July 5, 2016 at 12:15Wecon LX3V: Chinese PLC with aliexpress
Perhaps you also visit aliexpress from time to time and look at the assortment of Chinese PLCs with interest.
There are a lot of them, their prices are low, and the characteristics are declared interesting. One bad thing is there is little or no information about them in Russian. But much is of interest.
What is inside? How is it programmed? What are the features of the work? What are the communication options?
Any ACS programmer will have no questions.
I studied one of such interesting controllers and can tell a little about it.
We will talk about the PLC LX3V-0806MT-A2 from Wecon:
In the PLC series Wecon LX3V, first of all, this is interesting:
The LX3V-0806MT-A2 is the simplest and most inexpensive of the entire family.
Total, a full-fledged PLC with 14 discrete I / O points and an RS-485 port for less than $ 100. I won’t write a specific price here, whatever would be perceived as an advertisement. Who cares, all the links at the end of the article.
Delivery price is a separate issue. In Ukraine, for example, a couple of months ago it was $ 54, right now- $ 39. So the shipping cost may vary. To Russia, perhaps delivery costs differently. You can order on aliexpress or through the sales department directly on the Wecon website, all links at the end of the article.
The controller got to me by DHL in 3 days from the moment of order.
And here is the PLC in my hands. First you need to carefully examine its design.
The case is classic, like for a PLC. Mounted on a DIN rail or on a wall through the ears.
Front connection terminals and LED signaling of the status of inputs / outputs and service signals (power, operation, battery failure, error).
If you open the cover on the right and remove the plug on the left, you will see:
1. Connector for connecting the expansion board BD Board (not to be confused with the expansion module). Different models of BD Board come with analog I / O or with additional communication interfaces.
For example, the LX3V-2RS485-BD board with 2 additional RS-485 ports:
2. A battery for powering the real-time clock. This is a regular tablet CR2032, which is in every of our computers.
3. RS-422 Com1 port. It is used to download programs. Present here primarily for reasons of compatibility with the Mitsubishi PLC. To program through this port, you need a special cable, which Wecon costs $ 5.
Or you can solder a homemade cable according to the Troitsky scheme, as I did:
For the cable, I took the tail from an old mouse with a DB9F connector and soldered it to the Mini DIN-8 connector. The resistor set 750 ohms.
The cable plugs directly into the computer's COM port or into a USB / RS232 converter. Everything works.
Com1 is used for programming through Melsoft GX Works2 (software for the Mitsubishi PLC), because this program does not see the USB port on the controller.
4. Micro USB port for downloading programs through the standard programming environment Wecon PLC Editor. Uses a regular micro USB cable.
5. RUN / STOP switch.
The LX3V-0806MT-A2 does not have a port for connecting expansion modules via the internal bus, as in the more advanced LX3V models.
On the side of the case is a sticker with model parameters:
The most interesting is inside. PLC consists of 3 boards: processor, control and power.
CPU board:
It can be seen that this board is densely coated with varnish. The rest is the same.
It uses a 32-bit STM32F103vet6 processor with an ARM Cortex-M3 core and a maximum frequency of 72 MHz.
Does he grab it? Probably.
For example, a good domestic ARIES PLC63 (22 I / O points, 2 communication ports) has an AT91SAM7S512 processor with a maximum frequency of 55 MHz and the previous generation ARM7 core.
Power and Control Boards: The
outputs in the Wecon LX3V-0806MT-A2 are transistor. A model with relay outputs costs the same.
In terms of programming, the Wecon LX3V PLCs are clones of the Mitsubishi FX2N. Therefore, for programming LX3V, you can use not only its native programming environment Wecon PLC Editor, but also Melsoft GX Works2 from Mitsubishi controllers.
Melsoft GX Works2 has more features:
The Wecon LX3V programming documentation is currently available in English only. But after all, Wecon LX3V is a software clone of Mitsubishi FX2N, which means you can use their documentation. Mitsubishi FX2N programming language documentation on the network is full. Personally, I studied my LX3V primarily on the Russian manuals for the FX2N.
Each program consists of instructions (commands) and operands (variables).
User Resources:
In addition to the user operands M and D, there are special M and D. They are used for various settings (communication port Com2, RTC, etc.) and service functions (determining program start, errors, etc.) Addresses of special markers and registers start with 8000.
The LX3V has 138 instructions, of which 136 are similar to the Mitsubishi FX2N and 2 original ones: RS and PID. There are instructions for all occasions and are grouped into 16 groups: basic, arithmetic, shift and rotation, positioning, etc.
The instructions allow you to perform operations with numbers such as bit, int16, int32, float32, BCD.
The maximum program size is 16,000 steps. How many instructions are these? Instructions are long and 1 step and 13, because I think that the maximum size of a real program will be about 2000 instructions, maybe more.
The official Wecon PLC programming software. The current version is 1.2.0. Free, easy - installation weighs 28 MB.
Creating and loading a simple program in Wecon PLC Editor:
Wecon LX3V is a Mitsubishi FX2N software clone. Therefore, for its programming, you can use the software development environment for Mitsubishi controllers Melsoft GX Works2: The
capabilities of this program are the same as Wecon PLC Editor, plus in addition to IL and LD there are programming languages FBD, SFC, ST.
But there is a minus: GX Works2 sees the LX3V as FX2N and only works with it through the round Com1 connector. Therefore, to use GX Works2, you need to get a special cable, which was discussed above.
Especially relevant is the presence of a C-like language ST. He is more often preferred by programmers who have just come to the automatic control system from classical programming until they have mastered the “LD-style thinking”. By the way, I myself normally understood the concept of LD only after the courses in Step-7.
Here is an example of programming Wecon LX3V in ST language from GX Works2 by Vyacheslav Mezentsev, another controller data enthusiast:
However, a glitch was detected: the program on ST normally loads into LX3V, but after loading the PLC freezes. We have to restart it with the “RUN / STOP” switch and then it works without problems and there are no freezes when switching it on again.
GX Works2 v.1.50 can be downloaded after registration from the Mitsubishi website. The trial version lasts 60 days without any limitations. I did not find any broken versions on the network. If you buy, it is expensive.
My opinion is that you can do without GX Works2 with ST by programming for free on LD in the native environment of Wecon PLC Editor. Or hardcore in assembler-like IL, as I used to be my first program for PLC Vipa. Just kidding, no need in IL.
In LX3V, the Mod1 Com1 port does not work.
According to Modbas, the Com2 port and 2 additional ports work when using the LX3V-2RS485-BD expansion card.
Modbus features in the Wecon LX3V PLC:
To configure the Com2 port, special registers D8120 ... 8129 are used.
Existence of the Modbus Slave mode allows to connect Wecon LX3V to any modern SCADA. For example, to Simp Light:
In Slave mode, you simply have access to all the operands of the controller (M, D, T, etc.) at the addresses indicated in the documentation.
Well, the presence of the Modbus Master mode allows you to connect any device working on Modbas to the Wecon LX3V. For example, the analog input module Adam 4017+:
The controller is easy to learn and operate. First of all, because the network has a lot of documentation, video tutorials and other materials on the Mitsubishi FX2N, which it is a software clone.
No programming glitches have been detected so far, except for some misunderstandings with loading the ST-program from GX Works2.
A large number of user variables, various instructions and a maximum program size of 16,000 steps allow you to create very complex programs.
The design of the PLC makes a good impression. The boards are made soundly, as far as I can appreciate with my programming eyes.
The question of reliability remains, but only time can answer it.
The certificate is (clickable):
0806MT-LX3V: ru.aliexpress.com/store/product/Wecon-14-Points-Remote-Control-System-LX3V-0806MT-D/632791_32603603891.html
Website Wecon: we-con.com.cn/en
Sales: sales@we-con.com.cn
Wecon Page on by Aliexpress: ru.aliexpress.com/store/632791
Forum Wecon: wecon.freeforums.net
Tech. center (sample programs): we-con.com.cn/en/support/technical-center/lx-series-plc
Mitsubishi website: ru3a.mitsubishielectric.com
---
There are a lot of them, their prices are low, and the characteristics are declared interesting. One bad thing is there is little or no information about them in Russian. But much is of interest.
What is inside? How is it programmed? What are the features of the work? What are the communication options?
Any ACS programmer will have no questions.
I studied one of such interesting controllers and can tell a little about it.
We will talk about the PLC LX3V-0806MT-A2 from Wecon:
In the PLC series Wecon LX3V, first of all, this is interesting:
- low price with high performance
- it is an analog of the Mitsubishi FX2N PLC
The LX3V-0806MT-A2 is the simplest and most inexpensive of the entire family.
All Wecon LX3V-0806MT-A2 Specifications
| Name | Wecon LX3V-0806MT-A2 |
| DI | 8 |
| DO | 6, transistor |
| Communication ports | 1 RS-422 (Com1) 1 RS-485 (Com2) + 2 RS-485 ports when connecting a BD Board |
| Download Ports | Micro USB Com1 RS-422 |
| Data transfer protocols | Modbus ASCII, RTU master / slave |
| Non-volatile RTC | there is |
| Mount | on the wall, DIN rail |
| Nutrition | 85 ... 264 V AC, 20 W |
| Expansion Modules | not |
| Bd board | there is |
| Dimensions | 75 * 107 * 87 mm |
| Programming environment | Wecon PLC Editor, Melsoft GX Works2 |
| Programming languages | IL, LD, FBD, ST, SFC |
| Additional Feature | PLC analog Mitsubishi FX2N |
| Price | less than $ 100 + shipping |
Total, a full-fledged PLC with 14 discrete I / O points and an RS-485 port for less than $ 100. I won’t write a specific price here, whatever would be perceived as an advertisement. Who cares, all the links at the end of the article.
Delivery price is a separate issue. In Ukraine, for example, a couple of months ago it was $ 54, right now- $ 39. So the shipping cost may vary. To Russia, perhaps delivery costs differently. You can order on aliexpress or through the sales department directly on the Wecon website, all links at the end of the article.
The controller got to me by DHL in 3 days from the moment of order.
Design
And here is the PLC in my hands. First you need to carefully examine its design.
The case is classic, like for a PLC. Mounted on a DIN rail or on a wall through the ears.
Front connection terminals and LED signaling of the status of inputs / outputs and service signals (power, operation, battery failure, error).
If you open the cover on the right and remove the plug on the left, you will see:
1. Connector for connecting the expansion board BD Board (not to be confused with the expansion module). Different models of BD Board come with analog I / O or with additional communication interfaces.
For example, the LX3V-2RS485-BD board with 2 additional RS-485 ports:
2. A battery for powering the real-time clock. This is a regular tablet CR2032, which is in every of our computers.
3. RS-422 Com1 port. It is used to download programs. Present here primarily for reasons of compatibility with the Mitsubishi PLC. To program through this port, you need a special cable, which Wecon costs $ 5.
Or you can solder a homemade cable according to the Troitsky scheme, as I did:
For the cable, I took the tail from an old mouse with a DB9F connector and soldered it to the Mini DIN-8 connector. The resistor set 750 ohms.
The cable plugs directly into the computer's COM port or into a USB / RS232 converter. Everything works.
Com1 is used for programming through Melsoft GX Works2 (software for the Mitsubishi PLC), because this program does not see the USB port on the controller.
4. Micro USB port for downloading programs through the standard programming environment Wecon PLC Editor. Uses a regular micro USB cable.
5. RUN / STOP switch.
The LX3V-0806MT-A2 does not have a port for connecting expansion modules via the internal bus, as in the more advanced LX3V models.
On the side of the case is a sticker with model parameters:
The most interesting is inside. PLC consists of 3 boards: processor, control and power.
CPU board:
It can be seen that this board is densely coated with varnish. The rest is the same.
It uses a 32-bit STM32F103vet6 processor with an ARM Cortex-M3 core and a maximum frequency of 72 MHz.
Does he grab it? Probably.
For example, a good domestic ARIES PLC63 (22 I / O points, 2 communication ports) has an AT91SAM7S512 processor with a maximum frequency of 55 MHz and the previous generation ARM7 core.
Power and Control Boards: The
outputs in the Wecon LX3V-0806MT-A2 are transistor. A model with relay outputs costs the same.
Programming
In terms of programming, the Wecon LX3V PLCs are clones of the Mitsubishi FX2N. Therefore, for programming LX3V, you can use not only its native programming environment Wecon PLC Editor, but also Melsoft GX Works2 from Mitsubishi controllers.
Melsoft GX Works2 has more features:
| Software for Wecon LX3V | Programming languages | Status |
| Wecon PLC Editor v.1.2.0 | IL, LD | free |
| Melsoft GX Works2 v. 1.50 | IL, LD, ST, SFC, FBD | trial for 60 days |
The Wecon LX3V programming documentation is currently available in English only. But after all, Wecon LX3V is a software clone of Mitsubishi FX2N, which means you can use their documentation. Mitsubishi FX2N programming language documentation on the network is full. Personally, I studied my LX3V primarily on the Russian manuals for the FX2N.
Each program consists of instructions (commands) and operands (variables).
User Resources:
| Name | number | Note |
| Program size | 16,000 steps | Each instruction consists of a different number of steps. |
| M markers | 3072 | bit |
| S, status markers | 1000 | bit |
| D, registers | 8000 | int16 |
| T, timer | 256 | 16 bit |
| C counters | 256 | 16 or 32 bit |
In addition to the user operands M and D, there are special M and D. They are used for various settings (communication port Com2, RTC, etc.) and service functions (determining program start, errors, etc.) Addresses of special markers and registers start with 8000.
The LX3V has 138 instructions, of which 136 are similar to the Mitsubishi FX2N and 2 original ones: RS and PID. There are instructions for all occasions and are grouped into 16 groups: basic, arithmetic, shift and rotation, positioning, etc.
The instructions allow you to perform operations with numbers such as bit, int16, int32, float32, BCD.
The maximum program size is 16,000 steps. How many instructions are these? Instructions are long and 1 step and 13, because I think that the maximum size of a real program will be about 2000 instructions, maybe more.
Wecon plc editor
The official Wecon PLC programming software. The current version is 1.2.0. Free, easy - installation weighs 28 MB.
- In the current version (1.2.0), programming is only in the languages LD (Ladder) and IL (Instruction List)
- There is a simulator
- There is a debugger
- Downloading the program is possible through the PLC ports Com1 RS-422 and USB
Creating and loading a simple program in Wecon PLC Editor:
Melsoft GX Works2 and Mitsubishi FX2N PLC compatibility
Wecon LX3V is a Mitsubishi FX2N software clone. Therefore, for its programming, you can use the software development environment for Mitsubishi controllers Melsoft GX Works2: The
capabilities of this program are the same as Wecon PLC Editor, plus in addition to IL and LD there are programming languages FBD, SFC, ST.
But there is a minus: GX Works2 sees the LX3V as FX2N and only works with it through the round Com1 connector. Therefore, to use GX Works2, you need to get a special cable, which was discussed above.
Especially relevant is the presence of a C-like language ST. He is more often preferred by programmers who have just come to the automatic control system from classical programming until they have mastered the “LD-style thinking”. By the way, I myself normally understood the concept of LD only after the courses in Step-7.
Here is an example of programming Wecon LX3V in ST language from GX Works2 by Vyacheslav Mezentsev, another controller data enthusiast:
However, a glitch was detected: the program on ST normally loads into LX3V, but after loading the PLC freezes. We have to restart it with the “RUN / STOP” switch and then it works without problems and there are no freezes when switching it on again.
GX Works2 v.1.50 can be downloaded after registration from the Mitsubishi website. The trial version lasts 60 days without any limitations. I did not find any broken versions on the network. If you buy, it is expensive.
My opinion is that you can do without GX Works2 with ST by programming for free on LD in the native environment of Wecon PLC Editor. Or hardcore in assembler-like IL, as I used to be my first program for PLC Vipa. Just kidding, no need in IL.
Modbus Communication
In LX3V, the Mod1 Com1 port does not work.
According to Modbas, the Com2 port and 2 additional ports work when using the LX3V-2RS485-BD expansion card.
Modbus features in the Wecon LX3V PLC:
- up to 3 RS-485 ports
- Modbus RTU / ASCII protocols
- speed 4800 ... 115200
- Master / Slave modes
To configure the Com2 port, special registers D8120 ... 8129 are used.
Modbus Slave and communication with SCADA
Existence of the Modbus Slave mode allows to connect Wecon LX3V to any modern SCADA. For example, to Simp Light:
In Slave mode, you simply have access to all the operands of the controller (M, D, T, etc.) at the addresses indicated in the documentation.
Modbus Master and communication with external modules
Well, the presence of the Modbus Master mode allows you to connect any device working on Modbas to the Wecon LX3V. For example, the analog input module Adam 4017+:
First impressions of the Wecon LX3V PLC
The controller is easy to learn and operate. First of all, because the network has a lot of documentation, video tutorials and other materials on the Mitsubishi FX2N, which it is a software clone.
No programming glitches have been detected so far, except for some misunderstandings with loading the ST-program from GX Works2.
A large number of user variables, various instructions and a maximum program size of 16,000 steps allow you to create very complex programs.
The design of the PLC makes a good impression. The boards are made soundly, as far as I can appreciate with my programming eyes.
The question of reliability remains, but only time can answer it.
The certificate is (clickable):
References
0806MT-LX3V: ru.aliexpress.com/store/product/Wecon-14-Points-Remote-Control-System-LX3V-0806MT-D/632791_32603603891.html
Website Wecon: we-con.com.cn/en
Sales: sales@we-con.com.cn
Wecon Page on by Aliexpress: ru.aliexpress.com/store/632791
Forum Wecon: wecon.freeforums.net
Tech. center (sample programs): we-con.com.cn/en/support/technical-center/lx-series-plc
Mitsubishi website: ru3a.mitsubishielectric.com
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