Configuring I/O Channels

The next task is to configure your I/O channels. There are several steps. First you either
autosense physically connected cards or add I/O card placeholders using the DeltaV Explorer.
Then you enable the channels on the cards and define the Device Tag for each channel. The
Device Tags are the names the DeltaV software uses in the control modules to identify the input
and output instruments and hardware devices like transmitters, valves, and so on.
In the tank example used in the tutorial, there are four I/O cards installed in the following order:
Analog In, Analog Out, Discrete In, and Discrete Out. If you have a real system set up, your I/O
cards may not have been installed in this orderyou may not even have some of these card
types. Therefore, to be able to do the tutorial I/O configuration exercises, you will need to
configure a controller placeholder, as described in the previous section. You can learn the
general I/O card configuration steps by reading this section.
Each I/O card has eight channels, not all of which will necessarily be used. The Device Tags for
the tank process examples are listed in the following table.
Device Tags for the Tank Process Example
I/O Card

I/O Card Type

Channel

Channel
Type

Device
Tag

Description

C01

Analog In, 8 Ch,

4-20 mA, HART

CH01

Analog In

LT-1

Level transmitter

CH02

Analog In

FT-1

Flow transmitter

C02

Analog Out, 8 Ch,

4-20 mA

CH02

Analog Out

FY-1

Regulatory valve

C03

Discrete In, 8 Ch,

24 VDC, Isolated

CH01

Discrete In

XI-1

Confirm motor
contact

CH02

Discrete In

LSC-1

Limit switch-closed

CH01

Discrete Out

XV-1

Block valve

CH02

Discrete Out

ZX-1

Motor start contact

C04

Discrete Out, 8 Ch,

24 VDC, High Side

Usually, the I/O cards are already downloaded and autosensed when you define the controller
node and you can go to the procedure for configuring the first channel on the first I/O card.
However, if you need to add a card or a placeholder, follow the procedure described briefly on
the next page.

To add an I/O card (or placeholder)

1. In the DeltaV Explorer, select System Configuration | Physical Network | Control
Network | CTLR1 | I/O.
2. Click the right mouse button and select New Card from the menu.
The Add Card dialog appears.
3. Type a description for the card (such as Analog Input) and confirm or change the slot
position.
4. Use the down arrow to browse through the available card types and select the appropriate
card type. (The first card, according to the table, is AI, 8 Ch, 4-20mA, HART).

5. Click OK.
6. Repeat the procedure to add the remaining three cards, using the information from the
table.
To configure the first channel on the first I/O card
1. In the DeltaV Explorer, select System Configuration | Physical Network | Control
Network | CTLR1 | I/O/O.

The right pane lists the I/O cards.

2. Click the I/O Configuration button
on the toolbar (or click the right mouse button
and select Configure I/O from the menu

The I/O Configuration window opens, displaying a list of the eight channels available on all the I/O cards.
The default channel names are CH01 through CH08

3. For the first card (C01), select CH01, the first channel.
4. Double-click CH01 (or click the right mouse button and select Properties from the menu).
The Channel Properties dialog box appears.
5. Select Enabled.
6. Enter a description of the channel, for example, Level Transmitter.
7. Enter a Device Tag in the Device Tag field, for example, LT-1.
The Channel Properties box now looks like this

8. Click OK.
To configure the remaining cards and channels
1. Repeat the procedure (steps 3 through 8), substituting the appropriate information from
the table.
Tips To enable a group of continuous channels, hold down the Shift key, select the
channels, select Properties from the context menu, and click Enable. To enable individual
channels, hold down the Ctrl. key, select the channels, select Properties from the context
menu and click Enable.
If theres a printer handy, you can print a copy of your I/O configuration by clicking the
Print button on the toolbar.
2. Close the I/O configuration window by clicking the Close button in the upper right corner
(or selecting File | Exit