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Serial Port Custom Protocol Manual (pdf) The serial port is probably still the most common way of connecting industrial I/O to computers. Simple and easy to implement, the serial port was the first commonly used standard to interconnect equipment from different manufacturers. The serial port alone however is not enough to realise a connection between two or more pieces of hardware. Some form of protocol must be used to determine when and how data is transferred. A number of standard protocols exist such as Modbus and software is readily available for computers to communicate with devices using these protocols. In most cases, I/O connectivity can be achieved using one of these standard serial protocols. However, at times it is necessary to develop your own communications, usually via the RS232 Port. To allow you to do this Hexatec Software has programmable facilities built in to support serial communications via the RS232 Port. Using Application Basic Language Scripting it is possible to create your own customised communication protocol. As these scripts are generally event driven, can be very simple, often just a matter of filling in a few routines. This facility often means it is not necessary to purchase any additional, external development tools for that one-off application, where no driver exists for legacy equipment. The selection of which serial port and corresponding settings, such as baud rate, handshaking, etc. can be done within the project. Examples include transfer of test results to large screen displays using serial communications and collecting data from a conveyor belt weighing system. |
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