SureServo2 Communication Card Firmware Update from AutomationDirect

In this video, we’ll update the SureServo2 Modbus TCP module. The exact same process applies to the EtherNet/IP module. They look identical so double-check the label to make sure you have the right one for your application. If you currently have a module installed on your drive, you can see the current firmware version in parameter 3.046. Remove power from the drive and if you are using a USB cable without the isolator, then remove that too so it doesn’t provide power to the drive's electronics. Remove the module from the drive by pulling the four mounting screws and then reaching under the module and pressing the bottom tab up while pulling the module away from the drive. On the backside of the module, move this little switch to firmware update mode, and then mount the card to the drive. This video shows you how if you need a refresher. Apply power to the drive. You should see the module's power light turn on. The cool thing about the SureServo2 com modules, is they have a built-in web server which means you can update the module's firmware from any PC with a web browser and an ethernet port – you don’t need any special software. But, you do need to set up the PC's network interface to talk to the module. When you moved that little switch to the firmware update mode, you told the card to go to IP address 192.168.1.3. So you just set up your network interface to be on the same subnet. You can use your PC’s built-in network interface, or I like using a USB to ethernet converter which I preset to an IP address and mask that’s compatible with the com modules IP address. Plug an ethernet cord into the module and then into your PC’s ethernet port – or in my case the USB to ethernet dongle. Be careful, don’t plug the cord into the drive’s RJ45 port – that’s a serial port – plug it into the module’s RJ45 port – which is an ethernet port. When you plug in the ethernet cable you should see some activity on the link light while the network negotiates, and it will eventually settle down to a solid yellow with an occasional blink or two. If it goes straight to solid with no blinking, then try re-plugging the cable in. If it still goes straight to solid and you are using a network switch, then try a different switch. Some older switches may not be compatible. Given that the network is set up and your link light looks good, you just bring up a browser and type in the module’s IP address. Which brings up the modules webserver. Select the new firmware file you downloaded from the AutomationDirect.com website. That file will have a WEB extension and will look something like this. I have both here, so I’ll select the Modbus TCP version, and hit update. The link light will blink briefly and before you know it the update’s complete. Power down the drive, remove the module, flip that little switch back to normal, and remount the module. That switch is intentionally hard to get to – you don’t want it to get bumped into the Firmware update mode while in use – it will prevent the card from working. When you apply power to the drive, it reads the modules firmware version and puts it in parameter 3.046, so if you see your new firmware version there, then you know you did everything correctly and are good to go. If you see a zero there, it probably means you forgot to put that little switch back, so double-check that. Click here to learn more about the SureServo2 drive and to find more tutorial videos. Click here to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you will be notified when we publish new videos like this and click here to learn about AutomationDirect’s free award-winning support options.