Control.com - Nerds in Control

Keyence, who I am using for fiber optic sensing of parts, has come out with a network module that communicates via Ethernet/IP. I would like to talk to this module straight from a mini PC using VB.net so I can analyze the fiber optic values.

I do know that the module outputs the information I'm looking for.

I do not know how to connect. Here are few options that I've come across.

1. OPC (requires me to setup an OPC server and client? sounds complicated just to pass a few a few bytes back and forth with a little module)

2. DDE (inefficient?)

3. Ethernet/IP (requires me to write my own class librarys? Available from OVDA.)

Are there any other options? I've run stepper motors off a serial port and setup IO via USB and by comparison this seems a pain in the a@@!

Also, the module can also be had in DeviceNet, CClink and EtherCat

It's a shame that it can't be had in Modbus/TCP. That one you could write in a few hours. For EtherNet/IP, I would suggest buying a .Net component. Rolling your own is a pain.

OPC probably won't work. First, you'd have to buy an OPC server, and then either write an OPC client or buy a OPC client .Net component. More importantly, most OPC servers won't scan I/O, which is likely what this device is expecting.

There are some hardware options, like the AnyBus X, which can scan EtherNet/IP on one side and look like a Modbus/TCP server on the other. This is probably an expensive way to do it, plus the hassle of more hardware. Buying (or even building) an EtherNet/IP component is probably the better route.

EtherCAT has an open source stack available, although I'm not sure how nicely it plays with .Net. EtherCAT is a weird animal. I'd stick with EtherNet/IP for what you're doing. (Although, again, Modbus/TCP would be a lot easier.)

DeviceNet or CC-Link would require hardware.

-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.

I would suggest some off the shelf .net drivers from a company such as Automated Solutions or Software Toolbox.  If you write your own protocol driver for a one-off project, you may spend a disproportionate amount of time reinventing the wheel for the driver code.  If it is a volume product, then writing your own protocol driver makes more sense.

 Bill Sturm

We've just completed a .NET library for Ethernet/IP and CIP messaging. As far as I know, we are the only company to offer the Ethernet/IP library stack for .NET, other companies like Automated Solutions have specific drivers based on EIP, but not the EIP library itself.

It does require a bit of knowledge about how to assemble packets to get data in/out of the device, but we built a ControlLogix driver off of our stack and we are very happy with the performance. Our development team can help with implementation issues.

Check out our web site, http://eshop.6dsystems.com/?product=eipnet and let us know if we can help. Also feel free to contact our development team (devteam (at) 6dsystems.com) if you want to discuss if our library is a good fit.

Hi Ron,

I am trying to find your link no success.

Jaro

Look at http://sourceforge.net/projects/advancedhmi/