Installing the Finder OPTA Plug-in in CODESYS

Overview

CODESYS is one of the leading development environments for PLCs and it allows you to program Finder OPTA using standard languages, like LD and ST.

To program Finder OPTA using CODESYS, you need to install the official plug-in. This tutorial will guide you through the installation in just a few simple steps.

Goals

• Download and install the OPTA Configurator plug-in.
• Verify the correct functioning of OPTA CODESYS within the CODESYS development environment.

Requirements

Before starting, make sure you have:

• Finder OPTA CODESYS PLC (x1)
• USB-C cable (x1)
• CODESYS development environment installed. You can download it here.
• OPTA Configurator plug-in. You can download it here.

Instructions

Installing the plug-in

After downloading the OPTA Configurator plug-in, extract the contents of the compressed archive. The extracted file will be named OPTA_Configurator.

Open CODESYS and from the Tools menu, select CODESYS Installer...:

Leave the CODESYS Installer open and close CODESYS:

Now, in the CODESYS Installer, click on Install File(s):

Select the OPTA_Configurator file that you extracted earlier:

After selecting the file, a confirmation screen will appear. Click OK and authorize CODESYS to make changes to the system:

Wait for the installation to complete:

Once the installation is complete, a success message will appear:

To verify that the plug-in was installed correctly, check the list of installed components: you should see OPTA Configurator in the list.

Configuring the CODESYS Gateway

Now close the CODESYS Installer:

Reopen CODESYS. Then, connect the Finder OPTA PLC to your computer using the USB-C cable and create a new standard project:

When prompted to select a device, choose Finder Opta (FINDER SPA). For the programming language, you can choose from the available options, such as ST:

Double-click on Device (Finder Opta):

Expand the hidden icons in the Windows taskbar and right-click on the CODESYS Gateway service icon:

Click the Start Gateway button:

Once the Gateway service is running, you need to configure it. First, add a new Gateway:

Assign a name to the Gateway and select TCP/IP as the driver, then confirm by clicking OK:

Now you should see the Gateway with the assigned name in the list:

Click on Gateway, then select Configure the Local Gateway...:

A window will appear with a list of configured interfaces. If you see any interfaces other than the UDP interface, remove them. Your configuration window should look like this:

Connect the OPTA CODESYS device to your computer via USB, then open Windows Device Manager:

Check the COM port to which OPTA CODESYS is connected, and take note of the port number. In this example, the COM port is number 7:

Return to the Gateway configurator, press the Add button, and then select Add Interface...:

A COM port will appear. Click on its Settings box:

Set the Port parameter to the port number found in Windows Device Manager. In this example, we set the value to 7:

The other port parameters do not need to be changed. Click OK to proceed:

Finally, restart the CODESYS Gateway service. In the Windows taskbar, stop the service:

Then restart it:

Verifying the configuration

From the Device screen, click the Scan Network button to start scanning for connected devices:

If a communication error with the Gateway appears, close and reopen CODESYS to allow the IDE to recognize the Gateway service that was restarted earlier.

If the configuration was successful, Finder Opta will be detected, and information about the device, such as name, serial number, and vendor, will be visible. To proceed, click OK.

A window will appear showing the connection configuration: the computer will be connected to the Gateway, which will then communicate with Finder Opta. At this point, Finder Opta is ready to be programmed using CODESYS.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you have successfully installed the Finder OPTA Configurator plug-in in CODESYS and verified that the device is correctly recognized. This allows you to fully utilize OPTA CODESYS within the CODESYS development environment, using standard PLC programming languages like LD and ST.

If you encounter any issues during installation or configuration, check that you have followed all the steps correctly.