Motion & Specialty Modules

Today's PLCs need to communicate to numerous industrial devices including remote I/O, motor drives, servo controllers, operator interfaces, and oftentimes server-level PCs running various manufacturing related applications. These devices can all use different connection strategies and different communication protocols. Therefore, it's vital for machine builders and other users to install PLCs that can seamlessly connect with existing older networks as well as new ones, since each installation site can have very different communication needs.

• Serial communication, most commonly Modbus RTU, has been around for decades and is still in widespread use. Although reliable, performance is limited and serial protocols are a poor choice for high-speed and other demanding applications.
• Due to faster transmission speeds and other advantages, Ethernet has emerged as the dominant standard for PLC communication and encompasses many industrial protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Ethernet TCP/IP, Modbus TCP/IP, and Profinet. With Ethernet, PLC communication remains fast while talking to several dissimilar devices such as PLCs, HMIs, and field I/O all on the same cable.
• USB and wireless communication like Bluetooth are more recent innovations that are making headway into industrial automation.

The BRX PLC/CPU has several communications ports built-in, plus an optional POM slot. These ports support an assortment of industrial protocols including Modbus, EtherNet/IP, and MQTT. For most applications, the communication ports provided by the PLC/CPU is sufficient. To add capability or capacity, serial expansion modules are available to add up to 4 RS-422 or RS-232 serial ports.