Brother CNC

The Brother CNC plugin is used to access Brother CNC machining centers via the Brother NC protocol. It collects machine operating data such as axis coordinates, spindle, tool, alarms, workpiece count, program number, PLC devices, and tool offset data. The plugin supports connecting to the device over either a serial (Serial) or Ethernet link.

TIP

The Brother CNC plugin is read-only. It only supports data collection (read) and does not support control (write).

Add Device

Go to Configuration -> South Devices, then click Add Device to add the driver. Configure the following settings in the popup dialog box.

• Name: The name of this device node.
• Plugin: Select the Brother CNC plugin.

Device Configuration

After clicking Create, you will be redirected to the Device Configuration page, where you set up the parameters required for Neuron to establish a connection with the device. You can also click the device configuration icon on the southbound device card to enter the Device Configuration interface.

Parameter	Description
Physical Link	Select Serial or Ethernet as the communication medium. Default is Ethernet.
Connection Timeout (ms)	Time to wait for the device to respond to a request, ranging from 1000 to 30000. Default is 3000.
Serial Device	In serial mode, the path of the serial device, e.g. /dev/ttyS0 on Linux.
Baud Rate	Serial connection parameter. Options: 115200/57600/38400/19200/9600/4800. Default is 9600.
Data Bits	Serial connection parameter. Options: 7/8. Default is 8.
Stop Bits	Serial connection parameter. Options: 1/2. Default is 1.
Parity	Serial connection parameter. Options: none/odd/even. Default is none.
CNC IP Address	In Ethernet mode, the IPv4 address of the target CNC device.
CNC Port	In Ethernet mode, the port of the target CNC device, ranging from 1 to 65535. Default is 10000.

Configure Data Groups and Tags

After the plugin is added and configured, the next step is to establish communication between your device and Neuron by adding groups and tags to the southbound driver.

Once device configuration is completed, navigate to the South Devices page. Click on the device card or device row to access the Group List page. Here, you can create a new group by clicking Create, then specifying the group name and data collection interval.

After successfully creating a group, click on its name to proceed to the Tag List page. This page allows you to add device tags for data collection. You'll need to provide information such as the tag address, attributes, and data type.

For information on general configuration items, see Connect to Southbound Devices. The subsequent section will concentrate on configurations specific to the driver.

TIP

The Brother CNC plugin only supports the read-only tag attribute. During collection, the plugin batches requests for tags of the same data area (PDSP, ALARM, PLCD, etc.). Grouping tags of the same area together is recommended to improve collection efficiency.

Data Types

• INT16
• UINT16
• INT32
• UINT32
• INT64
• UINT64
• FLOAT
• DOUBLE
• BIT
• BOOL
• STRING

Address Format

The Brother CNC plugin organizes tag addresses by data area. The address format and supported data types vary between areas.

PDSP (Machine Operating Data)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
PDSP.MACHINE_X	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	Machine X-axis coordinate
PDSP.MACHINE_Y	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	Machine Y-axis coordinate
PDSP.MACHINE_Z	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	Machine Z-axis coordinate
PDSP.FEED_SPEED	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	Feed speed
PDSP.SPINDLE_SPEED	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	Spindle speed
PDSP.TOOL_NO	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Current tool number
PDSP.NEXT_TOOL_NO	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Next tool number
PDSP.RAPID_OVERRIDE	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Rapid traverse override
PDSP.FEED_OVERRIDE	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Feed override
PDSP.SPINDLE_OVERRIDE	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Spindle override

ALARM (Alarm Data)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
ALARM.<N>	INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Alarm data, where N is the column index (0-based)

WKCNTR (Workpiece Count Data)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
WKCNTR.COUNT	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Workpiece count

PRDC2 (Production Time Data)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
PRDC2.CYCLE_TIME	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Cycle time
PRDC2.CUTTING_TIME	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64	Read	Cutting time

PRGN (Program Number Data)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
PRGN.CURRENT	INT32/UINT16/STRING	Read	Current program number
PRGN.MAIN	INT32/UINT16/STRING	Read	Main program number
PRGN.BLOCK	INT32/UINT16/STRING	Read	Current block number

PLCD (PLC Devices)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
PLCD.D.<N>	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	D data register, N is the register address
PLCD.M.<N>	BIT/BOOL	Read	M relay, N is the register address

TOLSD (Tool Offset Data)

Address	Data Type	Attribute	Description
TOLSD.<DB>.<ID>.<N>	INT16/UINT16/INT32/UINT32/INT64/UINT64/FLOAT/DOUBLE	Read	Tool offset data, DB ranges 1-10, ID ranges 1-99, N is the column index

Address Examples

Address	Data Type	Description
PDSP.MACHINE_X	FLOAT	Machine X-axis coordinate
PDSP.SPINDLE_SPEED	INT32	Spindle speed
PDSP.TOOL_NO	INT16	Current tool number
PDSP.FEED_OVERRIDE	INT32	Feed override
ALARM.1	INT32	Alarm data column 1
WKCNTR.COUNT	INT32	Workpiece count
PRDC2.CYCLE_TIME	INT32	Cycle time
PRGN.CURRENT	INT32	Current program number
PRGN.MAIN	STRING	Main program number
PLCD.D.100	INT16	D register at address 100
PLCD.M.2048	BIT	M relay at address 2048
TOLSD.1.1.2	FLOAT	DB 1, tool ID 1, column index 2

Data Monitoring

After configuring the tags, you can click Monitoring -> Data Monitoring to view device information. For more details, see Data Monitoring.