Cable for Micrologix controller to AD Sureservo

ThreatLevelMidnight

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I need to connect my ML1200 to a sureservo drive for modbus communication. Sureservo uses an IEEE 1394 connector. At the moment, I am not seeing a cable with IEEE 1394 to AB 8 pin mini din.

Automation direct offers cable SVC-MDCOM-CBL that has IEEE 1394 on one end and pigtail on the other. Do I just use this and add the AB 8 pin pigtail? Is there a better way?

https://www.automationdirect.com/ad...servo_systems/servo_accessories/svc-mdcom-cbl
 
ThreatLevelMidnight said:
I need to connect my ML1200 to a sureservo drive for modbus communication. Sureservo uses an IEEE 1394 connector. At the moment, I am not seeing a cable with IEEE 1394 to AB 8 pin mini din...
Click to expand...




IEEE 1394, also known as FireWire, is a serial bus i.e. with a clock, and is not even close to being compatible the RS-232 port on a MicroLogix 1200. So any connection between the two would be a non-trivial adapter. To build a prototype from scratch, a RaspberrryPI with two USB ports, a USB/IEEE-1394 converter, a USB/RS-232 converter, and some coding between them might work.
 
ThreatLevelMidnight said:
I have a series C. RS232 was my initial thought, but I am still learning.
Click to expand...

Either way, you will need a cable with the A/B 8-pin connector to adapt. If you use RS485, you need the breakout board 1763-NC01:

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...485-cable-8-pin-mini-din-to-6-pin-micrologix/

If you use RS232, *maybe* you can solder a 9 pin male on the end of your sureservo pigtail and plug it into a Micrologix programming cable 1763-CBL-PM02

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...2-si-series-micrologix-plc-cable-programming/

Ian's link shows the details for RS485 Modbus Slave configuration, but yours will likely need to be a master which is similar except you don't need to assign file numbers to modbus function codes. It is important to make the right selection for Protocol Control to be "No Handshaking (RS485 Network)" otherwise, the Micrologix will not utilize the correct pins on its port. For RS232 with no flow control, you'd just pick "No Handshaking".

* I have never worked with SureServo, but have done a ton of different projects with Micrologix and Modbus RTU (232 and 485). A/D has a ton of Youtube videos for their products and I don't know exactly which Sureservo you have, but I perused one for a SureServo2 with a Click RS485 and it does not show that IEEE1394 connector being used. So, I don't know if that is really Firewire, or they just decided to use the Firewire connector.
:confused:
 
Last edited:
OkiePC said:
or they just decided to use the Firewire connector.
:confused:
Click to expand...

https://cdn.automationdirect.com/static/manuals/sureservomanual/sureservomanual.pdf#page=63

If that is close to the right manual, then @OkiePC is right and it's only the connector that the SureServo has in common with IEEE 1394 and not the FireWire protocol.

So it should be possible to gin up a cable by hand, if necessary and the right tools are available.

Another issue is that the 1200 has only one comm port, i.e. the serial port, so that would have to do double-duty, for both programming and Modbus.

A search on this forum for [micrologix 1200 modbus] (e.g. here) might turn up some useful pointers.
 
drbitboy said:
https://cdn.automationdirect.com/static/manuals/sureservomanual/sureservomanual.pdf#page=63

If that is close to the right manual, then @OkiePC is right and it's only the connector that the SureServo has in common with IEEE 1394 and not the FireWire protocol.

So it should be possible to gin up a cable by hand, if necessary and the right tools are available.

Another issue is that the 1200 has only one comm port, i.e. the serial port, so that would have to do double-duty, for both programming and Modbus.

A search on this forum for [micrologix 1200 modbus] (e.g. here) might turn up some useful pointers.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's it! Was just making sure a fabricated cable was the way to go and a ready made option wasn't available.

The one comm port isn't ideal, but it's what I've been given.
 
OkiePC said:
Either way, you will need a cable with the A/B 8-pin connector to adapt. If you use RS485, you need the breakout board 1763-NC01:

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...485-cable-8-pin-mini-din-to-6-pin-micrologix/

If you use RS232, *maybe* you can solder a 9 pin male on the end of your sureservo pigtail and plug it into a Micrologix programming cable 1763-CBL-PM02

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...2-si-series-micrologix-plc-cable-programming/

Ian's link shows the details for RS485 Modbus Slave configuration, but yours will likely need to be a master which is similar except you don't need to assign file numbers to modbus function codes. It is important to make the right selection for Protocol Control to be "No Handshaking (RS485 Network)" otherwise, the Micrologix will not utilize the correct pins on its port. For RS232 with no flow control, you'd just pick "No Handshaking".

* I have never worked with SureServo, but have done a ton of different projects with Micrologix and Modbus RTU (232 and 485). A/D has a ton of Youtube videos for their products and I don't know exactly which Sureservo you have, but I perused one for a SureServo2 with a Click RS485 and it does not show that IEEE1394 connector being used. So, I don't know if that is really Firewire, or they just decided to use the Firewire connector.
:confused:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links, those are helpful. Looks like in my current situation, a fabricated cable is needed.

It appears the sureservo cable is only the connector that is IEEE1394.
 
ThreatLevelMidnight said:
Thanks for the links, those are helpful. Looks like in my current situation, a fabricated cable is needed.

It appears the sureservo cable is only the connector that is IEEE1394.
Click to expand...

nice.

Be careful with the 1200 pinout (https://literature.rockwellautomati.../documents/um/1762-um001_-en-p.pdf#G8.1042736), RS-485 signals do not play well with RS-232, or vice versa.

You may need to fiddle with (loopback) the DCD/RTS/CTS signals, or perhaps the 1200 serial connection can be configured for no handshaking. I know I have had RS-232 comms working with only two paper clips, RxD, and TxD, not even (an explicit) ground (not that I am suggesting that), but that was not on PLCs.
 
A nitpick: the MicroLogix 1200 controller has only an RS-232 port. The "R" versions have a second RS-232 port.

The round Mini-Din8 style Channel 0 serial port on the MicroLogix 1000, 1200, and 1500 controllers has +24V on Pin 1 that can power up a handheld or network interface. You want to be very careful with any home-made cables to avoid connecting +24V to something that can't tolerate it.

The MicroLogix 1100 and 1400 traded that +24V accessory power pin for RS-485 data signals on Pins 1 and 8, allowing them to make a non-isolated RS-485 connection.

If I had to prototype this connection, I would use a 1761-CBL-PM02 cable, a screw-to-DB9 adapter, and the SureServo cable together.
 
Yes, the 1200 has only RS-232.


But according to the SureServo document, its connector may have both RS-485 and RS-232 pins (including some that serve both!?), and those SureServo RS-485 pins are what I was referring to.

And I agree that that 24V Pin 1 on the 1200 is just itching to let the smoke out of the SureServo.
 
Oh, that makes sense !

Between the two of us we should have most of the warnings covered, at least for connecting the comms port between these devices.

The 1761-CBL-PM02 cable (the most common one for MicroLogix) has the benefit of not connecting Pin 1 through to the DB9 side.
 

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