was who knew what a Symax 300 was, so we’ll try to get him on the automation museum podcast, which is I’m calling the history of automation. I have we’ve recorded three already. History of Triconics, history of Wonderware, history of, Rocco PLCs. And these are all from people’s perspectives.

This is, like, the definitive history, but, you know, it was been a lot of fun hanging out with these people who work with this old stuff, and, I really have enjoyed it. Sunday, my goal is to edit those three and, and, start scheduling them to release. They’ll they’ll come out on the on the regular channels I have now because we haven’t even funded the Automation Museum yet. So if you have a an extra dollar or 2 this month, please consider going to automationmuseum.org and making a donation. I wanna thank everybody who has already donated.

Last time I checked, it’s been a few weeks, but, we were, like, 7% of our goals. So, I mean, we’re we’re you know, there’s no rush on this. The old stuff’s not going anywhere. So, and I have a lot of people asking if they can send stuff in. I’m asking them to hold on to it into their in their attics for right now, because I just I don’t and when when when they when when you get taxed as a business, they wanna tax everything that’s in in your business.

Right? And so it’s hard to explain to them that this is stuff that’s for a future museum. So to avoid getting taxed on stuff that I don’t use for my business, I’m asking people to hold on to it. Now if you absolutely have to get rid of it, I do have room in my attic at home, and, I’ll stick it up there for the meantime. But in any case, you can imagine I hate their that stuff all the way up and then bring it back down later.

So in any case, with that said, I do appreciate everybody who sent stuff in. And now I’m gonna try something new. I wasn’t happy with the the the way StreamYard, which is a software I use to livestream. I wasn’t happy with the way they were doing the graphics. So I’m trying to put a little bit different today.

And so I’m gonna switch over, and try it this way. I hope this is better resolution for you. I don’t have as much control when I use StreamYard natively. Like, I can’t crop myself out instead of having the whole studio here, but I’m hoping the graphics are better for you. So here’s an example.

And I wrote this program. I wanted it to be something that my VUEs students could understand. I don’t wanna make, like, some new algorithm that was, like, gonna win a Nobel Peace a Nobel Prize or anything like that. But in any case, I don’t know if it would be a peace prize, but some other prize. But in any case so it’s a very simple program.

Basically, I have a bunch of JSRs in the main routine. So many people are used to that. I figured I would just go with that. And, because, this had to run on a Michelogix 1,000, I put all the simulation in one ladder program. Now this is the 1,400 version.

I didn’t change it. I just you know, I did it all in the 1,000, tried to cram everything in there. Actually, could not fit everything into the 1,000, but I came close. So in any case, that’s why you’ll see the, the the lead numbering here of the of the files. And, I did separate the molding machines here because, you know, you only have 15.

You know, I think it’s, fifteen and sixteen is your debug. So, that’s why I did it that way. So if you’re asking, hey, Shawn, why’d you do it that way? That’s why I did it that way. So this is a program we’re gonna convert to Micrologix.

And to do this, I’m gonna first do a file save as, and I’m gonna save it as a SLC, a library file. Okay? Even though it’s even though it’s a 1,400, we’re saving as an SLC. It doesn’t mean slick 500. It means library file.

At at one point, it probably meant slick 500 library container or something, but in any case now I have found that if you have the free software. Right? So if you have the RS Logix micro starter light, I found that that option is not in there. So you may wanna reach out to your local Rockwell rep, and usually, they have a real nice guy named the PLC specialist. That’s a job I did for twenty five years, and they’ll do that for you.

Look at it just takes some you know, it’s so, I mean, we’re talking seconds. Right? So in any case, usually, that’s something I would do for my old customers, you know, over morning coffee. So in any case, I’m gonna save this. I have a folder, my VSC basics folder.

I downloaded all the files just a few minutes ago, and, I’m going to go ahead and export with comments, and I’m just gonna leave all the defaults there, and voila, it’s all been exported. Okay? So now we’re ready to switch over to CCW. And in CCW, this utility used to be able to be downloaded separately. A matter of fact, I put all the links because I have covered this quite a bit.

I put all the links in the description so you can see all the different links to all the articles and videos I’ve done on this in the past. But now in the mic in connect components workbench, I’m gonna go to tools, micro MicroLogix to micro 800 converter. Okay? And so and if you guys can’t hear me or you can’t see me, let me know in the chat. But any case, that brings up this little guy here.

This is version five point o five. I’m in CCW version 22