EtherNet /IP to DeviceNet link

Rockwell Automation has launched The EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary. A new EtherNet/IP-to-DeviceNet link module has been introduced by Rockwell to allow products that sit on a DeviceNet network to easily communicate with EtherNet/IP-based scanners.

The EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary allows up to six DeviceNet-based units to be scanned via Implicit Messaging and can bridge explicit messaging for all nodes on a DeviceNet network. The EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary uses an internal web server to configure the module, the DeviceNet network and DeviceNet-connected units that fully support the Parameter Object.

The EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary is available as a single Ethernet port or dual Ethernet port module with RJ-45 ports to connect to Ethernet cable, meeting CAT5 or above. Rockwell Automation offers a wide variety of Allen-Bradley Ethernet patch cables with its Bulletin 1585 line of Ethernet cables.

The dual-port 193-DNENCATR Module also supports a Ring Ethernet topology in which all Ethernet nodes are wired in series with one another. It can be used in the Rockwell Automation’s Device Level Ring (DLR) as a slave device in which the EtherNet/IP network will still continue to communicate, even in the event that one of the network lines is disrupted.
Commenting at the UK launch of the product, Steve Pethick, Rockwell Automation director of components for EMEA, said: “Many of our customers, particularly in the food processing sector and in the water industry, have asked for a way to add field devices into their Integrated Architecture solution using EtherNet/IP. This device helps them to do just that; simply, quickly and cost effectively.”

Both devices support a Star Ethernet topology in which all Ethernet nodes wire back to a central Ethernet switch, hub, or router. Rockwell Automation also offers a line of managed and unmanaged Allen-Bradley Ethernet Switches with its Stratix range.