The message acquisition structure is shown in the figure "Acquisition and signaling of PLCevents". The features include:● Bit fields for events related to the NC/PLC interface are combined in a single data block(DB2) with bit fields for user messages.● Bit fields are evaluated at several levels by FC10.– Evaluation 1; acquisition of group signalsA group signal is generated for each group of signals if at least one bit signal is set to"1". This signal is generally linked to the disable signal of the NC/PLC interface (onmodules with diagnostic functions). The group signals are acquired completely in cycles.– Evaluation 2; acquisition of alarm messagesA fixed specification exists to define which signals in a group generate an alarm messagewhen they change from "0" to "1".– Evaluation 3; acquisition of operating signalsA fixed specification exists to define which signals in a group generate an operationalmessage.● The scope of the user bit fields (user area) is set by default to 10 areas with 8 bytes each,but the number of areas can also be adjusted to suit the requirements of the machinemanufacturer via basic program parameters in FB1.Acknowledgement conceptThe following acknowledgement procedures are implemented for error and operationalmessages:Operating messages are intended for the display of normal operating states as information forthe user. Acknowledgement signals are, therefore, not required for this type of message. Anentry is made in the diagnostic status list for incoming and outgoing messages. The HMImaintains an up-to-date log of existing operating messages using the identifiers "operatingmessage arrived" and "operating message gone".Alarm messages display error states on the machine, which will usually lead to the machinebeing stopped. Where several errors occur in rapid succession, it is important to be able todistinguish their order of occurrence for troubleshooting purposes. This is indicated, on theone hand, by the order in which they are entered in the diagnostic buffer and on the other, bythe time stamp, which is assigned to every entry.If the cause of the error disappears, the associated alarm message is only deleted if the userhas acknowledged it (e.g. by pressing a key on the MCP). In response to this signal, the"Message acquisition" FC examines which of the reported errors have disappeared and entersthese in the diagnostic buffer with the entry "Alarm gone". This enables the HMI to also maintainan up-to-date log of pending alarm messages. The time of day indicating the time at which theerror occurred is maintained for messages, which are still pending (in contrast to a receivedinterrogation).STEP 7A tool can be started in the SIMATIC Manager via menu item "Target system" > "CPUmessages". Alarms and messages can be displayed by number using this tool. To do this,acivate the "Alarm" tab and enter a check mark under "A" in the upper half of the screen.P3: Basic PLC program for SINUMERIK 840D sl13.9 Interface structureBasic Functions844 Function Manual, 01/2015, 6FC5397-0BP40-5BA2