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Converter from TCP/IP to ProfiNet
#1
We are beginners and need  help to start.

  1. We have a measurement card which sends the processed data over TCP\IP to RPI3 with Win 10 IoT Core. We would like to connect the measurement card over ProfiNet to an external controller. In our case, it is a robotic arm.
  2. We are planning to use NIOT-E-TIB 100-GB-RE or NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE. We want to run an application on NIOT-E-TIB 100-GB-RE or NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE. The application must receive requests from the controller over ProfiNet and send it over TCP/IP to the measurement card. The measurement card sends the data to  NIOT-E-TIB 100-GB-RE or NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE over TCP/IP and the data will be forward to the controller over Profinet.
Is it possible? 
What is better NIOT-E-TIB 100-GB-RE or NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE?
Is there any adapter for that?
Do you have a simulation software, to simulate the controller?
  Reply
#2
Hi there,

first of all both devices you mentioned ... NPI3  ... or TIB100 both includes a network controller chip made by Hilscher named netX. The netX chip is able to run as PROFINET device with a certain amount of PROFINET input and output data that is periodically exchanged with a PROFINET controller e.g. Siemens PLC S7-1200 or S7-1500 or any other PROFINET controller. So with this point I see no problem to forward data to PROFINET controller.

But you have mentioned TCP/IP. But TCP/IP is a transport protocol only on layer 4 as explained here https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internetprotokollfamilie. So please tell me more about your TCP/IP frames the measurement card sends to the RPI3. Which underlying application protocol on layer 5,6,7 embedded in these TCP/IP frames are you using to provide a kind of addressing model in order to give Win 10 IoT Core running RPI3 the chance to interpret the data. Is it HTTP protocol or is it Modbus TCP protocol over TCP/IP? Which one?

Thx
Armin
You never fail until you stop trying.“, Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

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#3
Hello, Armin.
Thanx for quick reply.
In out system the measurement board (board) operates as a server, listening to certain port. The RPI sends packets with configuration data or data requests. The board replies on these packets. We do not use any standard communication protocol. It is "self-made". It is not possible to use some stantard libraries to implement it. 
As we see now, we have to create an application, which will communicate with netX, parse requests from PROFINET side and translate them to board with our protocol.  Realization may be different, but the main goal is to provide data from the board to robotic arm.
Is it possible to get access from application to netX and realize our task?

Thank you,
Walter.
  Reply
#4
Hi Walter,

well since your task is not very complicated my recommendation is to use the NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE device. It uses a netX51 Industrial Ethernet chip that enables you to operate as PROFINET slave/device with a max data amount of 1700 bytes inputs and 1700 bytes outputs just in case.

What we already have developed are two Node-RED (maybe you know Node-RED already, if not here a link for a short introduction https://nodered.org/) nodes that can be used directly to communicate with the netX51 chip. One node allow you to write data to the netX chip buffer which transports it to the master then and the other node reads data from the netX chip PROFINET buffer and injects it into the flow. And in Node-RED you have basically any possibility to handle this data quite easily. There is an example how to be a TCP client or server with Node-RED here https://flows.nodered.org/flow/bed6f676d...98943338b5. This in combination with the netX node will get you to the goal.

What you must know about the NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE device that it is a secured devices and does not allow to install any software natively under its Linux. You can only add own software to it using Docker containers. So the device comes preinstalled with Docker and on top you install your applications. We also have some example containers ready-to-use for the device ... and I mentioned Node-RED above ... and we have a Node-RED inclusive netX nodes ready to download at https://hub.docker.com/r/hilschernetpi/netpi-nodered. So you get installed Node-RED in about 10 minutes and from there you can then add your TCP based communications easily.

If you do not want to follow my proposal above using Node-RED you can also program the netX51 with C code that operates with a netX Linux driver to get it running. For that we have another container at https://registry.hub.docker.com/r/hilsch...-examples/ that shows you how to program the netX chip as PROFINET device, EtherCAT slave, EtherNet/IP slave, POWERLINK Slave or Modbus server.

Thx
Armin
You never fail until you stop trying.“, Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

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#5
There is one additional remark I have for you. You mentioned Win 10 IoT Core. For this OS we do not have a driver for netX. The only driver we have is a Linux driver. Since netX is connected to the Raspberry CPU via an SPI interface physically it is an SPI driver to be exact.
You never fail until you stop trying.“, Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

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#6
There is another remark I have. Since your demand fits more to the category "Projects" rather than "Hardware" I would shift the whole post to this thread.
You never fail until you stop trying.“, Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

  Reply
#7
Thanx a lot for detailed answer. We'll order NIOT-E-NPI3-51-EN-RE.
Can you advice some free PC software (windows) to emulate PROFINET controller via Ethernet port? Our system will be integrated to customers system and we do not have controller in the lab.
  Reply
#8
Well Walter,

the easiest way to get a running PROFINET Controller is using a standard Raspberry Pi with Raspbian OS and installed "CODESYS Runtime for Raspberry Pi" on it. The unlicenced version of this runtime runs for exactly 1 hour and then stops. This is the best and cheapest PROFINET controller you can ever think of. Even paying 50EUR for the full version is nearly of no cost.

So go the https://store.codesys.com/ CODESYS store, create an account and load first of all the CODESYS Windows Programming software from there and install it. Then follow the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FPf3RHWyeU to get the runtime installed on your Raspberry Pi. Then follow this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGBikj-627A to get the PROFINET controller running on your Rpi.

Thx
Armin
You never fail until you stop trying.“, Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

  Reply
#9
Thank you.
  Reply


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