AS-i controllers with fieldbus interface
December 2003
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
IFM Electronic's AS-i Controller-E family can be supplied with a fieldbus interface or as a standalone version. Two versions can be obtained with one or two AS-i masters allowing a maximum of up to 124 AS-i slaves to be connected to two lengths of 100 m cable. This corresponds to 248 analog values or 496 digital inputs and 372 outputs. These can be processed in a program memory of 256 KB and/or be transmitted to the higher-level fieldbus: Profibus, Devicenet, or Ethernet.
Its integrated Ethernet interface supports Modbus over TCP for data exchange, filesystem/FTP server for data transmission, HTTP server for the display of HTML pages and an SMTP e-mail function for sending e-mails and SMS messages. This allows plant information to be accessed from anywhere via standard browsers on the Internet.
Flexible programming in languages according to IEC 61131-3 is possible and a different language can be chosen for each program block. For sequential control systems, the sequential function chart is especially suitable as the individual program blocks can be programmed in LD, FBD, IL or ST.
The Controller-E family is used in many industries such as networked conveying systems, handling and automatic assembly machines, mining applications, food and process industry and in applications where savings in cable and speed are important.
For more information contact Andrew Kerr, Shorrock Automation, 012 345 4449, [email protected], www.shorrock.co.za
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