Industrial Network Connections for Genetix GCM and MC3

Industrial Network Solutions for Merrick Weighing Controllers

An increasing number of Merrick installations use industrial networks rather than relay contacts and analog signals. We see better performance, better accuracy and drastically better reliability. This is due to better on-line drill-down capabilities into feeder data, as well as the wide-spread use of trend recording. Other benefits include

· Highly integrated control solutions, allowing more innovative process control.

· Greatly reduced cabling cost - one network cable instead of a whole cable tray.

· Better resolution and accuracy for variable transfer - floating point numbers instead of 4-20 mA.

· More parameters and status bits can be added as needed.

· Better integrity - both sides will be aware of a network failure and can take action.

Newer Merrick MC³ and all Genetix controllers have built-in support for Allen-Bradley DF-1 Point-To-Point and Modicon Modbus ASCII and RTU. This allows for direct or converter based interfacing to almost all industrial networks. Data exchange between the controllers and the supervising system is done with table transfer. All applications use a Common Interface Table (CIT) for this purpose. The table has two components, Status and Control. The Status Table is transferred from the Merrick controller to the supervising system, and the Control Table goes the other way.

For configuration and troubleshooting see documents

1. Genetix GCM Configuration and Troubleshooting for DF-1

2. Genetix GCM Configuration and Troubleshooting for Modbus

3. MC3 Configuration and Troubleshooting for DF-1

4. MC3 Configuration and Troubleshooting for Modbus

There are three classifications for network interfaces:

1. Fully Supported (FS), meaning that we have equipment on hand, such as PLCs and converters, to test any scenario. Under some circumstances, we can directly provide customized solutions, such as network configuration files or PLC logic files.

2. Existing Installations (EI), meaning that at least one user is operating a network successfully, and we have the configuration information or, in some cases, contact information.

3. Conceivable Solutions (CS), where we can infer that a certain configuration should work.

Note: Obsolete means that the solution uses a third party product that is no longer available.

There are three types of network layouts:

1. Point-to-Point (PtP), one Merrick controller connected to one port.

2. MultiDrop (MDrop), Many Merrick controllers directly connected to one port.

3. Point-to-Point to interface, then MultiDrop (PtPMD), one Merrick controller connected to one interface, interfaces in a bus configuration.

Network	Support	Converter	Type
Ethernet/IP to A-B ControlLogix or CompactLogix	FS	HMS Anybus ABC3007	Mdrop
Modbus-TCP General	FS	HMS Anybus ABC3028	Mdrop
DeviceNet to A-B PLC-5	EI - Obsolete	A-B 1761-NET-DNI Series B	PtPMD
DeviceNet to A-B ControlLogix	FS - Obsolete	A-B 1761-NET-DNI Series B	PtPMD
Profibus to Siemens Siematic S7	FS - Obsolete	Anybus ABC-PDP	MDrop
EtherNet to A-B ControlLogix or CompactLogix	FS - Obsolete	A-B 1761-NET-ENI Series B, C	PtPMD
EtherNet/IP to A-B ControlLogix or CompactLogix	FS - Obsolete	Anybus ABC-EIP	MDrop
EtherNet to A-B PLC5/40E	EI - Obsolete	A-B 1761-NET-ENI Series B, C	PtPMD
EtherNet to A-B SLC5/05	EI - Obsolete	A-B 1761-NET-ENI Series B, C	PtPMD
ControlNet to ControlLogix	EI - Obsolete	A-B 1761-NET-DNI Series B, 1788-CN2DN	PtPMD
DeviceNet general	CS	Anybus ABC-DEV	Mdrop
ControlNet general	FS	Anybus ABC-CNT	Mdrop
Modbus Plus General	CS	Anybus ABC-MBP	Mdrop
DH+ to PLC5	EI - Obsolete	Datalink DL2000 KFX	PtPMD
DH+ to SLC5/04	EI - Obsolete	Datalink DL2000 KFX	PtPMD
DF-1 to PLC-5 Channel 0	EI	Direct	PtP
DF-1 to SLC-5/05 Channel 0	EI	Direct	PtP
DF-1 to ControlLogix Channel 0	FS	Direct	PtP
DF-1 to MicroLogix	FS	Direct	PtP

Genetix, MC³ and MC² controllers all support a multi-drop serial protocol, called ScaleNet, allowing direct access to the controller databases. There are three Merrick products available that utilize ScaleNet:

1. WinMerik, a Windows application for transfer of entire controller databases between controllers and PC files, allows for monitoring, logging and DDE serving of up to 10 controller registers. If you already have it, download this updated models.ini file and copy it over your existing one, typically in C:\Program Files\WinMerik.

2. SuperBridge for Allen Bradley, a DOS based application that bridges between ScaleNet and Data Highway Plus or DF-1. (Obsolete)

3. SuperBridge for Modicon, a DOS based application that bridges between ScaleNet and Modbus Plus. (Obsolete)

Some other helpful links:

Genetix Firmware Application Overview.

MC³ Hardware Reference Manual.

MC³ Firmware Application Overview.

Anybus is a registered trademark of HMS Industrial Networks AB

DeviceNet™ and EtherNet/IP™ are trademarks of the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association.

Profibus & Profinet are the^® registered trademarks of PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V.

MODBUS^® is a registered trademark of Schneider Electric.

PLC-5, SLC, ControlLogix and Allen-Bradley are trademarks of Rockwell Automation.

2024-02-08/CZM