Solutions Cubed Technical Support Forum: Getting on the bus, RS485 that is - Solutions Cubed Technical Support Forum

Image: A Motion Mind 2 and 2 Serial Interface Boards construction the first leg of an RS485 bus.
There's got to be dozen ways to network a motor control system. You'll often find a RS485/RS422 bus working in industial applications. These networks have high noise immunity and a limited number of wiring points.

Creation of an RS485 bus can be accomplished with minimal components. Typically some derivative of the MAX485 IC is used. These 8 pin integrated circuits are an inexpensive commodity these days. Our Motion Mind connector board (product information here) has a socket footprint for the MAX485. This product is an inexpensive way to get the RS485 bus working with the Motion Mind.

But we've also added a couple of connectors to the Serial Interface Board (SIB2) that allow a ribbon cable connection to the Motion Mind. This is the simplest and fastest way to connect and test an RS485 network of Motion Minds.


See printable pdf version of schematic here.
The ribbon cable connections are duplicated on the SIB2 pcb. This allows you to pull a second ribbon cable out to another PCB that carries limit switches or needs access to the power supply voltage on the Motion Mind. The mounting holes of the two products also match allowing for the parts to be easily stacked.

There is a need for a SIB2 to convert from RS232 to RS485 and one from RS485 to TTL serial data for the first motor in the network. That means the number of SIB2s required is the number of Motion Minds you'll have + 1.

While the SIB2 / Motion Mind constructed RS485 network is not the cheapest option available it is very versatile and easy to implement. Sometimes time is money, and for those times using the SIB2 with the Motion Mind is a good fit.

Motion Mind web page
Serial Interface Board web page