Product Details

The ProSoft PLX31-EIP-ASCII is a standalone DIN-rail mounted protocol gateway designed for bidirectional data exchange between EtherNet/IP controllers and serial ASCII devices. It connects Rockwell ControlLogix, CompactLogix and other EtherNet/IP PACs to common ASCII instruments including weighing scales, barcode scanners, serial printers, analytical meters and custom serial sensors, eliminating the need for custom programming inside the PLC to parse raw ASCII strings. The gateway supports RS232, RS422 and RS485 serial interfaces, with adjustable baud rate, parity, data bits and stop bits to match different ASCII peripheral requirements. It can operate as both client and server, handling string framing, delimiter recognition, data extraction and register mapping between serial ASCII messages and EtherNet/IP CIP data tables.

It supports one Class 1 EtherNet/IP I/O connection with 248 bytes input and 248 bytes output, and uses embedded EDS add-on profile for easy import into Studio 5000 or RSLogix 5000, which greatly shortens commissioning work. An SD card slot is reserved for saving configuration files, supporting fast backup and recovery when replacing the gateway hardware. Users complete all point mapping, command sequences and diagnostic settings through ProSoft Configuration Builder software. The gateway runs independently of the PLC scan cycle, so serial data reception and ASCII parsing will not consume controller resources or interfere with the original control logic. It provides rich diagnostic tags for serial port status, message count, timeout and error flags, which can be monitored directly on HMI or SCADA system. This model is widely stocked and used for new automation projects and equipment retrofits in manufacturing, food processing, water treatment and oil & gas industries.

This compact gateway adopts rugged metal housing for DIN rail installation. It is equipped with one shielded 10/100Mbps Ethernet port and one terminal block serial port, accepts 24VDC nominal power supply. LED indicators display power, Ethernet link, serial transmit/receive and fault status for fast on-site troubleshooting. The operating temperature range is -40°C to 75°C, storage temperature ranges from -40°C to 85°C, relative humidity 5% to 95% non-condensing. It meets industrial EMC standards for surge, electrostatic and burst interference, and has obtained relevant industrial certifications. It supports remote configuration, firmware upgrade and configuration backup for long-term field maintenance.

This EtherNet/IP to ASCII gateway is widely used in packaging lines, batching systems, material handling, weighing stations and factory data collection projects. It bridges standard serial ASCII instruments to Rockwell EtherNet/IP control network, realizes stable data collection and command interaction without modifying instrument firmware. As a reliable protocol conversion spare part, the PLX31-EIP-ASCII simplifies the integration of third-party serial devices, retains the original instrument wiring and reduces the renovation cost of EtherNet/IP automation system.