Node Controller Overview
Node Controller Description
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MagneMotion
Rockwell Automation Publication MMI-UM013B-EN-P - April 2020
Node Controller Description
The node controller is the controller that is used to monitor and control the motors in a Mag-
neMotion transport system in response to commands from the host controller. The node con-
troller also provides status information to the host controller as requested. There can be
multiple node controllers in a transport system, each responsible for a subset of the transport
system. Each node controller is connected to the local area network (LAN) for the transport
system. Using a LAN to provide all communication to the node controllers allows them to be
located near the motors they are controlling, which minimizes the length of all cabling.
Each node controller is responsible for coordinating all vehicle movement through the nodes
that are assigned to it and along the paths that are connected to those nodes. The node control-
lers are also used to program the motors on the paths that are connected to it.
One node controller in the transport system also functions as the high-level controller (HLC).
The HLC provides one point of contact for all communications with the host controller
through either TCP/IP for a general-purpose computer-based controller or EtherNet/IP
™
for a
PLC. The HLC then distributes any communications to the appropriate node controller
through the LAN using TCP/IP and passes any messages from the node controllers to the host
controller. The HLC also assigns vehicle IDs and tracks vehicle movement as vehicles move
from a path that one node controller controls to a path that another node controller controls.
Tracking of vehicle movement between node controllers is to make sure that vehicle IDs are
maintained throughout the transport system.
NOTE:
All TCP communications is unicast. Additionally, do not connect the node control-
lers to a network with large amounts of broadcast traffic as this extra traffic can
impact node controller communication.
Node Controller Types
All node controllers support Ethernet communication and, depending on the model, provide
up to 12 RS-422 ports for communication with the motors. Some node controller models also
provide Digital I/O and/or Serial I/O for external devices such as switches, E-stops, light
stacks, and interlocks.
NC-S Node Controller
Node controller that supports both RS-422 and Ethernet motors with one active network port
(NET 0) and eight RS-422 ports (see
). This node controller supports multiple nodes
(for example, Simple, Merge, Diverge, and Relay).
NC-E Node Controller
Node controller that supports Ethernet motors with one active network port, 4 digital inputs,
and 4 digital outputs (see
). This node controller supports multiple nodes (for example,
