EtherNet/IP Protocol

EtherNet/IP is an industrial protocol that allows bidirectional data transfer with PLCs. It encapsulates the object-oriented Common Industrial Protocol (CIP). EtherNet/IP communication enables the client to:

Switch jobs.
Align and run sensors.
Receive sensor states, stamps, and measurement results.
Set and retrieve runtime variables.

This section describes the EtherNet/IP messages and data formats. The commands described in the sections below are those specific to the Gocator protocol and not the complete EIP reference command set.

Note that in firmware version 5.2, the identity information was updated as follows:

Attribute	Before Firmware 5.2	Firmware 5.2 and later
Product Code	Was 1000, 2000, or 3000 depending on the model.	Now 1.
Major Revision	Matched firmware major version.	Now 1.
Minor Revision	Matched firmware minor version.	Now 1.

This update may require a change on a device attempting to connect to a sensor via EtherNet/IP. A compatible EDS file can be downloaded from the web interface. If the existing EDS must be maintained, the device can be configured to disable electronic keying, ignoring the product code and version numbers.

To use the EtherNet/IP protocol, it must be enabled and configured in the active job. For information on configuring the protocol using the Web interface, see Ethernet Output.

The Gocator 4.x/5.x firmware uses mm, mm², mm³, and degrees as standard units. In all protocols, values are scaled by 1000, as values in the protocols are represented as integers. This results in effective units of mm/1000, mm²/1000, mm³/1000, and deg/1000 in the protocols.

Sensors support unconnected or connected explicit messaging (with TCP), as well as implicit (or I/O) messaging. For information on explicit messaging assemblies and objects, see Explicit Messaging. For information on implicit messaging assemblies and objects, see Implicit Messaging.