Four-port Serial Communication Module for new groov EPIC System

17 December 2018

Opto 22 has released the groov serial I/O module, GRV-CSERI-4 module which plugs into a groov EPIC chassis alongside Opto 22’s new groov Edge Programmable Industrial Controller (EPIC) and discrete and analogue I/O modules, to provide the mix of analogue, discrete, and serial signals.

Many industrial automation applications require communication between the controller and multiple serial devices. The new module provides four independent and isolated serial ports for this purpose, communicating with RS-232 or RS-485 serial devices. Up to four modules can be installed in one groov EPIC chassis, providing a total of 16 serial ports to support these communication requirements.

Each port is selectable for RS-232 or RS-485 mode, with programmable termination and bias as well as half- or full-duplex options in RS-485 mode. Baud rates of up to 1 Mbps are supported.

For serial devices communicating via standard protocols, the included PAC Control flowchart-based programming software offers communication handles to serial devices.

Once communication is established with serial devices, multiple programming options are available with groov EPIC to link devices. PAC Control provides English-language commands, and the included Node-RED, a flow-based development environment and runtime for edge data processing, handling, and communications, offers downloadable serial nodes.