Bus Terminal Controllers series BX

The new product family expands the Beckhoff control range by an extra performance class. The Bus Terminal Controllers series BX are positioned as micro controllers. Through a wide variety of integrated interfaces for the fieldbus, I/O and peripheral levels, the controllers are an inexpensive alternative for a large number of applications. The IEC 61131-3 PLC is programmed via the TwinCAT automation software.

Beckhoff Bus Terminal Controllers series BX

Highly flexible small controller with universal interfaces
Choosing a controller appropriate for a particular task often calls for a balancing act between the computing performance, complexity and the cost. The BX series Bus Terminal Controllers extend the controller categories to four categories. These include: the most powerful hardware platform, the Industrial PCs, the CX1000 Embedded-PC, The BX series and the BC series. In terms of equipment and performance the BX small controllers are positioned between the BC series Bus Terminal Controller and the CX1000 embedded controllers.

The concept of autonomous control and the fieldbus slave function was adopted from the BC series. The enclosure concept originates from the CX1000 and allows modular expansion with a Compact Flash card as mass storage. The main features distinguishing BC and BX series are the larger memory and the expanded interfaces.

Features at a glance:
| 16 bit microcontroller
| Illuminated 2 x 16 lines FSTN display for diagnostics or own texts
| Joystick switch for parameterization and diagnosis
| Battery-powered internal clock for time and date
| Configuration and programming via TwinCAT PLC (IEC 61131-3 LD, FBD, IL, ST, SFC)
| Field bus variants for Profibus DP, CANopen, DeviceNet, Ethernet (ModbusTCP/ADS-TCP/UDP)
| 1 x serial interface as programming interface and/or as RS232/RS485 interface for the connection of serial devices
| Interface for Smart System Bus (CANopen-based sub-bus system) for the connection of further peripheral devices
| Connection of up to 64 Bus Terminals (255 Terminal Bus Extension)
| 2 PLC run-time tasks
| 512 kB RAM (dynamic program and data memory), 2 kB remanent data

The BX range of Bus Terminal Controllers consists of a programmable IEC 61131-3 controller with fieldbus and bus terminal interface. Additionally, the BX devices are equipped with two serial interfaces: one for programming, the other for free utilisation. The device itself comprises an illuminated LCD display with 2 lines of 16 characters each, a joystick switch and a real-time clock. CANopen slaves, e.g. displays, can be connected via the integrated Beckhoff Smart System Bus (SSB), a CANopen based subsidiary bus system.

Integrated I/O and fieldbus interface
The Beckhoff Bus Terminals can be directly attached as usual. The comprehensive range of different I/Os enables any input signal to be read and any output signal that may be required to be generated. This small controller therefore enables a wide range of automation tasks to be solved, from garage door controllers to autonomous temperature control at injection moulding machines. The BX family is also particularly suitable for a modular machine concept. Within a network, the Bus Terminal Controller can exchange data with other machine components via the fieldbus interfaces. The real-time clock also enables decentralized applications, where the time or day of the week play an important role. The variants of the BX series Bus Terminal Controllers differ in terms of their fieldbus interfaces.

Five different versions cover the main fieldbus systems: Profibus DP (BX3100), CANopen (BX5100), DeviceNet (BX5200) and Ethernet (BX9000). The Ethernet controller supports the ModbusTCP, ADS-TCP and ADS/UDP protocols.The BX8000 variant does not have a fieldbus interface and can be used as a stand-alone PLC with the RS232 or RS485 interfaces.

TwinCAT – the basis for programming and configuration
The BX devices are programmed according to the powerful IEC 61131-3 standard. Like for all other Beckhoff controllers, the TwinCAT automation software is the basis for parameterization, configuration and programming. Users therefore have the familiar TwinCAT tools available, e.g. PLC programming interface, System Manager and TwinCAT Scope. Data is exchanged optionally via the serial port COM1 or via the fieldbus through Beckhoff PC FCxxxx fieldbus cards. The fieldbus interface, the SSB bus and the real-time clock can be configured and parameterized via the TwinCAT System Manager.

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