5.3 Fieldbus

You can set industrial computer network protocols for real-time distributed control acceptable to AUBO SCOPE: EtherNet/IP, Modbus, and PROFINET.

5.3.1 Modbus

Introduction to Modbus

Modbus is an important communication protocol in industrial automation control system. It has the characteristics of strong debugging ability, large data transmission volume, good real-time performance, etc. External devices (such as PLC) can establish connections with the robot via the Modbus protocol, and the robot can also communicate with the external devices as a Modbus slave.

The Modbus protocol includes Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP versions.

• Modbus RTU: It uses serial communication, represents data in a binary and compact way, and requires checksum with cyclic redundancy check. Modbus RTU is mainly used in industrial and system automation applications where the communication distance between devices is long.
• Modbus TCP: It uses TCP/IP (such as Ethernet) connections, and requires no checksum calculation. Compared with Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP has faster communication speed and can connect more devices.

You can configure Modbus device information in the system and establish a connection with the Modbus device with a specified IP.

Modbus Units management

1. Connect the Modbus device to the controller communication interface.
2. Tap "Configure > Fieldbus > Modbus > Units". Tap [Add Modbus Unit], select the Modbus unit mode, customize the device name and slave number, and set the relevant parameters of Modbus device.
3. Select the device to be deleted and tap [Delete Modbus Unit] to delete the device.

Modbus Signals management

1. After adding a Modbus device, tap "Configure > Fieldbus > Modbus > Signals". Tap [Add Modbus Signal], customize the signal name, and set the device name, type and signal address.
2. This system provides batch addition of Modbus signals. Tap [Batch Add Modbus Signals], customize the signal names, and set the parameters such as device name and type.
3. The added Modbus signals can have custom functions. See "5.1.2 I/O Setup" for details.
4. Select the signal to be deleted and tap [Delete Modbus Signal] to delete the signal.

Modbus Slave management

The robot can also be used as a Modbus slave. See ARCS Modbus User Guide for details.

5.3.2 PROFINET

PROFINET is a network protocol that, you can enable or disable the robot's link to the PROFINET controller.