Controls
Communication Board
Adds fieldbus or serial protocol support so the controller can exchange data with PLCs and other plant equipment.
Communication boards add protocol support the base controller does not include natively, such as DeviceNet, Profibus, or a second serial port, letting the robot exchange status and command data with a line PLC or a supervisory system.
Configuration for these boards lives in both the board's own firmware and the controller's system software, so many communication faults trace back to a mismatch between the two rather than a hardware failure.
Because plant networks are shared infrastructure, a communication board fault can look identical to a network cabling or switch problem, so isolating the robot on its own segment is a common first diagnostic step.
Related components
Common questions
- What does the Communication Board do?
- Adds fieldbus or serial protocol support so the controller can exchange data with PLCs and other plant equipment.
- How does the Communication Board fail?
- Common failure modes: Loss of network communication after a firmware mismatch, Intermittent dropouts from a damaged cable or connector, Address or configuration conflict with another network device, Board failing to initialize at power-up.