Industrial Engineer · phase 1 of 16
Communication Module
Module that adds a network or serial communication interface to the controller.
The Explain card
- Plain English
- A communication module adds a network port the CPU does not have on its own. It might speak EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus or a plain serial link.
- Example
- An old controller with only a serial port gets an Ethernet card so the SCADA server can poll it. The card handles the protocol and the CPU just sees data.
- Why it matters
- Each module has a connection limit, and a busy HMI plus remote racks plus drives can exhaust it. The module is also where firmware, IP settings and network faults live, so its status lights are the first thing to read when a device goes quiet.
- Hook
- The controller's translator, and its bouncer.
Where it sits in the deck
Phase 1: PLC Controller Hardware
The box itself, from processor and rack to the modules that plug into it, because nothing else in the deck lands until you know what a PLC physically is.
