Product Description:

The FC5101-0000 is a Beckhoff fieldbus interface card in the FC Lightbus Cards series. Installed directly in a control PC, it functions as the communication endpoint that links the host system to distributed actuators and sensors on a CAN-based machine network. This allows the automation controller to exchange real-time process data with external nodes.

The card presents a 9-pin D-sub connector as its physical bus port, and the line is galvanically decoupled from the PC logic to block ground loops and transient surge currents. A selectable data rate spans from 10 kbaud up to 1 Mbaud, so the same hardware can serve long cable runs at low speed or high-speed local segments. Only one communication path is provided, which matches the card’s single-channel architecture. Host connectivity relies on a PCI interface, which supplies bus masters with direct memory access for low-latency transfers under TwinCAT I/O or newer driver layers. When network ends require proper line impedance, a 120 Ω termination resistor can be switched in by a board-mounted slider. No NVRAM is fitted, so parameter storage must reside in the controller.

The logical protocol handled on this interface is CANopen. Telegram formatting follows DS301 V4.01, while start-up behavior complies with DS302. Up to 3 kbyte input/output total can be mapped into the PLC process image, accommodating sizable PDO sets without forcing fragmented access. Diagnostic feedback is provided by two LEDs per channel that indicate bus state, error frames, and activity. Pin 9 of the connector may deliver or accept an auxiliary supply of up to 30 VDC for remote transceivers. The board can be configured as a master or as a slave, allowing it to initiate or respond to network traffic according to the plant topology.