T100MD1616+ Protocols

MODBUS™  ASCII and RTU and OMRON C20H

With the inclusion of support for both MODBUS ASCII and RTU protocols, the T100MD1616+ is both an open system solution as well as being future-proof!  It is ready to interface to vast majority of other industrial software and hardware. For example, almost all SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) software comes with MODBUS driver which can immediately and painlessly interface with the T100MD1616+. So do most of the Human Machine Interface (HMI, also known as Man-Machine Interface MMI) hardware in the market today.  These are typically LCD Touch Panels  and if they are designed to talk to popular PLC a MODBUS driver is a must have!

Not only does the T100MD1616+ respond to MODBUS commands as slave, it can also act as the MODBUS master controlling other MODBUS ASCII or RTU slave devices. This is accomplished incredibly easily using the built-in READMODBUS and WRITEMODBUS commands supported by TBASIC.  This eliminates the need to use a host computer just to collect data from a few MODBUS or RTU devices. The T100MD1616+ can take the place of the host computer for a much lower cost of deployment,  much more compact and reliable in the hostile industrial environment.

Two independent MODBUS ports

The most incredible value is that the extremely low cost T100MD1616+ actually have two independent UARTs for its two serial ports: COMM1 is an RS232 port and COMM3 is an RS485 port. Both comm ports support MODBUS ASCII and RTU and can run simultaneously! The built-in RS485 port means networking a number of T100MD1616+ will cost you nothing extra  - (except maybe only for the price of the twisted pair cable). You can therefore connect as many as 32 T100MD1616+ to a SCADA host very cost effectively.  By replacing the standard RS485 driver with 1/4 or 1/8 power type (e.g. Linear Technology LTC1487) as many as 256 PLCs can be networked together and pay next to nothing!

Another possible application is to use the RS485 for inter-networking between the PLCs so that data can be shared between the PLCs.   You can use the MODBUS protocol or the native protocol to accomplish this networking function. Hence you can have a network of T100MD1616+ in a big system (such as building automation control) networked together by the RS485 , at the same time each T100MD1616+ node can talk to other MODBUS host or slave devices using its RS232 port. No other PLC in the market today can  match the vast communication capabilities of the T100MD1616+, regardless of price!

Network Diagram

This makes the T100MD1616+ an ideal choice for all applications from standalone machine controller to large systems employing hundreds of PLCs.  Its support of MODBUS protocols protect against obsolescence. And of course not forgetting that it can also be linked to the INTERNET through its support for EMIT 3.0 protocol, further ensuring that equipment built using the T100MD1616+ are all future-proof and can be expanded or inter-connected at a later date.

For more information about the MODBUS and OMRON compatibility, please refer to Chapter 5 of the T100MD1616+ User's Manual  MD-man.pdf