GE Fanuc adds Ethernet interface to Series 90-30 PLCs

GE Fanuc Automation Americas Inc. has enhanced its Series 90-30 programmable logic controllers (PLCs) with a new Ethernet Network Interface Unit (ENIU).

By Control Engineering Staff August 4, 2005

GE Fanuc Automation Americas Inc. has enhanced its Series 90-30 programmable logic controllers (PLCs) with a new Ethernet Network Interface Unit (ENIU). This communications module enables users to connect Series 90-30 I/O points over Ethernet to a master controller through one point of connect, which helps save configuration time and reduce overall components to decrease costs. Users can connect the programmer anywhere on the I/O network and monitor, configure, and troubleshoot any ENIU or the master controller, reducing downtime and machine commissioning. For easy implementation of the Series 90-30 ENIU, GE Fanuc’s Proficy Machine Edition software offers configuration tools in a universal development environment.

Series 90-30 ENIU features a built-in Ethernet switch with two (one IP address) 10/100Mbit ports (RJ-45), allowing the user to daisy chain to the next ENIU without needing expensive external switches. ENIU can be expanded with up to seven local I/O expansion bases with a total of 70 I/O modules per drop.

GE Fanuc adds that it offers a wide range of discrete and analog I/O modules to accommodate a variety of applications. For quick startup, installation requires only standard Ethernet components, without requiring specialty connectors or external devices. This new module also allows up to 2,048 discrete inputs, 2,048 discrete outputs, 1,264 analog inputs, and 632 analog outputs per drop.

ENIU reportedly is ideal for applications requiring remote high density I/O per drop over a high-speed network. Typical applications include material handling, process control, packaging, and assembly machines, in which control I/O is dense per drop, decentralized and requires high data transfer speed. The added advantages of compatibility with standard off-the-shelf Ethernet components and a built-in switch is that they further reduce the cost of implementation.

—Jim Montague, news editor, Control Engineering, jmontague@reedbusiness.com