Complete Guide to Installing Node.js on Windows: Using the Command Line with Chocolatey or Manual Installation from the Official Website

Prerequisites:

• Node-RED installed and running on your machine.
• An Allen-Bradley PLC connected to your network.
• The node-red-contrib-ab package installed in Node-RED to facilitate communication with the PLC.

Step 1: Install the Required Package

Install the Required Package using the command line or terminal on your machine.

1. Open a terminal or command line window on your machine.
2. To install the necessary package that will allow communication with the Allen-Bradley PLC, enter the following command:

cd ~/.node-red

npm install node-red-contrib-ab

 

 

Install the Required Package Directly from Node-RED

 

STEP 2 : Open Node-RED: Launch Node-RED by visiting http://localhost:1880 in your browser or Start Node-RED using the command line or terminal on your machine.

1. Open another terminal or command line window.
2. Type node-red and press Enter:

 

node-red

Note: keep this terminal open. Don’t close.

3. Go to the "Manage Palette" Section:
• Click on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of Node-RED.
• Choose "Manage palette" from the dropdown.

4. Install the Package:
• In the "Manage Palette" window, click on the "Install" tab.
• Type node-red-contrib-ab or PCCC in the search box to find the Allen-Bradley package. node-red-contrib-cip-ethernet-ip (node) - Node-RED
• Once the package shows up, hit "Install" next to it, and the installation will begin automatically.

5. Wait for the Installation to Complete: Once the package installs, you’ll be able to find Allen-Bradley nodes in your palette and use them to connect with your PLC.

Step 3: Install and Set Up the Node-RED Dashboard [optional]

1. See step #2
2. Install the Dashboard Package:
• In the "Manage Palette" window, go to the "Install" tab.
• Search for node-red-dashboard in the search box.
• Once the package appears, click "Install" next to it, and it will begin downloading and installing.

 

3. Wait for Installation to Complete: Once the installation finishes, you’ll notice a new set of dashboard nodes under the "dashboard" category in your palette.

 

Step 4: Create the Basic Flow

1. Once you access the Node-RED web interface, you’ll see a palette of nodes on the left side.
2. Look for the nodes related to Allen-Bradley (they will appear after installing the node-red-contrib-ab package). The key nodes are:
• Allen-Bradley PLC Read: To read data from the PLC.
• Allen-Bradley PLC Write: To write data to the PLC.

   

3. Drag the Allen-Bradley PLC Read node to your workspace.

 

Step 5: Configure the Allen-Bradley Node

1. Double-click the Allen-Bradley PLC Read node to open its configuration.
2. Fill in the following parameters:
• PLC Type: Choose the type of Allen-Bradley PLC (e.g., CompactLogix, ControlLogix, etc.).
• IP Address: Enter the IP address of your PLC.
• Slot Number: Typically 0 for a CompactLogix PLC.
• Tag Name: Enter the name of the tag you want to read, e.g., Temperature or Status.

    

   

3. Click Done to save the configuration.

Step 6: Connect the Nodes

1. You can add a Debug node to view the values being read from the PLC. Simply drag the Debug node and connect it to the PLC read node.
2. If you want to perform some processing or actions with the data, you can add a Function node to manipulate the values before displaying them or writing them to another system.

Step 7: Deploy the Flow

1. Click the Deploy button at the top-right corner to deploy your flow.
2. Once the flow is deployed, Node-RED will start reading data from the PLC. You can see the results in the debug panel on the right side.

Step 8: Monitoring and Troubleshooting

1. If everything is properly configured, you should see the PLC values in the debug window.
2. If you encounter any issues, check the logs in the terminal where you started Node-RED. Make sure there are no connection errors with the PLC or configuration problems.