Product Description:

The 2NW100 is a network module produced by B & R Automation for the System 2010 Controllers series. Installed on a controller rack, it provides the interface logic that links the PLC CPU to a remote fieldbus and lets an automation cell exchange cyclic and acyclic data with distributed I/O stations. By executing the master protocol stack on-board, the module off-loads communication tasks from the central processor and permits deterministic traffic on time-critical machine networks.

The module is configured for the PROFIBUS fieldbus and operates in the bus-coordinating Master role, so it initiates all telegrams to attached slaves. Two channel electronics allow simultaneous operation of 2 independent network segments that each communicate over the balanced differential pair defined by RS485. Physical wiring is connected through twin 2 × 9-pin D-SUB female connectors, enabling standard screw-lock PROFIBUS cables to be used without adapters. Message tokens are transferred to the controller CPU through the System Bus host interface, and the single-slot plug-in form keeps the overall rack width unchanged while still leaving room for adjacent I/O or motion cards. In typical duty the card draws 15 W from the backplane power rail and therefore must be considered during power budget calculations.

Mechanical integration is limited to backplanes BP101/BP110, so the carrier must provide those specific edge connectors. The assembly occupies a Single Width slot and therefore reserves only one address in the rack configuration map. Energized operation consumes 15 W, a figure that aids enclosure thermal analysis when multiple high-density cards are grouped together. On the fieldbus side, the transceivers recognize all standard PROFIBUS rates, with user selection from 9.6/19.2/93.75/187.5/500 kbit/s to match segment length and device capability without re-clocking hardware.