Looking for any recommendations, as I have very little experience with modbus.
I have 4 units, each with 2 stand alone single loop controllers that have modbus capability. I need to get data from these controllers to our BAS system.
My initial thought is to network the 8 controllers and connect them to a Micrologix 1100, then our OPC server can get the tag values over ethernet.
The thing is, the units are portable in theory,(though I don't expect them to be moved much if at all) so if I could keep them separate, that would be better. But I don't want to put in 4 ML1100. My question is, is there a cheaper way to get the modbus data to a remote OPC server. I know the PLC will do it, but is it really necessary? There is no control required, only monitoring.
The bridges I've seen are in the same price range as ML1100, and I'm not clear what would act as the master if no PLC is there?
Thanks for any suggestions,
Rob
I have 4 units, each with 2 stand alone single loop controllers that have modbus capability. I need to get data from these controllers to our BAS system.
My initial thought is to network the 8 controllers and connect them to a Micrologix 1100, then our OPC server can get the tag values over ethernet.
The thing is, the units are portable in theory,(though I don't expect them to be moved much if at all) so if I could keep them separate, that would be better. But I don't want to put in 4 ML1100. My question is, is there a cheaper way to get the modbus data to a remote OPC server. I know the PLC will do it, but is it really necessary? There is no control required, only monitoring.
The bridges I've seen are in the same price range as ML1100, and I'm not clear what would act as the master if no PLC is there?
Thanks for any suggestions,
Rob