PROFINET PLC Configuration

Distributed I/O (Remote I/O) is connected through PROFINET IO. In this configuration, which retains the I/O view of PROFIBUS, user data from field devices are periodically transmitted into the process model of the control system.

PROFINET IO describes a device model, which consists of insertion places (slots) and groups of I/O channels (subslots). The technical characteristics of the field devices are described by the GSD (General Station Description) on an XML basis.

PROFINET IO distinguishes between the three following device types:

  • IO-Controller: Controller on which the automation program is run.
  • IO-Device: A remotely assigned field device, which is assigned to an IO-Controller.
  • IO-Supervisor: A programming device (PC), which runs commissioning and diagnostic functions.

The PROFINET IO engineering process is similar to PROFIBUS: Decentralized field buses are assigned to one or more control systems during configuration; the IO-Device is configured to the actual system expansion, based on the content in the GSD file; and the IO-Device is simultaneously integrated, appropriately parameterized and configured into the PROFINET topology.

After the engineering process has been completed, the expansion data is loaded into the IO-Controller. The IO-Controller independently takes over the data exchange with the IO-Device.

This section describes how to connect a Siemens PLC to an In-Sight vision system, using PROFINET IO communications. PROFINET IO allows an In-Sight vision system's inputs and outputs to be mapped into process memory in the Siemens PLC. Once these values have been established, they are synchronized at an interval defined by the update rate of the PROFINET IO system.

  1. Open 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:

    1. 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.
    2. 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 system 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:

    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\In-Sight\In-Sight Vision Suite Adapters\In-Sight ViDi 1.2.0\FFP\In-Sight D9xx\GSD

    3. Press the Select All button, then click the Install button to install the hardware description.
  5. To add your vision system to a PROFINET network, browse to the appropriate node of the Hardware Catalog, 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 system should now be displayed as a device on the PROFINET IO system.