Introduction to the Hardware Catalog

Introduction

The Control Expert Hardware Catalog contains a list of modules and devices that you can add to a Control Expert project. and devices are located in the DTM Catalog tab at the bottom of the Hardware Catalog. Each module or device in the catalog is represented by a that defines its parameters.

EDS Files

Not all devices in today’s market offer device-specific DTMs. Some devices are defined by device-specific files. Control Expert displays EDS files in the form of a DTM. In this way, you can use Control Expert to configure devices that are defined by an EDS file in the same way you would configure a device defined by its DTM.

Other devices lack both a DTM and an EDS file. Configure those devices by using the generic DTM on the DTM Catalog page.

View the Hardware Catalog

Open the Control Expert Hardware Catalog:

Step	Action
1	Open Control Expert.
2	Find the PLC bus in the Project Browser.
3	Use one method to open the catalog: Use the pull-down menu (Tools → Hardware Catalog). Double-click an empty slot in the PLC bus.

EtherNet/IP™

A network communication protocol for industrial automation applications that combines the standard internet transmission protocols of TCP/IP and UDP with the application layer common industrial protocol (CIP) to support both high speed data exchange and industrial control. EtherNet/IP employs electronic data sheets (EDS) to classify each network device and its functionality.

Modbus

Modbus is an application layer messaging protocol. Modbus provides client and server communications between devices connected on different types of buses or networks. Modbus offers many services specified by function codes.

DTM

(device type manager) A DTM is a device driver running on the host PC. It provides a unified structure for accessing device parameters, configuring and operating the devices, and troubleshooting devices. DTMs can range from a simple graphical user interface (GUI) for setting device parameters to a highly sophisticated application capable of performing complex real-time calculations for diagnosis and maintenance purposes. In the context of a DTM, a device can be a communications module or a remote device on the network.

See FDT.