Mitsubishi MELSEC Communication Protocols

In-Sight vision systems are capable of communicating with Mitsubishi MELSEC Automation Controllers using three different MELSEC communication protocols.

Note: The term Programmable Logic Controllers/Motion Controllers (PLC/MC) is used in the In-Sight Explorer GUI, which is synonymous with the term Automation Controllers. Also, in this topic, Robot PLC/MC and Controllers are referred as "Automation Controller".

In-Sight vision systems support three methods for communicating with Mitsubishi MELSEC Automation Controllers: 

  CC-Link* CC-Link IE Field Basic SLMP SLMP SCanner
PLC/Motion Controllers Supported Supported Supported Supported
Robot Controllers**     Supported Supported

*CC-Link is only available on In-Sight vision systems using In-Sight firmware 4.x.x, and is not available on In-Sight vision systems/sensors running In-Sight firmware 5.x.x or later.

** The In-Sight 2000 series vision sensor does not support robot controllers.

In-Sight vision systems can also be configured for the iQ Sensor Solution using the SLMP Scanner protocol.

CC-Link

Communication between an Automation Controller and an In-Sight vision system on a CC-Link network is facilitated through the use of the In-Sight CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module. This connection only supports data synchronization, and does not provide a built-in means to send commands (such as "trigger," "change job," or "Online/Offline") from the Automation Controller to the vision system. The CC-Link V1 network supports up to 112 bits and 16 words of input and output data; while also capable of occupying one station and using between one and eight cycles. The CC-Link V2 network supports up to 1008 bits and 128 words of input and output data; while also capable of occupying between one and four stations and using between one and eight cycles. The ReadCCLinkBitBuffer, ReadCCLinkWordBuffer, WriteCCLinkBitBuffer and WriteCCLinkWordBuffer functions are used to communicate data between a vision system and an Automation Controller, via the CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module, on the CC-Link network. For more information, see ReadCCLinkBitBuffer, ReadCCLinkWordBuffer, WriteCCLinkBitBuffer and WriteCCLinkWordBuffer.

Note: CC-Link is only available on In-Sight vision systems using In-Sight firmware 4.x.x, and is not available on In-Sight vision systems running In-Sight firmware 5.1.0 and later. For a complete list of models and supported firmware versions, see Firmware Versions.

CC-Link IE Field Network Basic

CC-Link IE Field Basic is a protocol designed to integrate Ethernet devices into a Mitsubishi Automation Controller. As opposed to the existing SLMP (MC Protocol), the Mitsubishi automation controllers act as the master, driving the communications to the slave devices over standard UDP messaging. The communications support 64 bits and 32 16-bit words of data per station in each direction, with each slave supporting 4 stations. The data is mapped into controller memory through the Mitsubishi setup tools (GXWorks 2/3).

Once the protocol is enabled and the vision system is configured in the controller, the controller will begin cyclic communications to the In-Sight vision system through a request/response mechanism.

SLMP

The basic Seamless Message Protocol (SLMP) connection supports the exchange of data between an Automation Controller and the In-Sight vision system. This connection does not provide a built-in means to send commands (such as "trigger," "change job," or "Online/Offline") from the Automation Controller to the vision system. Executing In-Sight commands via the basic SLMP connection requires the use of In-Sight Native Mode string commands, along with additional programming within the Automation Controller. The basic SLMP connection is best for applications that do not include In-Sight commands issued by the Automation Controller, or for compatibility with older applications that were designed to work with Native Mode string commands. For more information, see Native Mode Commands.

SLMP Scanner

The SLMP Scanner connection also supports the exchange of data between an Automation Controller and the In-Sight vision system. However, this connection also provides dedicated control and status channels that allow the Automation Controller to issue vision system commands through direct addressing of the control and status registers. In addition, the SLMP Scanner connection provides dedicated command channels for sending and receiving more advanced Native Mode string commands that are not included in the control and status channels. The SLMP Scanner connection is best for applications that include vision system commands issued by the Automation Controller, and do not need to be compatible with existing applications that use Native Mode commands. For more information, see Native Mode Commands.

This topic covers the configuration and usage of SLMP Scanner with In-Sight vision systems, using In-Sight Explorer. For information about using SLMP Scanner within the EasyBuilder development environment, please refer to the Help tab of the Palette.

Note: The SLMP Scanner connection is only supported by In-Sight vision systems running In-Sight Explorer firmware version 4.5.0 or later, and In-Sight Explorer software version 4.5.0 or later.

iQ Sensor Solution

Mitsubishi iQ Sensor Solution is a factory protocol that enables the GX Works2 software to control In-Sight vision systems over SLMP Scanner protocol. For more information, see Configure In-Sight Vision Systems for SLMP Scanner Communications.

The topic covers how to discover In-Sight vision systems on the network and read/write the vision system's SLMP Scanner parameter settings and monitor the status of a vision system from GX Works 2.

Note: iQ Sensor Solution is only available on In-Sight vision systems using In-Sight firmware 4.x.x, or 5.7.4 or later.