February 22, 2011—Exlar announces that Modbus TCP/IP has been added to Tritex II linear and rotary actuators. To maintain standard connectivity, the EtherNet connection is offered through an M12 connector. The Modbus TCP protocol pairs the robust Modbus RTU protocol already supported by the Tritex product line with the convenience of EtherNet connectivity.. In addition to Modbus TCP support, Exlar Expert software now includes enhanced functionality for customers using Modbus commands through an HMI or PLC Rather than searching through manuals for individual parameter addresses while programming the PLC, a Modbus Mapping table allows users to map all parameters they wish to use in a contiguous register bank composed of up to 100 registers.
This will allow a PLC program to perform a single read operation and a single write operation to all selected registers, rather than reading and writing one register at a time or being forced to read in blocks of data that may not all be used. Tritex II actuators operate from 100-240VAC, allowing direct connection to factory power sources. Enhanced software features include 16 programmable indexes, linked moves and firmware flash upgrade capability via the actuator’s Modbus port. This port—through the RS/485 protocol—allows complete control, programming and monitoring of all aspects of the Tritex II actuator as it performs an application. Other communications options include Ethernet IP, HART, CAN Open and CAN J1939 protocols.