smcmains (Customer) asked a question.
BRX plc communication with Omron I4L and Ace software
I have an application where I need to communicate with an Omron I4L robot over Ethernet/IP but not really sure how to get it setup or if its even possible. I was going to use the Omron NJ series PLC which is a seamless integration but they are not available for a few more months. Anyone ever communicated with Ace software (Omron or Adept) robots? Once I get the communication handled I can take care of everything else. I have attached a text file of their EDS but I'm lost. Thanks for any info you can provide.
Plain Text Adept_Robots eds
At present time BRX doesn't support implicit EIP (Class 1) scanner. This is top priority for the development team for BRX. You could try to setup an explicit connection (Class 3) to see if you can get it to work. Sometimes it will. Productivity series supports Class 1 scanner if you're open to using that controller.
"You could try to set up an explicit connection (Class 3) to see if you can get it to work."
Note: BRX does not currently support Class 3 messaging either. Class 3 is 'Connected Explicit Messaging.' The BRX currently supports 'Unconnected Explicit Messaging.'
Is this not a specific Class in EIP? I think only about 5 people know all the terminology associated with EIP.
Correct. 'Unconnected Explicit Messaging' is not included in the CIP Transport Classes. Often times 'Unconnected Explicit Messaging' is confused with Class 3 'Connected Explicit Messaging' due to the explicit behavior of the messaging. However, there is never a CIP connection made with 'Unconnected Explicit Messaging.'
I am in the confused boat because I thought explicit made it a Class 3. What then is the practical difference between Connected and Unconnected messages and how it is implemented in the BRX?
These questions are definitely a tangent to @smcmains original post. Therefore, any additional questions that follow this tangent path should be posed in their own topic. In the meantime, however, here is a link from the ODVA that is designed to help vendors grasp some of the many concepts and terms of EtherNet/IP and CIP.
https://www.odva.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PUB00213R0_EtherNetIP_Developers_Guide.pdf
Page 26 offers some basic and quick descriptions of Transport Classes and Unconnected Messaging.
Pages 37, 38, and 39 show the traffic flow diagrams of Connected I/O Messaging, Connected Explicit Messaging, and Unconnected Explicit Messaging.
If the Omron device will accept Unconnected Explicit requests to the Assemblies specified in the EDS file, then feel free to try using the information below to target the device with the BRX. Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that this will work.
Robot Command Assembly
Service: 0x10 Set_Attribute_Single
Class: 0x04
Instance 0x04
Attribute 0x03
Robot Response Assembly
Service: 0x0E Get_Attribute_Single
Class: 0x04
Instance: 0x03
Attribute: 0x03
Robot Output Assembly
Service: 0x10 Set_Attribute_Single
Class: 0x04
Instance 0x06
Attribute 0x03
Robot Input Assembly
Service: 0x0E Get_Attribute_Single
Class: 0x04
Instance: 0x05
Attribute: 0x03
Good luck!