Aromat FP2 RS232 Comunication

Hi everyone, new to forum but not to plc's but I have a question about using Fun 144 with a NAIS FP2. I am trying to read the absolute value from a Panasonic A series servo drive from the CN ser connector on the drive, but I am not sure what signal that I need to send from funtion 144 to the drive to get the absolute value back. I have all the cables connected and system registers set. I have read the section in the servo manual on absolute driver but don't see the information that I need. Any help would be apperciated.

Hello Riley,

Regarding F144 and F159 (same function but internally recompiled for FP-Sigma) you will find technical details and extensive examples (FP2 applicable) in the FP-Sigma user's manual (arct1f333e). Download from http://www.nais-e.com/plc/uacs/plc_dl_manual.html - free registration required.

Also ask your Panasonic vendor for a protocol manual. The drive may be either daisy chained in RS485 (up to 16) or host driven in a RS232 - 1:1 communication. The MINAS "A" operation manual provides for those two modes some basic information about the procedures involved. See appendix and the "Absolute driver" section.

Your programming tool style: FP-Win PRO or FP-Win Gr?

Regards,

Laurent

Thanks for the reply:
I am using FP-Win Gr and I have the two drives with first one set to 0 and the second set to 1. In the drive manual on page 27 it shows connection for both RS232 and RS485. It says connect the host(PLC) and the first drive with RS232 and connect the drives with RS485. Will this work and alow comunication to each drive from the PLC thru the one com port?

Riley,

You better select either the RS232 or RS485 interface, one of them only. Since two parameters are necessary for the baud rates adjustments, I do not take for sure that the two ways are internally connected in a transparent mode. I would suggest to select the RS485 for the final application, but use the RS232 and only one drive for your tests.

Generally speaking it`s pretty hard to build an application when you cannot figure out what is going to happen on the serial line. So, work on both sides seperately, and connect them together when you get the ropes.

PLC side: connect your COM port (D-SUB 9 pins) to a computer in hyperterminal. Adjust your communication settings and try to send an ASCII chain. See what you get on your computer. Now type and send a chain from the computer. Get the characters and check the programming tool in search of the necessary functions. Pay attention to the sample programs and to the R9038/R9039 use.

Servo side: Adjust the baud rate parameter. Try to send some communication frames from your computer in hyperterminal. See how answers come if any. Those characters coming from the drive may not be displayable.

Implement the final communication method in your PLC, as shown in your manual (1:1 / RS232 only). When you feel comfortable with the method, add a RS485 interface and connect the two drives. My two cents only.

Regards,

Laurent