Communicate with a Mitsubishi Automation Controller on a CC-Link Network via an In-Sight CIO-MICRO-CC I/O Module

This topic encompasses an overview of the Mitsubishi CC-Link communication protocol and how to incorporate In-Sight vision systems with Mitsubishi Q-Series Automation Controllers, using the In-Sight CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module. Connected directly to the Automation Controller through a CC-Link specified cable, the CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module and the vision system are capable of being used in either an Endpoint or Midspan configuration for CC-Link communications. For more information about the connection and installation of the devices, please refer to the In-Sight® CIO-MICRO and CIO-MICRO-CC I/O Module Installation Manual included with In-Sight Explorer software.

Note: CC-Link is only available on In-Sight vision systems using In-Sight firmware 4.x.x, and is not available on In-Sight vision systems running In-Sight firmware 5.1.0 and later. For a complete list of models and supported firmware versions, see Firmware Versions.

Configure In-Sight Vision Systems for CC-Link Protocol Communications

This section describes how to connect to an In-Sight vision system using CC-Link communications to a Mitsubishi Q-Series Automation Controller. The CIO-MICRO-CC I/O Module acts as a gateway between the In-Sight vision system and the Mitsubishi Q-Series Automation Controller. The ReadCCLinkBitBuffer, ReadCCLinkWordBuffer, WriteCCLinkBitBuffer and WriteCCLinkWordBuffer functions are used to create a CC-Link protocol connection between an In-Sight vision system and a Mitsubishi Automation Controller. For more information, see ReadCCLinkBitBuffer, ReadCCLinkWordBuffer, WriteCCLinkBitBuffer, or WriteCCLinkWordBuffer.

Configure the In-Sight CIO-MICRO-CC for CC-Link Communications

CC-Link communications are set up through the CC-Link connection on the CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module and the Mitsubishi Q-Series Automation Controller. These steps assume that the In-Sight vision system and CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module have been connected to the Automation Controller, and are ready to be configured within In-Sight Explorer for CC-Link communications.

  1. From the In-Sight Network pane, select the desired In-Sight vision system and connect to it. For more information, see In-Sight Network.
  2. From the Sensor menu, select CC-Link Settings to launch the CC-Link Settings dialog.
  3. If the desired CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module is not displayed in the CC-Link Settings dialog, press the I/O Module button, which opens the I/O Module Configuration dialog, to configure the I/O module.
  4. In the CC-Link Settings dialog, configure the settings to match those of the connected Mitsubishi Q-Series Automation Controller.
  5. Press OK to close the CC-Link Settings dialog.

Get Data From an In-Sight Vision System to a Mitsubishi Automation Controller

In order to get data from the In-Sight Explorer spreadsheet to a Mitsubishi Automation Controller, the data must be transferred using the WriteCCLinkBitBuffer (e.g. pass/fail data) and WriteCCLinkWordBuffer (e.g. integer, floating-point values and string data) functions. Each function takes an individual buffer of data created by a FormatOutputBuffer function and writes the data to the CC-Link memory buffers on the CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module. This data is then transferred during the next update cycle. For more information, see FormatOutputBuffer.

  1. Right-click an empty cell and select Insert Function to open the Insert Function dialog. From the left pane, click on the Input/Output category, then double-click the FormatOutputBuffer function, from the right pane, to insert it into the spreadsheet.
  2. This FormatOutputBuffer function will be used to transmit the word data (e.g. integer, floating-point values and string data).
  3. From the FormatOutputBuffer dialog, click on the Add button. This will initiate the cell selection mode; select the integer, floating-point values and/or string data that will be transferred to the Mitsubishi Automation Controller. For more information, see Cell Selection Mode.
  4. If there is additional data to be sent, again, from the FormatOutputBuffer dialog, click on the Add button. Once again this will initiate the cell selection mode; select the additional data to transfer.
  5. Close the FormatOutputBuffer dialog by clicking the OK button.
  6. Right-click an empty cell and select Insert Function to open the Insert Function dialog. From the left pane, click on the Input/Output category, then double-click the WriteCCLinkWordBuffer function, from the right pane, to insert it into the spreadsheet.
  7. Set the WriteCCLinkWordBuffer function's Buffer parameter as a cell reference to the recently created FormatOutputBuffer function's Buffer data structure. For more information, see Cell References - Relative/Absolute.
  8. Add another FormatOutputBuffer function; this function will be used to transmit the bit data (e.g. pass/fail data).
  9. Follow the directions for step 3. When configuring the FormatOutputBuffer function, ensure that the Data Type parameter is set to Bit.
  10. Close the FormatOutputBuffer by clicking the OK button.
  11. Add the WriteCCLinkBitBuffer function to the spreadsheet.
  12. Set the WriteCCLinkBitBuffer function's Buffer parameter as a cell reference to the recently created FormatOutputBuffer function's Buffer data structure.

Send Data to an In-Sight Vision System From a Mitsubishi Automation Controller

In order to send data from the Mitsubishi Automation Controller to the In-Sight Explorer spreadsheet, the data must be transferred from the CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module by using the ReadCCLinkBitBuffer (e.g. enabling/disabling functions) and ReadCCLinkWordBuffer (e.g. integer, floating-point values and string data) functions. These functions take the formatted data created within the FormatInputBuffer function and reads the corresponding memory area of the CIO-MICRO-CC I/O module. This data is then formatted into the In-Sight Explorer spreadsheet. For more information, see FormatInputBuffer.

  1. Right-click an empty cell and select Insert Function to open the Insert Function dialog. From the left pane, click on the Input/Output category, then double-click the FormatInputBuffer function, from the right pane, to insert it into the spreadsheet.
  2. This FormatInputBuffer function will be used to receive the word data (e.g. integer, floating-point values and string data).
  3. From the FormatInputBuffer dialog, click on the Add button and add a 32-bit float and a 32-bit integer to the list.
  4. Close the FormatInputBuffer dialog by clicking the OK button.
  5. Right-click an empty cell and select Insert Function to open the Insert Function dialog. From the left pane, click on the Input/Output category, then double-click the ReadCCLinkWordBuffer function, from the right pane, to insert it into the spreadsheet .
  6. Set the ReadCCLinkWordBuffer function's Buffer parameter as a cell reference to the recently created FormatInputBuffer function's Buffer data structure.
  7. Add another FormatInputBuffer function; this function will be used to receive the bit data (e.g. enabling/disabling functions).
  8. From the FormatInputBuffer dialog, click on the Add button and add a bit data type.
  9. Close the FormatInputBuffer dialog by clicking the OK button.
  10. Add the ReadCCLinkBitBuffer function to the spreadsheet.
  11. Set the ReadCCLinkBitBuffer function's Buffer parameter as a cell reference to the recently created FormatInputBuffer function's Buffer data structure.
  12. Once the functions have been implemented, place the In-Sight vision system Online to test the configuration. For more information, see Online/Offline.