FIP Protocol Information

We have an opportunity to look at a plant upgrade, however the fieldbus protocol in use at the plant (which they'd like to retain) is FIP (Factory Information Protocol).

COuld any one point me to a site where I might find the protocol specification?

We use it too.

David.F

We use the Fip Protocol too. Actually we use WorldFip. We are looking to expand to profibus as Fip is not a widely used Fieldbus protocol (At least not in north america). It originated out of France. Schnieder still supports the "Fip" protocol (not WorldFip) but not too many people do. (At least for what we have found.) You can goto www.worldfip.org for some information. BTW, what controller platform are you currently using??

Andrew Evenson

Andrew, thanks for the reply. We're actually wanting to use the SoftPLC (Spicewood Texas) as the controller, but it's early days yet with this client.

I've been to www.worldfip.org but the technical info we'd need if we were pushed into developing a driver to suit the FIP protocol isn't accessable. Hopefully we can persuade the client to upgrade to soemthing a little better supported.

I agree.

David.F

I would strongly agree with you. Try to urge them to use another fieldbus.

Andrew

We're actually wanting to use the SoftPLC

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YUCK!!!!!

Would never trust my process to Mr Gates and his merry band.

OK, so why the "Yuck"? OK, I read the lowercase stuff.

Actually, the unit we will use if given the opportunity does NOT run on Windows. It's an OS in its own right and as such bulletproof.

check out www.softplc.com

Actually, the unit we will use if given the opportunity does NOT run on Windows. It's an OS in its own right and as such bulletproof.

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Better choice than Mr Gates obviously but experience tends to place more reliance on industrially hardened PLCs than computers that overheat, computer fans fail (they use sleeve bearings to keep them cheap) and power supplies that fail. I replace, on average, 1 power supply out of the 3 computers I use each year. The 3 PCs I use are all less than 3 years old. That is not a real good record. Fans fail etc etc. Laptops I find are generally more reliable than desktops, particularly in an industrial area where power supplies can be charged with spikes and harmonics and the PC is not kept cool in an evironment of constant temperature from 24 hour air conditioning.

If I was required by a customer to use a computer rather than real PLCs, I guess I would look long and hard at something like the Omron PLC on a PCI card solution. It runs independantly of the computer and operating system because it is a real PLC with it's own 24VDC power supply. You can turn the computer off and even remove the card and it will still operate because it has a separate power supply. Comms to I/O.