powerflex 525 and connected components

im trying to use a powerflex 525 in connected components. I am trying to figure out how to actually set up the ethernet/ip communication between it and a micro850 plc. i assume that i need tags or something since ive worked with a HMI over ethernet/ip. but i dont know how to go about setting those up.

I don't think you can set up the 525 in CCW as a Ethernet module and have a set of tags to use like you would in RSLogix 5000. If you wanted to get various parameters from the 525 over Ethernet you would have to do a message instruction.

is it a purposefully crippled feature in CCW? I was under the impression that CCW was the latest and greatest... I'm new to AB equipment.

I wouldn't sat it is purposefully crippled but it is the latest and greatest for the market it is supposed to reach. It was intended to compete with your lower level PLC's on the market. It is a really good software to use for a small project or a remote machine with just some discrete I/O. If you want to control something over Ethernet you going to have to go to a controller that uses RSLogix 5000. Allen Bradley is not going to release a PLC for $300 that can take away sales from their Compact or Control Logix. You can use a PF 525 with a Micro800 and do a message over Ethernet but just for gathering various parameters of the drive like faults, command frequency or things like that. You cant schedule a secure Ethernet communication with a drive in CCW. You would have to do an output to the drives I/O board. If you are using an HMI other that the Panel View with an Ethernet connection then you would have to do TC/IP modbus mapping. I ran into an issue using a Micro 820 and a Red Lion G304 and the Red Lion did not have a Ethernet driver that was compatible with the Micro800 series. So I had to do the communication to the HMI through Modbus. One cool thing about using CCW with the PF 525 is that you can do all you configuration in CCW for the drive then download it to the control module on the drive through a USB cable. You can take the front off the drive and take it to your desk and plug it into your computer and the USB cable will power the module and you can program away.

thanks, you have answered my questions!