Automation NotebookIssue 5 – 2005Learning ResourcesNotebook Issue

Product Snapshots – Issue 5, 2005

We have added several exciting products since our last edition of the Automation Notebook. Here are some highlights about some of those new products including: DataNet OPCSoftware,  Edison line of fuse products, Ethernet Communication Module H0-ECOM100.

DataNet OPC™ Software Is Here

AutomationDirect now offers DataNet OPC by BizWareDirect. This new software product keeps people connected to plant operations, without binding them to the confines of their facility.

DataNet OPC™ Software DataNet OPC uses Open Connectivity (OPC) technology to communicate live data from industrial devices to a Web page, with no HTML programming required. Data is then available for viewing, printing or archiving on any computer, anywhere the Internet or company intranet is accessible.

For plants that use multiple PLC brands, DataNet OPC is able to provide a more unified approach to data display and logging.

DataNet OPC offers many other useful features, designed to make industrial data more accessible and useful. Dynamic colors allow users to determine the status of their plant operations at a glance and can be used as an early warning system to alert personnel of abnormalities in operations. In addition, a math tool allows the user to request that calculations be performed on the raw data before it is displayed. Visitors to this year’s National Manufacturing Week were exposed to this feature first-hand when DataNet OPC was used, along with DataWorx, to compile and display test scores in the “Automation I.Q. Challenge.”

OPC technology allows easy and inexpensive data collection and display because it is supported by so many different devices. DataNet OPC is compatible with any industrial device that runs on an OPC 1.0 or OPC 2.0 compliant server.

Edison Fuse Line Has Multiple Applications

Edison Fuse Line AutomationDirect now carries products from the Edison line of fuse products. Edison Fuse is a subsidiary of Cooper Industries, the worldwide leader in circuit protection. All Edison fuses can be cross referenced and used as replacements for other name-brand fuses. AutomationDirect offers the most popular 13/32″ x 1-1/2″ models of the Current Limiting Class CC and the Class M Midget general purpose fuses for industrial control applications. Because of their current limiting performance, the Class CC products are sometimes regarded as an upgrade to the Class M general purpose fuses. The CC line is recognized for NEC branch circuit protection and Type 2 coordinated applications for IEC or NEMA starters/contactors. Where adherence to extensive current limiting codes is not required, the Class M general purpose midget fuses provide an effective solution for both time-delay and fast-acting protection. Primary among the applications for the Midget class are supplemental protection of end-use equipment as well as small motors, transformers, solenoids, and other high-inrush power circuits. All fuses are compact in size and offered in boxes of 10. Also available are companion DIN rail-mount fuse holders and panel-mount fuse blocks.

Click here for more information on the new Edison fuses

Ethernet Communication Module H0-ECOM100

Ethernet Communication Module H0-ECOM100Recently added to Automation- Direct’s line of Ethernet communication products is the H0-ECOM100 module. Ethernet communication modules represent a price breakthrough for high-speed, peer-to-peer networking of PLCs. No longer are you forced to designate a single PLC to be the network master. Any PLC can initiate communications with any other PLC.

The H0-ECOM100 supports the industry standard MODBUS TCP/IP Client/Server protocol in addition to the standard IP and IPX protocols. This allows a DL05 or DL06 PLC with an H0-ECOM100 module to serve as a client (master) or as a server (slave) on a MODBUS TCP/IP Ethernet network. The H0-ECOM100 can actively issue MODBUS commands to other nodes or devices on the MODBUS TCP/IP network, or simply respond to connected MODBUS TCP/IP clients.

Link your PLCs with PCs using industry standard MODBUS TCP/IP protocol connected through standard cables, hubs, and repeaters. Or, use our KEPDirect I/O Server to link to your favorite HMI/SCADA, data historian, MES or ERP software to DirectLOGIC PLCs. Our LookoutDirect HMI and DataWorx data collection software include ECOM drivers. DirectSOFT32 Programming Software can be used to monitor or update the program in any DirectLOGIC PLC on the network.

Free NetEdit3 Software ships with the ECOM Module User Manual to be used for setting up the ECOM modules for your network.

Click here for more information on the new Ethernet Communication Module H0-ECOM100