June 13, 2010 - As a result of the conversion of Allen-Bradley scanner cards to the M4 AS-Interface master specification, Pepperl+Fuchs AS-Interface Scanners and Gateways for Allen-Bradley PLCs now satisfy all aspects of AS-Interface specification 3.0. Pepperl+Fuchs SST-ASI-SLC scanners operate on the Allen-Bradley SLC503/04/05 PLC backplane, VBM-CLX-DM scanners are designed for the ControlLogix PLCs, and the VBM-MLX/CPLX scanners are used with CompactLogix and MicroLogix 1500 PLCs. Key features of Pepperl+Fuchs AS-Interface scanners for Allen-Bradley PLCs include:
- Support for 4-in/4-out modules with extended addressing – Increasing the possible I/O count to 248 inputs and 248 outputs per network
- Support for analog modules with extended addressing – Giving users the flexibility to add more and/or faster analog I/O modules
- Safety code substitution – A significant simplification when AS-Interface Safety at Work is used
- Bi-directional serial transfer – Supporting diagnostics functions on the devices like the Pepperl+Fuchs advanced 16-channel safety monitor and LCD displays
AS-Interface gateways and scanners are used to connect AS-Interface to PLCs, PCs or upper level bus systems such as PROFIBUS, DeviceNet and EtherNet/IP. They transfer all I/O data between the PLC and the field device, and deliver deterministic and fast data exchange. They collect data from up to 496 inputs and send data to 496 outputs distributed among 124 addressable I/O modules. They require no configuration software to operate.