Control.com - Nerds in Control

Hi everyone,

I will be happy if you answer this question. I work in a mining plant in Chile and I need to communicate between two protocols, Hart and Modbus. The electric Rooms have Modbus protocol. The instrumentation have Hart protocol. What's the solution? Is Simatic PDM capable to do this or is OPC the best solution?

Regards

P.S. Sorry for my English

strategy:
1) Convert the HART to Modbus, then use OPC to grab the Modbus data.
2) Get a single tag copy of PDM in order to configure and troubleshoot your transmitters.

Check out this thread for info on Hart-Modbus converters:

http://www.control.com/1026195086/index_html

Moore Industries has a product called HCS:
HCS HART® Concentrator System HART-to-MODBUS Converter

http://www.miinet.com/products/sg_hart.shtml

There's probably other converters out there, too.

David

Thanks for the reply.

The mining plan has the old point to point 4-20 mA connection, 80% of instrumentation has HART protocol option, and devices of the electrical rooms have Modbus RTU option. For HART connection I was thinking to use multiplexer in parallel connection in each PLC cabinet for the analog input of HART instruments. So my question is, does this HART to Modbus converter support multiplexers? And are there problems of synchronising in messages when you convert HART to Modbus?

There's a concurrent thread on HART wireless on this forum that refers to 'conventional' HART multiplexors.

http://www.control.com/thread/1026240092

I can't help you with HART multiplexors, but you might post on that thread, if no further replies show up on this one.

David

HART multiplexers often have a Modbus output as well...

HART devices contain a large amount of information, not just the process variables. There are also lots of configuration option parameters, calibration function, and diagnostics information. Mapping all that data into Modbus registers would result in huge number of registers once you look at many devices. So this is NOT done. Basically only PV and some dynamic parameters are mapped to Modbus registers such as 3xxxx and 4xxxx, and possibly 0xxxx and 1xxxx. For the most part, setup and diagnostics data go to device management software in a "pass-through" mode over the same RS485 bus, perhaps through the "magic" Modbus command 126.

That is, a multiplexer is partly a HART-to-Modbus converter, but most HART parameters are not converted. They go into device management software based on EDDL (http://www.eddl.org) that display the setup and diagnostics information the way the HART device manufacturer intended it to be displayed.

To learn more about HART take a look at the yellow book "Fieldbuses for Process Control: Engineering, Operation, and Maintenance". Buy it online:
http://www.isa.org/fieldbuses

Cheers,
Jonas

Hi,

So basically the best option is a OPC solution to configure Modbus and HART devices, one maintenance PC for each protocol?

Regards

Hi,

we are with GIE SA, an oil and gas engineering and consulting enterprisse in Argentina who works also to petroleoum enterprises from Spain, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico and Peru. My enterprise developed a HART-Modbus converter. Also, the device can be used as HART modem, for connect it to the instrument and configure it using a notebook with a Pactware software or another application. The converter is used succesfully in pump controllers for oilfields located on Mendoza and Chubut (Argentina).
Send me a message if you want a brochure.

Best regards.
fernando.rodriguezbetelu [at] gmail.com

P.S. Sorry for my English

Pl visit www.renuelectronics.com. You can see the product required. The model is Gwy-800.