Operation
Theory of Operation
MagneMover LITE User Manual 329
Rockwell Automation Publication MMI-UM002F-EN-P - October 2022
Node Controllers
The MagneMotion node controller is used to monitor vehicles and control the motors and
other components of a MagneMover LITE transport system based on the commands from the
host controller. The node controller also provides status information to the host controller.
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. Providing all communication to the node controllers through a LAN
allows the node controllers to be located near the motors they are controlling, which mini-
mizes the length of all cabling.
Each node controller is responsible for coordinating vehicle motion through the nodes that are
assigned to it and along the paths that are connected to those nodes. The node controllers are
also used to program the motors on the paths that are connected to the nodes assigned 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 communication with the host controller through
either TCP/IP or EtherNet/IP
™
. The HLC distributes any commands or requests that are
received 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 from node controller to node controller to make sure vehicle IDs
are maintained.
NOTE: All TCP communication is unicast. Do not connect the node controllers to a network
with large amounts of broadcast traffic as this extra traffic could impact node con-
troller communication.
Node Controller Communication
All node controllers constantly communicate with the node controller configured as the HLC
through a LAN. Additionally, the node controller that is designated as the HLC communicates
with the host controller through the same network.
All node controllers have the same IP address when they leave the factory. Individual node
controllers with the same IP address cannot be distinguished on a network and must not be
connected to the network until provisioned. Set the IP address of each node controller to a
unique address that matches the addressing structure of the network for the transport system
before connecting it to the network (see the Node Controller Interface User Manual,
MMI-UM001).
See the Node Controller Hardware User Manual, MMI-UM013, for mechanical dimensions,
detailed connector identification and pinouts, and procedures for mounting and connecting the
node controllers to the transport system.
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