Connect Smart Field Devices to Your PLC: IO-Link, CANopen on ET 200SP, and Cognex In-Sight
THE DEEP DIVE
Get More Data From Your Smart Field Devices
A sensor starts acting up, and all your PLC shows is a single on/off bit. Most field devices today know much more than that, like temperatures, diagnostics and even which product they are set up to inspect. The hard part is getting that data into your PLC.
Today's path covers three common ways to do it. First, you set up an IO-Link master on a Siemens ET 200SP and read temperatures from a cabinet cooling unit. Next, you connect the same ET 200SP to a CANopen network and swap data with CAN devices. Last, you use a CompactLogix and the MSG instruction to switch a Cognex In-Sight camera to a new job during a product changeover.
Configure IO-Link Devices in Siemens TIA Portal - Set up a CM 4x IO-Link master on an ET 200SP, read Pt100 temperatures from a cabinet air blower, and change its switching thresholds while it runs.
Set Up a CANopen Manager and Slave on the ET 200SP - Configure CM CAN modules as Manager and Slave, load the setup from an S7-1500, and exchange PDO data with CANopen devices.
Change Cognex In-Sight Jobs From a CompactLogix PLC - Add the camera to your Studio 5000 I/O tree and switch it to a new job with the MSG instruction over EtherNet/IP.
COURSE
Cognex In-Sight Machine Vision Industrial Development
Learn how vision systems are used on the plant floor, how to wire and set up a Cognex In-Sight camera, and how to build and troubleshoot jobs in In-Sight Explorer. You can practice with the free software and emulator Cognex provides.
QUICK HITS
Do the Math in Allen Bradley Ladder Logic
Analog signals, batch counts and recipe totals all need some math before they mean anything. Allen Bradley gives you a set of math instructions for this, and picking the right one keeps your logic easy to read and easy to fix.
Scale Values With the MUL Instruction - Multiply two integers or floats, the building block for scaling analog signals.
Find the Remainder With the MOD Instruction - Get what is left over after a division, like the leftover parts at the end of a batch.
Write a Full Formula With the CPT Instruction - Put a whole expression, even SIN and COS, in one instruction, and learn when simple math instructions are the better choice.
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INDUSTRY PULSE
Audi to Build Its First U.S. Factory, a $4B Plant in Georgia
Audi is investing $4 billion in its first U.S. plant, at the Middle Georgia Mega Site in Peach County near Macon. The factory will build premium SUVs for North America, up to 200,000 vehicles a year. Construction starts in 2027, and the first vehicles are planned for the early 2030s. Audi said the plant will cut its exposure to the 15% U.S. tariff on European car imports.
In Other News:
U.S. Steel to Invest Nearly $3B in a Hot Strip Mill Near Pittsburgh - U.S. Steel will build a new hot strip mill at its Edgar Thomson Plant, its oldest running plant, first opened in 1875. Funding grew from an earlier $2 billion to $2.5 billion range. The new mill replaces the hot strip mill at the nearby Irvin Plant, and the company says it will not result in job losses.
FCC Lets Intel Keep Servicing Its Foreign-Made Robots - In July, the FCC put industrial robots, humanoids and power inverters on a list of equipment that can no longer get new FCC approval. That blocks new models and limits software and firmware updates for imported robots. Intel got a waiver to keep maintaining, updating and replacing parts on its AGVs through October 2027, saying a full replacement would take years.
Mitsubishi Power Adds 220+ Jobs in $490M Savannah Expansion - Mitsubishi Power Americas will add 450,000 square feet to its Savannah Machinery Works in Georgia, where it builds gas turbines, steam turbines and other power generation equipment. The $490 million project will create more than 220 jobs in manufacturing, engineering, quality, maintenance and logistics.
RESOURCES
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🏁 What’s Next?
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Have a great day, and until next time!
With ❤️ from the SolisPLC team
