RMC Communications Overview

The RMC75, RMC150, and RMC200 support many communication protocols, allowing almost any external controller, such as a PLC, HMI, personal computer, etc. to control the RMC and easily integrate it into the rest of the application. The RMC functions as a slave (server) device on the communications. The RMC only responds to communication requests. It does not initiate reads or writes. The host controller (PLC, HMI, etc.) must initiate all communication requests. The RMC does not perform motion control on feedback via any communication channels. It only controls motion on axes that are directly wired to the RMC's modules.

For basic information on how to read from, write to, and send commands to the RMC, see the respective communication type below.

Communication with a PLC, HMI, etc.

The communication types listed below are available in the RMC family. For details on how to set up and use each communication protocol, click on the respective link.

Communication Type	RMC75E	RMC75S	RMC75P	RMC150E	RMC200	Usage
Ethernet (Slave only)
EtherNet/IP	✓			✓	✓	Supported by many PLCs
PROFINET	✓			✓	✓	Supported by many PLCs, primarily Siemens
Modbus/TCP	✓			✓	✓	Supported by many PLCs and most HMIs
CSP (Allen-Bradley)	✓			✓	✓	Supported by Allen-Bradley PLCs and many HMIs
FINS/UDP (Omron)	✓			✓	✓	Omron PLC protocol
Procedure Exist (Mitsubishi)	✓			✓	✓	Mitsubishi Q-Series QJ71E71-100 module, FX3U
Delta Motion Control Protocol	✓			✓	✓	Custom protocol, many uses, such as embedded
Serial (Slave only)
DF1 (Full- and Half-Duplex) (Allen-Bradley)		✓				Supported by Allen-Bradley PLCs and many HMIs
Modbus/RTU		✓				Supported by many PLCs and HMIs
Bidirectional Protocol (Mitsubishi Q-Series)		✓				Mitsubishi Q-Series QJ71C24N module
PROFIBUS (Slave only)
PROFIBUS-DP			✓	✓ (PROFI module)		Supported by many PLCs

Communicating Using Master Controllers

For information on how to communicate with an RMC from various master controllers, see the topics below:

Allen-Bradley Controllers via Message Block

Allen-Bradley Controllers via EtherNet/IP I/O

AutomationDirect PLCs

GE PLCs

Mitsubishi Q-Series

Omron PLCs va FINS

Omron PLCs via EtherNet/IP I/O

RSView

Siemens S7 PLCs via PROFIBUS

Siemens S7 PLCs via PROFINET

Schneider Electric PLCs via EtherNet/IP I/O

Schneider Electric PLCs via Modbus

Wonderware

Communicating from a PC

Other Master Controllers

Communicating with RMCTools

The RMCTools software can communicate with each RMC via the follow methods:

Monitor Port Type	RMC75E	RMC75S	RMC75P	RMC150E	RMC200
USB Monitor port	✓			✓	✓
Ethernet	✓			✓	✓
Serial RS-232 Monitor port		✓	✓

Sample Projects

Delta provides free example projects for various host controllers, such as PLCs and HMIs, for communicating with the RMC. These example programs will get you up and running quickly. See the downloads page of Delta's website at deltamotion.com for example projects available for the RMC.

Finding Register Addresses

When configuring a host controller to communicate with the RMC, you must enter addresses for the RMC registers that you wish to read from or write to. The address must be in the correct format for the protocol that is being used. To find the RMC addresses in the correct format, use any of the following:

Ways to find RMC addresses:

In RMCTools editorss
RMCTools displays the addresses of many registers, such as in the Axis Tools. To change the address format, right-click any register address cell, choose Address Formats, and choose the desired format.
Use the Address Maps in RMCTools to browse all the register addresses for any addressing method.
Use the Register Map help topic to browse all the register addresses for any addressing method.

Indirect Data Map

The Indirect Data Map is important for several communication types and especially for the RMC200. It maps any data items from anywhere in the RMC to one location. This allows scattered data to be consolidated for efficient I/O and messaging communications.

RMCLink .NET Assembly and ActiveX Control

Use RMCLink to communicate with an RMC from numerous programming languages and applications on a PC. See the RMCLink topic for details.

Discrete I/O

Discrete I/O augments the communications of the RMC. Discrete I/O is typically faster and more deterministic than the communications, and is therefore well-suited for starting a sequence in the RMC at a specific time. For details, see the Discrete I/O for Communications topic.

RMC150-to-RMC150 Communications

The RMC150 Universal I/O Module provides limited inter-RMC150 communications via SSI. The communication transaction is performed each loop time, allowing for tight synchronization between controllers, although only one 32-bit register can be sent and one received. For details, see the Universal I/O Module topic.