IO-Link is a popular communication technology that is used to connect smart sensors to industrial control systems.
ifm is a founding member of the IO-Link consortium and is a leading manufacturer of innovative IO-Link hardware that is used in many different industries.
In this article, I’ll show you how to integrate an ifm IO-Link distance sensor into a Logix 5000 control system using an ifm IO-Link master.
Allen-Bradley starter package
ifm provide a Startup Package that contains everything you need to integrate ifm IO-Link devices with Allen Bradley control systems. You can download the Starter Package using the link in the description below.
On my computer, I have downloaded and extracted the contents of the starter package. Inside, I can see that it is a set of numbered folders that brings us through the process of integrating ifm IO-Link devices to a control system.
Let’s work through these steps.
Install the EDS files and create the device
In Studio 5000 Logix Designer, I can install the EDS file for the IO-Link master by clicking on Tools and then Device Description Installation Tool.
In the Device Description Installation Tool, I follow the prompts to register a new EDS file.
On the registration page, I browse to folder 5. EDS, which is part of the Startup Package, and select the ifm_IOL_Master_AL1120.eds file, which is the IO-Link master that I am using in this demo, and click Open.
Then I continue the process to register the device.
Now that the device is registered, I can add it to the I/O Configuration of the project. To do that, I right-click on the Ethernet port of the device and select New Module
In the New Module dialog, I search for the AL1120 IO-Link master that I have just registered and click Create to add an instance to the project.
In the New Module dialog, I give the module a name and set the IP address to 192.168.1.250. This is the default IP address of the ifm IO-Link Masters.
Next, I click on Change to open the Module Definition.
In this dialog, I can configure the definition of the IO-Link master. In the name column, I verify that Exclusive Owner IO-Acyc-Diag is selected.
Then I change the size units from SINT to INT and verify that the size is correct. For a 4-port IO-Link master, which is what I’m using in this example, the input size should be 123, and the output size should be 87. For an 8-port IO-Link master, the input size should be 223, and the output size should be 151.
Now that the module is configured, I click OK to close the Module Definition dialog and select Yes in the warning dialog.
Then I click OK to close the New Module dialog, and finally, I click Close to close the Select Module Type dialog.
Now we are ready to write the logic to retrieve data from the distance sensor.
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Program the PLC
The easiest way to communicate with an ifm IO-Link device is to use the Add-On instructions that have been developed by ifm.
To do that, I expand the Assets folder of the project, right-click on the Add-On Instruction folder, and select Import Add-On Instruction.
In the Import Add-On Instruction dialog that opens, I browse to the folder 3. Add-On Instructions, which is part of the Startup Package.
In this folder, I select 1. ifm devices and browse to the O5D_OIDxxx folder. This folder contains the Add-On Instructions for the O5D150 distance sensor that I am using in this demo.
In this folder, I select the 4 port Add-On Instruction since my IO-Link Master has 4 ports and click Open to import the Add-On Instruction.
On the Import Configuration dialog, I click OK to finalize the import and the Add-On Instruction is now available in the Assets folder of the project.
To use this Add-On Instruction, I open the MainRoutine and drag the Add-On Instruction from the Assets folder and drop it on the rung.
Next, I create a backing tag for the instruction by right-clicking the question mark and selecting New Tag.
In the New Tag dialog, I give the tag a name and click Create.
Now, I can parameterize the instruction by adding a reference to the PLC Input area and configuring the Port Number as shown here. In this case, the sensor is connected to the first port of my IO-Link master so I set the Port Number to 1.
Now we are ready to download and test the project
Test the project
In Studio 5000 Logix Designer, I click the RS Who button to open the Who Active dialog.
In this dialog, I select the controller that I want to download to and click Download.
In the Download dialog, I click Download to confirm that I want to download to the PLC.
When the download is complete, I click Yes to put the controller back into Remote Run mode.
In the I/O Configuration, I can see that the PLC is able to communicate with the IO-Link master without errors.
And in the MainRoutine, I can see data coming in from my sensor.
Wrap-Up
In this video, you saw how you can integrate ifm IO-Link hardware into an Allen-Bradley control system.
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