Ethernet/IP devices and RSNetworx

    I recently encountered the use of Rockwell RSNetworx to create an Ethernet/IP scanlist for an R-30iB (v8.3). This happened b/c I needed to connect a Balluff EIP-502-105-R015 directly to the robot's EIP Scanner, and Balluff's tech support told me this could only be accomplished by using RSNetworx.


    After getting it done, though, I'm not sure Balluff was correct about this. Dowloading the scanlist from RSNetworx into the robot completely wipes out any EIP settings that were already present, but once that was done, I was able to see the module parameters in the pendant's EIP menu the same as if they had been entered by hand. And I was able to add an additional module (a simpler Turck unit that didn't need RSNetworx) by hand via the pendant afterwards, without causing any issues with the RSNetworx-created entries.


    That said, the Balluff unit shows up in the robot as 4 different adapters (only the first of which was activated). I'm not sure if this was just "cruft" created as a side effect of RSNetworx, or something else.


    I don't have the time to experiment with this robot, unfortunately, but I'm curious what other people have encountered. Are there I/O modules which must have RSNetworx to connect to the R30, or are these modules just so complex (or so badly documented) that trying to extract the correct settings from the EDS file to enter on the pendant just becomes nearly impossible?

    I might be mistaken but I believe Balluff is solely supported by Allen Bradley, so in order for it to communicate with the R-30iB it will have to be through Rockwell Software. All of our balluff connected devices are controlled by an external PLC using inputs and outputs from the robot. Is this possible in your application?

    It's working fine with no PLC -- just the robot as the EIP Scanner and the Balluff as an Adapter.


    But all of Balluff's documents are about connecting the module to a AB PLC. I did get a tech note about using RSNetworx to set up a Balluff device with the R30, but after doing it, what I saw leads me to think that RSNetworx may not actually be necessary. That's the question I'm looking to explore.

    Quote from SkyeFire

    It's working fine with no PLC -- just the robot as the EIP Scanner and the Balluff as an Adapter.


    But all of Balluff's documents are about connecting the module to a AB PLC. I did get a tech note about using RSNetworx to set up a Balluff device with the R30, but after doing it, what I saw leads me to think that RSNetworx may not actually be necessary. That's the question I'm looking to explore.

    I am pretty sure you would still have to use RSNetworx since Balluff is supported by Allen Bradley and FANUC controller are made to be compatible with Allen Bradley equipment. In order to communicate with the Balluff device, the system most likely has to be running the Rockwell software. Without it, you most likely won't see the modules.

    You absolutely DO NOT need RSNetworx to to configure an Ethernet/IP module. What you do need are the input, output, and configuration assembly instances. You may need the vendor ID, product type and revision, but I have successfully left those all set to "0" and the device still worked.


    RSNetworx is a nice piece of software to aid in configuration, but is in no way needed to implement the Ethernet/IP protocol.

    Quote from pdl

    You absolutely DO NOT need RSNetworx to to configure an Ethernet/IP module. What you do need are the input, output, and configuration assembly instances. You may need the vendor ID, product type and revision, but I have successfully left those all set to "0" and the device still worked.


    RSNetworx is a nice piece of software to aid in configuration, but is in no way needed to implement the Ethernet/IP protocol.

    That was kind of my gut feeling, but trying to build the robot scanlist for this module by hand just got me nowhere fast. That said, I think it's an information problem -- all the docs for connecting this module were written around using RSNetworx, and I was unable to find a source that could describe what I actally needed to type into the EIP Config to get the communication working.


    Now that I have those settings, thanks to RSNetworx, I should be able to just hand-copy those settings into another robot for the same module. Or, for a large-scale deployment, copy the IO config file out to multiple robots.


    EDS files are nice, but I feel like vendors have taken advantage of them, and the tools that use them, to get "lazy" about actually describing the scanlist settings for some modules in a clear, concise fasion.

    It's kinda funny, I'll actually just open an EDS with an editor to find the assembly instances instead of using the EDS as intended. Some vendors are definitely better with documentation than others.


    I am in no way connected to IFM, but I have found their data sheets are awesome when it comes to bit mapping. Here for instance is a snip from one of their data sheets which seams incredibly intuitive to me:

    Absolutely agree with pdl

    I have configured a couple of Ethernet/IP devices (only using Roboguide for evaluating concept as a scanner) and all without the vendors specified configuration tools, just by using the EDS data alone.


    A couple of Balluff Devices - EIP 302-105-Z015 and a Siemens ZNX EIP200 Head unit with several IO modules connected to it.

    All without any additional configuration software.

    However the Siemens device did require to be told what IO devices to include in it's internal mapping.

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