Chapter 8
107
Flexi Line
8 Flexi Line
8.1 Flexi Line overview
Flexi Line enables you to reliably network up to 32 MELSEC-WS safety controller.
Only WS0-CPU3 modules can be used in a Flexi Line system. It is not possible to
connect any other CPU modules (WS0-CPU0, WS0-CPU1).
A uniform process image is defined for the entire Flexi Line system. Each byte of this
process image is either global, i.e. in the entire system, or local, i.e. only for the related
station and its neighboring stations. Each Flexi Line station communicates with its
neighboring stations via this process image. The topology permits communication
without addressing.
Features
Reliable connection of up to 32 MELSEC-WS stations via the Flexi Line interface.
Topology without addressing: In case of a change in the order of the stations, it is
sufficient to confirm the new arrangement using a Teach pushbutton.
The EFI interface remains available without limitation:
– It is possible to connect EFI-compatible sensors.
– It is possible to connect a Flexi Link system.
A global process image is defined for all stations.
Within the process image, global or local bytes can be defined.
The process image can contain up to 12 bytes or 96 bits.
The maximum cable length between 2 stations is 1000 meters. The possible total
length of a system with 32 stations is therefore 31 kilometers.
8.1.1 System requirements and restrictions for Flexi Line
For Flexi Line the following system requirements must be met as a minimum:
System component Version
Hardware WS0-CPU3
Software Setting and Monitoring Tool version V1.7.0 or higher
You can also use Flexi Link or EFI communication at the same time as Flexi Line,
i.e. it is possible to connect either EFI-compatible devices or Flexi Link stations.
The process image is transferred from station to station with a fixed update rate.
The processing (logic) on the individual stations is, however, not necessarily
simultaneous, as the stations are not synchronized with each other.
The update rate of the Flexi Line system is dependent on the maximum length of
cable between two stations and the size of the process image.
Max. cable length 32 bits 64 bits 96 bits
125 m 2 ms 2 ms 4 ms
250 m 2 ms 4 ms 8 ms
500 m 4 ms 8 ms 12 ms
1000 m 8 ms 12 ms 20 ms
Table 17:
System requirements for
Flexi Line
Notes
Table 18:
Update rate for a Flexi Line
system as a function of the
maximum length of cable
and the size of the process
image
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