Bronkhorst High-Tech has announced the availability of EtherNet/IP and Modbus-TCP interface options for it mass flow meters and controllers, as well as their digital pressure controllers. Like the previously developed EtherCAT and Profinet communication protocols, EtherNet/IP and Modbus-TCP interfaces are based on Ethernet communication. Therefore, they can be applied with standard Ethernet cabling and support an unlimited number of nodes.
EtherNet/IP (Ethernet Industrial Protocol) is designed for use in industrial environments and time-critical applications. EtherNet/IP, first presented by the ODVA (Open Device Vendor Association) in the year 2000, is an open communication protocol that adapts CIP (Common Industrial Protocol) to the standard Ethernet.
The Modbus-TCP protocol is 100% Ethernet-compatible and is used for data exchange between I/O controllers and I/O devices (slaves / field devices). It adapts the widely used Modbus protocol to TCP/IP with Ethernet as the common medium. Modbus-TCP is a master/slave (or client/server) system in which Bronkhorst instruments can only be implemented as slave devices.
Bronkhorst has many years of experience with fieldbus communication. With its “multi-bus” concept, the company offers customers a choice of nine fieldbus interface options. The range of digital metering and control devices is applied in many different markets, e.g. the food and beverage and chemical industries, gas and fluid analysis equipment, glass and tool coating processes, testing fuel cells for the automotive industry and in machinery used to produce electronic chips, LED lights and solar cells.