AB DF1 Ethernet

6 min

Review the following information for setting up and configuring the AB DF1 Ethernet driver.

Manufacturing Connect Edge Compatible Series

Compatibility parameter	Compatible items
Driver type	Ethernet
Validated devices/series	PLC-5
Replaces Gen 1 driver(s)	AB PLC5 (Gen1.3)

To set up and configure this device in Manufacturing Connect Edge, you will need to do the following:

Step 1: Set up and Configure the PLC Device
Step 2: Set up the PLC Device in Manufacturing Connect Edge DeviceHub
Step 3: Configure the List of Registers

Step 1: Set up and Configure the PLC Device

If the device is configured for Ethernet access, find its network parameters.

Step 2: Set up the PLC Device in Manufacturing Connect Edge DeviceHub

Configure the following parameters when you Connect a Device with this driver. Update default values to the specific setup of your device.

Parameter	Value
Type	Allen-Bradley
Driver	AB DF1 Ethernet
Network Address	The device address you recorded in Step 1.
Port	2222
Plc Type	PLC5
Source ID (SRC Byte)	0
Destination ID (DST Byte)	0
Read Timeout	1000 (ms)
Retry Count	0
Keep Alive	60 (TCP Keep-Alive)

Step 3: Configure the List of Registers

When you Add Tags to the connected device, refer to the following register table and tag parameters.

Refer to the following additional resources:

Device and Tag Metadata Use Case

Tag Formula Variables

Register Table

Note: The register table below represents the PLC address format. In Manufacturing Connect Edge, you will need to enter the tag address in decimal format. This means you must convert the PLC addresses for the Input and Output Data Files from octal format to decimal format.

Name	Value Types	Address Format	Max Address	Description
O	uint	OOO	255	Output
O_bit	bit	OOOoo	25515	Output
I	uint	OOO	255	Input
I_bit	bit	OOOoo	25515	Input
S	uint	DDD	255	Status
S_bit	bit	DDDdd	25515	Status
B	bit	DDDDDdd	3276015	Binary
T_bit	bit	DDDDD	32760	Timer
T	uint	DDDDD	32760	Timer
C_bit	bit	DDDDD	32760	Counter
C	uint	DDDDD	32760	Counter
R_bit	bit	DDDDD	32760	Control
R	uint	DDDDD	32760	Control
N	uint, int	DDDDD	32760	Integer
F	float	DDDDD	32760	Float
D	bcd	DDDDD	32760	BCD
A	string	DDDDD	32760	ASCII
ST	string	DDDDD	32760	String

Tag Parameters

Name: Select a register name from the drop-down list. The available options depend on the names in the register table.

Value Type: Select a data type from the drop-down list. The available options depend on the register name selected.

Polling Interval: Enter a value in seconds. This determines how often the tag should poll the register for data.

Tag Name: Enter a name for the tag.

Description (Optional): Enter a description for the tag.

Address: Enter a tag address. The value must in the decimal format, within the allowed min/max range. Omit the leading zeros. The device might use the decimal (D), hexadecimal (H), or octal (O) address format. See the Register Table at the bottom of the dialog box. For Bit tags, append the bit address without the bit separator. The lowercase letters in the address format indicate how many digits you should enter in the Bit address.

Count: Enter the number of register values to read. A count higher than 1 will generate an array of values from the address value configured and respective subsequent address values.

Length: Available for ASCII Data Files. Enter the number of characters for tag values.

Tag Formula: Enter a formula for the tag to process the generated data. Two variables are permitted: value (current tag value) and timestamp (current tag UNIX time in milliseconds). The following math functions are available:

sqrt

power: power(x) performs the operation 10^x.

log: log(x) is the natural logarithm (the logarithm is in base e).

exp: exp(x) performs the operation e^x.

Only Publish on Change of Value: Select the checkbox to customize NATS messages to be published only when the value parameter changes from a previous value to a new one. Change of Value only applies to boolean, numeric (such as int or float), and simple string data types. It does not apply to complex types, such as JSON or array. Poll-once topics will not be affected by Change of Value settings. These topics will still only see a single message.

Meta Data: Metadata summarizes basic information about data. This feature allows you to define key-value pair data for the device output payload later on. It can then be used to find, use, and reuse particular instances of data.

Note: If you use special characters in meta data key names, the special characters are replaced with underscore characters in the payload. This can cause two key names to be combined into one. For example, configuring the key names a**b and a&&b will cause only one key name to be created (a__b).