Groov Modbus Driver list

Hey guys, is there a list of modbus drivers for the groov? And do these drivers work on their own or does it require Igntion Edge?

Not quite sure what you are asking here, but the groov App natively supports ModbusTCP.

If you need control, not just viewing Modbus data, then using Ignition to bring the ModbusTCP tag data into PAC Control using their respective Node-RED nodes would be the path I would take.

Can you flesh out your question a little more?

So it sounds like I’m asking the wrong question. I know that there are built in drivers to connect to other manufacturers over ethernet (I was assuming it was utilizing Modbus TCP/IP). I want to connect to some ABB drives using the “built in driver” through the groov. My next thought was, I wonder which other manufacturers drivers are currently available using this method.

The ignition (edge?) to bring the tags into PAC Control, I’ve heard this is now purchased through you guys at an annual fee?

Alternatively, I could just Modbus TCP/IP to the ABB from the PAC right?

Andy,

It sounds like you are asking if Groov View has drivers to other devices? It does not have any other vendor’s products drivers built in specifically, however it can connect to Opto 22 Controllers, Opto 22 I/O Units, OPC UA Servers, Modbus TCP Devices, and a Data Store (how it connects to Node-RED).

The OPC UA server is powerful because things like Ignition Edge (running on a Groov EPIC) or even KepServer running on a PC have, between them, hundreds of drivers to specific devices. I just looked and Kepware does have an ABB Totalflow driver. Your ABB device may have other ways to communicate as well, as you mentioned, Modbus TCP may be an option and would likely be the easiest/cheapest route.

Ignition Edge can be run as a 2 hour trial on any Groov EPIC, we do have a Groov Edge License you can purchase that is a 1 time buy for the life of the device.

It is just a Modbus TCP driver - the other drivers would be some other protocol. There is no such thing as an “ABB Modbus driver” - only a Modbus driver. You should be able to read and write to the ABB drive using Modbus TCP from groov - nothing special is needed (except the ethernet card in the drive, a register list from the manufacturer, and a bit of knowledge).

If you actually want to perform “control” of the drive, then use the Modbus SDK on the PAC. If you have never used the SDK, be forewarned, this isn’t as easy as setting up communication on groov. If you will be talking to multiple ABB drives, then there are some performance considerations when using the SDK that may require using multiple charts. Most of the time, this is not an issue.

Thanks philip,
That makes sense regarding the modbus driver.

I have used the Modbus STK, so I know what I’m in for :wink:
I was actually using it this morning to be a modbus slave for a sensaphone alarm dialer, and it wasn’t working on my learning center R1 running 9.4a, then I ran on the Softpac and it worked. I suppose I’ll post another thread about this seeing if anybody had run into this. I would assume the STK worked before 9.4a came out.

I think Mobdus STK through the PAC is the direction I’ll head on this one.

The R1 natively supports modbus on its memory map - you will need to disable this or change its port from 502 to something else in PAC Manager (don’t forget to save to flash). This was likely your problem.

Hey Kyle,
I think the verdict is that I was getting some confusing verbiage from a customer and thought I heard it through Opto.

The Modbus driver on the groov connects to Modbus TCP devices (more cleanly than the STK). The OPC UA server leveraged by Ignition Edge or Kepware provide the “driver” type connection, and the PAC can interface through those to get the read/write access for control.

It also sounds like Node-RED is able to bring those tags into the PAC, but my original impression was that it didn’t require ignition edge for this connection. Is it easier with edge, or am I remembering that wrong?

Based on the needs for this particular application I have in mind, it makes sense to utilize the PAC Modbus STK, but I could see the benefits and scalability of the other methods.

You are totally right, I remember that I had to do this before, nice catch!

If there is a communication protocol with Modbus slave, it is also convenient to write a communication program by oneself. I use R1 to communicate with 9 Schneider soft starters, which is very useful.