Welcome to the new website for Hardy Process Solutions.
Click here to share your feedback
Allen-Bradley Remote I/O (RIO) interface is available for some of Hardy's weight controllers.
Under license from the Allen-Bradley, Hardy has developed a Remote I/O Interface for its Weight and Rate Controllers. The interface is fast, field proven, requires minimal wiring, and requires no special software drivers.
Setting each address and baud rate in the instrument, connecting three wires, and writing some basic ladder logic is all that is needed to begin communicating weighing parameters to the PLC from a Hardy weight controller.
The host programmable controller can access all configuration and weighing parameters in the Hardy controller, including performing scale calibration. The Hardy controller can be used as a local display and keyboard for weighing parameters, or function as a blind controller properly digitizing the load sensor signal and providing responsive set point control. Using the Remote I/O interface shortens development time and provides the most functional weighing interface available for your Allen-Bradley programmable controller. Common Applications Hardy controllers can be used in conjunction with Allen-Bradley PLCs to tackle a variety of process control needs. The most basic use of the interface is to simply allow the programmable controller to read weight data from one or more Hardy weight controllers. In addition to reading weight some other applications are:
Each Hardy controller represents a quarter (1/4) rack of discrete I/O (32 bits in the PLC Output and Input image files) to the scanning PLC and supports both discrete and block transfers. The PLC continually exchanges 32 bits of its PLC Input Image Table and 32 bits of its Output Image Table with each 1/4 rack device. In a 1771 I/O Rack, these bits would normally be transferred from and to discrete input and output modules. For the weight controller, the Output Image bits are used to send commands to the weight controller and the Input Image bits return weight data and scale status bits. These actions are referred to as “discrete writes and “discrete reads”. The user is also able to exchange blocks of data with a 1/4 rack device via Block Transfer instructions in the PLC ladder logic program. These commands are referred to as “block writes” and “block reads”.
