Hilscher NT 100-RE-DN Gateway

[BeepBob]

Does anyone use or have experience with the Hilscher NT 100-RE-DN Gateway?


Tech support on Hilscher website for the North America region is two integrators...and both of them don't really answer phone ..




this is a weird tech support setup




I'm having an issue with setting the gateway up as a DeviceNet slave...


ANybus gateway is two months out so I'm stuck with this brick.

 

[Ken Roach]

I haven't used those specific networks, but I have used the Hilscher devices.

They aren't exactly intuitive, but I worked out an application with EtherNet/IP Adapter mode on one side and Profibus DP on the other.

Is there a specific feature or function that you're having trouble with ?

My understanding is that you would use SyCon.net and select the Primary Network for the NT100-RE-DN as PROFINET IO Controller, and the Secondary Network as DeviceNet Slave.

What exactly are you using for ProfiNet slave/adapter devices ?

I assume that you're installing that 1771-SDN that you asked about previously just to communicate with these NT100 devices.

How many NT100's are you installing ?

Edit: the first thing that made me nuts on the DeviceNet side was the I/O connection size; you have to scroll down in the Protocol Configuration window to see the data Consumed and Produced sizes. The default is 8, but presumably you're going to use the maximum 255 bytes for each NT100.

 

[BeepBob]

I haven't used those specific networks, but I have used the Hilscher devices.

They aren't exactly intuitive, but I worked out an application with EtherNet/IP Adapter mode on one side and Profibus DP on the other.

Is there a specific feature or function that you're having trouble with ?

My understanding is that you would use SyCon.net and select the Primary Network for the NT100-RE-DN as PROFINET IO Controller, and the Secondary Network as DeviceNet Slave.

What exactly are you using for ProfiNet slave/adapter devices ?

I assume that you're installing that 1771-SDN that you asked about previously just to communicate with these NT100 devices.

How many NT100's are you installing ?

Edit: the first thing that made me nuts on the DeviceNet side was the I/O connection size; you have to scroll down in the Protocol Configuration window to see the data Consumed and Produced sizes. The default is 8, but presumably you're going to use the maximum 255 bytes for each NT100.

Hello Ken,

Thank you for the reply.

I am trying to use it as a DeviceNet slave, which will be scanned from the 1771-SDN. One of the port on the NT 100-RE-DN will be connected to an Emerson RSTI-EP Profinet IRT Network adapter with one input card and one output card.

I am using Sycon.net , I pull the device called NT 100-RE-XX/PROXY from the catalog into the "gray line" ...but in its configuration, there is no mention of devicenet settings, and the primary and secondary network fields are grayed out...I am thinking that I have to load a specific firmware for the NT 100-RE-DN for it to show settings for DeviceNet.

If this works, I am installing about 1500 of these gateways.

The firmware folder that came from the zip file on Hilscher download page contains so many firmware and I do not know which one to use. They have names like "NTDPMNSC.NXF"

P.S I've wired up the NT 100-RE-DN to the 1771-SDN and the error codes shows "70" which is node not on scan list.

 

[plvlce]

P.S I've wired up the NT 100-RE-DN to the 1771-SDN and the error codes shows "70" which is node not on scan list.

DeviceNet only has possible nodes up to 63. Any number higher than that is a fault or status code.

70 is 'Scanner failed Duplicate Node Address check. The node address is already in use.' It sounds like the NT 100-RE-DN may have defaulted to the same node number as you have the SDN set for, in which case you'll have to change one of them.

 

[AlfredoQuintero]

Make sure the baud rate of the gateway matches the baud rate of the scanners and other nodes. I would not recommend automatic baud rate settings for the gateway.

 

[Ken Roach]

A step-by-step walkthrough

Open SyCon.net. During installation you should have set up an Administrator password for the software; I use the same password as my Windows login for simplicity.

A default and empty project named "Untitled.spj" should be open, with a netProject pane, a netDevice pane, and a device library pane on the right side of the screen.

In the device library's Fieldbus tab, expand the PROFINET IO folder, then the Gateway / Stand-Alone Slave folder.

Scroll down and select the NT100-XX-XX device, and drag it into the netDevice pane until a [+] appears over the network bus line and you can "drop" the device into that window.

Right-click on the device and select Configuration -> Gateway

A new configuration windo will open, with a navigation tree on the left. Select Configuration, and a Settings screen will appear.

On the left side, select the Primary network (Port X2) from the dropdown to be "PROFINET IO Controller"

On the right side, select the Secondary network (Port X3) from the dropdown to be "DeviceNet Slave".

That should narrow down the available firmware selection to only a file named "NTPNMDNS.NXF".

Set the Mapping Cycle time to a more realistic value than 1 ms; I recommend 20.

Click the Apply button in the lower right of the Settings screen, then the OK button to close that window.

Now that you have configured the appropriate network choices, when you right-click on the netTAP object in the network layout window, the Configuration folder will have both ProfiNet IO Controller and DeviceNet Slave available for configuration.

Select Configuration -> DeviceNet Slave to configure the essentials of the DeviceNet network.

Under the Bus section, select a MAC ID and a baud rate. I typically make my DeviceNet scanner Node 0, so it make sense to start your NetTAP devices as Node 1 or higher. I would choose 125 kb/s to start with because that is the most forgiving of cabling or termination errors.

Use the scroll bar to scroll down to reveal the I/O size settings. The Consumed and Produced data sizes are default 8 bytes, but can be set for any value between 1 and 255 bytes.

Select the other Configuration catgory in the navigation area to examine the Signal Configuration. For experimentation, I set the I/O sizes to 64 bytes each.

Downloading just this basic configuration *should* allow you to browse the NT100 in RSLinx and RSNetworx for DeviceNet, and to map a polled I/O connection to the PLC-5 data table.

 

[Ken Roach]

If this works, I am installing about 1500 of these gateways.

That is... a lot.

Are you planning to use one NT100 per Emerson ProfiNet I/O adapter, or connect several to each ? If just one, have you looked at the smaller and less expensive NT50 ?

Are you comfortable with your knowledge of the capacities of the networks and devices involved ?

The 1771-SDN shares its block transfer memory between both DeviceNet scanner ports. All told you can address (checks notes ) 712 bytes of produced data and 712 bytes of consumed data.

The maximum DeviceNet slave I/O data size is 255 bytes, so that's all the ProfiNet I/O you can connect to one NT100 unit.

 

[Ken Roach]

Last comment before I STFU for the day on the topic:

The Emerson RSTI-EP user manual suggests that it supports EtherCAT, ProfiNet, or Modbus/TCP.

If this were my system and I didn't already have a supply of DeviceNet scanners, I would strongly consider using an MVI71-MNET module from ProSoft instead, as a Modbus/TCP polling master.

That would eliminate the need for DeviceNet power supplies and cabling and the Hilscher interfaces at all. You could go right to installing Ethernet cabling and switches that will be eventually appropriate for use with ProfiNet and the S7 family controllers you are migrating to.

If the PLC-5 happens to by an Ethernet-equipped PLC-5, I would also consider accomplishing this kind of an I/O bridge with a Red Lion DataStation Plus, RTA network gateway, or Digi One IAP, depending on the volume of data and the speed that is needed.

 

[BeepBob]

That is... a lot.

Are you planning to use one NT100 per Emerson ProfiNet I/O adapter, or connect several to each ? If just one, have you looked at the smaller and less expensive NT50 ?

Are you comfortable with your knowledge of the capacities of the networks and devices involved ?

The 1771-SDN shares its block transfer memory between both DeviceNet scanner ports. All told you can address (checks notes ) 712 bytes of produced data and 712 bytes of consumed data.

The maximum DeviceNet slave I/O data size is 255 bytes, so that's all the ProfiNet I/O you can connect to one NT100 unit.

Hello,

I am hooking many Emerson IO adapter to one Hilscher NT 100 or the Anybus X gateway , the capacity of both gateway is more than enough to accommodate our need

At this point I am leaning toward the Anybus gateway, as the tech support for it is more robust than what Hilscher is offering at the moment. Have an Anybus on the way, horrible lead time still.

 

[Ken Roach]

I just want to be sure you understand the capacity limitations of the 1771-SDN and a single adapter connection on DeviceNet.

I'd be happy to provide any insight I can on using SyCon.net to configure those Hilscher NT100's, since that's what you have in hand.

 

[BeepBob]

Open SyCon.net. During installation you should have set up an Administrator password for the software; I use the same password as my Windows login for simplicity.

A default and empty project named "Untitled.spj" should be open, with a netProject pane, a netDevice pane, and a device library pane on the right side of the screen.

In the device library's Fieldbus tab, expand the PROFINET IO folder, then the Gateway / Stand-Alone Slave folder.

Scroll down and select the NT100-XX-XX device, and drag it into the netDevice pane until a [+] appears over the network bus line and you can "drop" the device into that window.

Right-click on the device and select Configuration -> Gateway

A new configuration windo will open, with a navigation tree on the left. Select Configuration, and a Settings screen will appear.

On the left side, select the Primary network (Port X2) from the dropdown to be "PROFINET IO Controller"

On the right side, select the Secondary network (Port X3) from the dropdown to be "DeviceNet Slave".

That should narrow down the available firmware selection to only a file named "NTPNMDNS.NXF".

Set the Mapping Cycle time to a more realistic value than 1 ms; I recommend 20.

Click the Apply button in the lower right of the Settings screen, then the OK button to close that window.

Now that you have configured the appropriate network choices, when you right-click on the netTAP object in the network layout window, the Configuration folder will have both ProfiNet IO Controller and DeviceNet Slave available for configuration.

Select Configuration -> DeviceNet Slave to configure the essentials of the DeviceNet network.

Under the Bus section, select a MAC ID and a baud rate. I typically make my DeviceNet scanner Node 0, so it make sense to start your NetTAP devices as Node 1 or higher. I would choose 125 kb/s to start with because that is the most forgiving of cabling or termination errors.

Use the scroll bar to scroll down to reveal the I/O size settings. The Consumed and Produced data sizes are default 8 bytes, but can be set for any value between 1 and 255 bytes.

Select the other Configuration catgory in the navigation area to examine the Signal Configuration. For experimentation, I set the I/O sizes to 64 bytes each.

Downloading just this basic configuration *should* allow you to browse the NT100 in RSLinx and RSNetworx for DeviceNet, and to map a polled I/O connection to the PLC-5 data table.

Hello Ken,


I did the steps above and successfully downloaded to the NT 100. However, my 1771-SDN scanner now shows a "79" error code , which is Module failed to transmit a message.

 

[BeepBob]

I think i wired it right

 

[Ken Roach]

That's the correct conductor order: DeviceNet is always red-white-blue-black and the shield connection generally goes in the center of a 5-pole connector.

Error Code 79 is typically shown when the Scanner isn't receiving any message responses from any configured slave devices.

If you can browse the 1771-SDN, the NetTap NT100, and your 1784-U2DN/RSlinx station all at unique node addresses, then you can move on to setting the desired station numbers and configuring both the 1771-SDN's Scanlist and the NT100's DeviceNet Slave configuration.

I would start with something straightforward: set up the NT100 for 64 bytes input and 64 bytes output (using SyCon.net), and make a Scanlist entry and memory map entry for it in the 1771-SDN's Scanlist (using RSNetworx).

 

[AlfredoQuintero]

I think i wired it right

Strictly speaking, you should also connect the shield to the pin in the center.

 

[BeepBob]

Strictly speaking, you should also connect the shield to the pin in the center.

Just added the shield cable, now I get error code 75 'no traffic from other modules on the network"


I still cant see the NT 100 on the browse. I see my U2DN and the scanner though.