Get Your ASCII Devices Connected Directly to the Data Table of Your Allen-Bradley PLC
The 460ETCA links serial ASCII devices to 1-5 Allen-Bradley PLCs. With the 460ETCA you can connect ASCII devices to user-defined Tags or Registers in Allen-Bradley PLCs. You can also connect ASCII weather stations, UPS systems, and other devices to Allen-Bradley PLCs.
How Does the Data Move In and Out of the PLC?
Map incoming and outgoing ASCII data directly to user-defined tags or registers in your Allen-Bradley PLC. Then, allocate two areas of tags or register blocks in your Allen-Bradley PLC. One area accepts write-only tags or register blocks for ASCII data, while the other holds read-only tags or register blocks to send data to your ASCII device. You map ASCII data into read and write locations in the data table of your Allen-Bradley PLC.
If your device uses delimiters, configure the 460ETCA to automatically remove delimiters from incoming messages and add them back to outgoing messages, eliminating the need to handle delimiters in your PLC. Additionally, if data parsing is required, the 460ETCA can parse a string of ASCII data into up to 20 segments by delimiter or offset. It provides a simple ASCII interface, making integration straightforward.
For more gateway solutions check out our Solutions for Allen-Bradley PLCs page.
Why Use Real Time Automation as a Gateway Supplier?
The 460ETCA provides an option to access those ASCII devices that always seem to creep into your architecture no matter how hard you try to keep them out. With the 460ETCA you can easily connect to those devices with your Allen-Bradley PLC. While there are certainly other companies offering protocol gateways, there is no one who provides the level of support and service that you receive from Real Time Automation. When you call us, a live person answers the phone. If you talk with our sales team, you will get honest answers and recommendations. And rest assured, all the support you get is from an engineer who had a hand in the product’s development, and support doesn’t need a ticket or 24-hour wait. We get back to you as soon as possible. It’s an RTA promise.
Try the RTA difference today and give us a call at 1-800-249-1612.
Real Time Automation ASCII to AB PLC Solution Comparasion
| Part Number | 460ETCA | |
| Good For | Barcode Readers, Weigh Scales, Displays and other ASCII devices | Weather Stations, UPS Systems and any other Ethernet TCP/IP devices that output a compound ASCII string |
| PLC Setup | ASCII string gets mapped to a single Tag or Register | ASCII string can be parsed to multiple Tag or Register locations |
| Alarming | N/A | Email alarming available |
| Pricing | Same Pricing Model | |
ASCII Device Features
Operation Modes: Bidirectional ASCII Transmit and ReceiveMaximum Number of Devices Supported: 2
Maximum Number of ASCII Characters Transferred: 1024 in each direction
Delimiter Processing: Incoming delimiters automatically removed; Outgoing delimiters automatically added
Parsing: Parse string of ASCII data in up to 50 segments by delimiter or offset
Concatenation: Concatenate up to 50 segments/strings of ASCII data with optional delimiter
EtherNet/IP Tag Client Features
PLC Support: ControlLogix, CompactLogix, FlexLogix, MicroLogix, SLC’s and PLC5E’sMaximum Number of PLCs Supported: 5
Maximum Number Read Tags or Registers Supported: 150 per PLC
Maximum Number Write Tags or Registers Supported: 150 per PLC
Array Support: Yes, for all data types except strings
Supported Data Types: ControlLogix / CompactLogix / FlexLogix: Bit, 32 Bit Array, SINT, INT, REAL, STRING, DINT, MicroLogix / SLC / PLC5E: 16 Bit Array, INT, REAL, STRING
What our Customers are Saying
“I challenged a customer to get it working by the time I got back from his break room with a Coke and he indeed had it working when I got back. He then said, "It’s worth twice the price!"”
Eric P. / Kendall Electric
“Everything seems to be working as we imagined. Thanks for the great response time. I did not see any way to save the configuration other than screen shots, but the configuration did not get lost in the update. Thanks again, and you were a pleasure to work with.”
Kevin L. / Extol, Inc.
