Searching for DH+ Converters

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Thread Starter

boarding

I need a converter to act as a gateway between PLC5s on a DH+ network and HMIs on an ethernet network. The HMI would communicate with the gateway using either CSP and PCCC or Ethernet/IP and CIP (via RSLinx). I have a list of 6 potential candidates so far, but I am wondering if anyone can recall any that I may have missed.

These are my current candidates:

- GridConnect PKV7000
- GridConnect PKV4500
- ChipKin FSB-4010 (with ISA Card)
- MultiGate -MGC2200-DHEIP
- DataLink - GW1000-ABEIP
- Prosoft - AN-X2-AB-DHRIO

Any help would be appreciated. Also any hints on the possible issues I might face would also be appreciated.
 
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Dear Boarding,

Please consider to use controllogix processor as a gateway between your HMI and PLC-5.
Here is the configuration:

1. 1756-A4 (4 slot rack)

2. 1756-ENBT (Ethernet/IP interface card), connected to your HMI using ethernet IP

3. 1756-DHRIO (DH+ master module, connected to your PLC-5 DH+ port)

4. 1756-L61 (CPU, using MSG instruction to write/read data from your PLC5, then save read data to some buffer. Then these buffer will be read by your HMI using ethernet/IP).

This method will be more flexible to access PLC-5 memory and in the future than using just 3rd party converter.

Furthermore, for the next step on migration process, this controllogix can be utilized replace your PLC-5 processor.
 
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Gerald Beaudoin

We used a small 4 slot AB ControLogix rack (no processor) with a 1756-DHRIO module to access the legacy network and then fed it out to the EtherNet/IP network via the backplane and a 1756-ENBT in the same rack. Ran like that for quite a few years and then as requirements grew, added an old ControLogix processor in the rack to do some data mapping/transformation. Could be an option for you to consider.

Cheers
Gerald Beaudoin
 
J

James Ingraham

Actually, you came up with two I didn't know about; I hadn't seen the ChipKin or MultiGate before. I used the DataLink on a project a year or so ago and was reasonably happy with it. Not perfect, had some set up issues, tech support worked with us, they've been going strong since.

-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.
 
> We used a small 4 slot AB ControLogix rack (no processor) with a 1756-DHRIO module to access the legacy network and then fed
> it out to the EtherNet/IP network via the backplane and a 1756-ENBT in the same rack. Ran like that for quite a few years...

Hi Gerald

This is interesting. The use of a CPU puts the overall project price out of the ball park, as our client will need several hundred of these "gateways" for all their sites. The cost of adding a $5K CPU to 300 sites will not make them happy.

But the possibility of using a 4-slot ControLogix rack (with no processor), a 1756-DHRIO module and a 1756-ENBT module is a possibility. I think the total cost will be between $4K and $5K, which while not as cheap as a $2K convertor, at least it isn't insane.

Can you tell me more about how it worked? Was it a true gateway, where the HMI could send PCCC(or is it CIP?) commands over Ethernet and the PLC5 would get PCCC commands via DH+? Or did you have to build some sort of data translation table in the modules (can't imagine that without a CPU)?

Any pointers are greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
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Gerald Beaudoin

Our application was a little different than yours but maybe you can use part of our example. We started out with a 1756-DH485 and a 1756-DHRIO in the rack which allowed us to exchange data between the DH+ and DH485 legacy networks (SLC503 and 504's). We used MSG reads and writes in each processor to get the data needed via our little rack. The MSG routing was a bit of a challenge at first, but once you get one to work, it's a copy paste, change the node numbers. When we advanced to Ethernet with the SLC505's, we added the 1756-ENBT to give us that functionality. When we added an L56 processor to the rack, we were then able to handle all of the messaging to and from the legacy network in that single processor, rather than having it scattered all over. The L56 does some data mapping to ControLogix tags and it became the focal point for all legacy data transactions. It still functions today, even though we have pruned out as much of the legacy stuff as practical for now. Only a couple of 504's and 503's left and we are slowly replacing those processors with the 1747-AENTR modules.

Glad to share.

Cheers
Gerald Beaudoin
 
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