Bronkhorst®
Instruction Manual ES-FLOW™
9.17.116B
30
3.4
Digital parameters
Each instrument is controlled internally by a number of digital parameters, most of which can only be accessed via digital
communication. Each communication protocol uses its own methods for communicating with instruments and accessing
parameters.
FLOW-BUS
In a FLOW-BUS system, instrument configuration and operation can be done using the free Bronkhorst® FlowWare tools.
These tools provide a graphical interface to the ProPar protocol (used by FLOW-BUS), for monitoring and changing
instrument settings. Digital communication between the instrument and the client software (e.g. FlowPlot, FlowTune™) is
handled by FlowDDE, a Dynamic Data Exchange server (DDE), the core component of the FlowWare software.
The FlowWare tools and associated documentation can be downloaded from
http://www.bronkhorst.com/en/downloads
.
Modbus
Monitoring and operating instruments in a Modbus system can be done using third party software as a master device, such
as LabVIEW, ModScan, or a Modbus PLC.
PROFIBUS-DP
Monitoring and operating instruments in a PROFIBUS DP system can be done using third party software as a master device,
such as SyCon® (by Hilscher GmbH) or Step 7 for PLC (by Siemens).
To configure a device, a so-called GSD file (General Station Description) can be loaded into the software. The GSD file
contains all necessary configuration information to operate the device in a PROFIBUS DP system, including communication
and network configuration, all available operating parameters, their data types, and supported data ranges.
A GSD file for Bronkhorst® instruments can be downloaded from
http://www.bronkhorst.com/en/downloads
.
DeviceNet™
Monitoring and operating instruments in a DeviceNet™ system can be done using third party software as a master device,
such as SyCon® (by Hilscher GmbH) or Step 7 for PLC (by Siemens).
To configure a device, a so-called EDS file (Electronics Data Sheet) can be loaded into the software. The EDS file contains all
necessary configuration information to operate the device in a DeviceNet™ system, including communication and network
configuration, all available operating parameters, their data types, and supported data ranges.
An EDS file for Bronkhorst® instruments can be downloaded from
http://www.bronkhorst.com/en/downloads
.
3.4.1
General
This section contains information on the most commonly used parameters for operating the ES-FLOW. Descriptions are
grouped by category in tables as shown below:
Type
Access
Range
FlowDDE
FLOW-BUS
Modbus
[type]
RW
[x]…[y]
[DDE par]
[Pro]/[Par]
[address]/[index]
In this manual, parameter names are printed in italics (reverted to
normal
where embedded in italics, like in this tip).
Type
Unsigned char
1 byte unsigned integer (0…255)
Unsigned int
2 byte unsigned integer, MSB first (0…65535)
Unsigned long
4 byte unsigned integer, MSB first (0…4294967295)
Float
4 byte floating point, IEEE 32-bit single precision, MSB first
Unsigned char [x] x byte array (text string)