# PROFINET PLC Configuration

To set up a PROFINET I/O connection between your Vision Controller or Communication Card and a Siemens controller, the vision system must first be added to the controller's hardware configuration, using the Siemen's HW Config tool:

1. Open the SIMATIC manager and load the PLC's project.
2. Select the SIMATIC 300 or SIMATIC 400 node, then double-click on the Hardware node in the object list.
3. The HW Config tool will now appear. In order to add PROFINET IO nodes to the controller, a PROFINET IO system must be present in the hardware configuration diagram; if there isn't a PROFINET IO system in the diagram, complete the following steps:
   - Ensure that the PROFINET IO interface on the CPU has been assigned a subnet address; to verify this, double-click on the PROFINET IO module on the CPU. If the PROFINET IO module's Networked status indicates "No," then click the Properties button and add a new subnet.
   - Once the PROFINET IO interface on the CPU has been assigned a subnet, add a PROFINET IO system to the hardware configuration diagram by right-clicking the PROFINET IO module in the PLC configuration and selecting Insert PROFINET IO System.

4. If this is the first Vision Controller or Communication card to be added to the PROFINET network, the Cognex-supplied GSD file will need to be installed. To install the GSD file, follow these steps:

   Note: VisionPro and Cognex Designer include two GSD files, one for the Cognex Vision Controller and one for the Cognex Communication Card.
   1. From the HW Config tool, select Options > Install GSD Files from the menu.
   2. Press the Browse button and select the folder C:\Program Files\Cognex\VisionPro\ffp\gsd.
   3. Press the Select All button, then click the Install button to install the hardware description both system types.
5. To add a your system to a PROFINET network, browse to the appropriate node of the Hardware Catalog (PROFINET IO > Additional Field Devices > Controllers> Cognex Vision Controllers or PROFINET IO > Additional Field Devices > Network Components> Cognex Communications Devices ), and then drag an instance of the desired vision system into the PROFINET IO System in the hardware configuration.
6. Set the device name and IP address to the exact name and IP address of the device that you configured.
7. The Vision Controller or Communication Card should now be displayed as a device on the PROFINET IO system.

Note: Note: If an underscore was used in the device name, the underscore will have to be replaced by a hyphen when the vision system's name is input in PROFINET. For example, if the system was named "System_Top" using the Comm Card Configurator, it will need to be renamed to "System-Top" in PROFINET.