Appending via the dialog selection
The second configuration option involves adding the individual devices via the project tree. Right-click on the created PROFINET Controller and select Add New Item.
The following dialog opens.
There is a possibility here to select various PROFINET devices. The Beckhoff devices search for the GSDML under a defined path (..\TwinCAT\3.1\Config\Io\Profinet). These should be already present with the TwinCAT installation. If there are several GSDMLs for the same device here, the one with the latest date is taken. If no device description is found, a corresponding error message appears. Either the GSDML is copied into the folder and the menu is opened again, or the same procedure is selected as for the third-party devices. Click on PROFINET IO Device to navigate to the corresponding GSDML in Windows Explorer. This is then integrated into the project.
The DNS name from the GSDML is taken as the default name. When adding several devices at the same time, the default name is always supplemented by "-No." (where No. = 1..n). The assigned name (under which the device appears in the tree) is also the PROFINET Station Name, i.e. the name that must match the name in the device. The device name can be checked by scanning.
The modules can be attached to the API (Application Profile Interface). The DAP (Device Access Point), which already brings along fixed properties from the GSDML (e.g. process data, interface and port submodules, etc.), is always on Slot 0. This module is always present and cannot be deleted or moved. Each further module is assigned to a certain API. The information regarding its identity comes from the GSDML. By default this is always API 0. Alternatively, an API e.g. for the PROFIDRIVE profile or a fieldbus API is also conceivable. In the API click on Append PROFINET Module... to open a device catalog from which you can select and add the required modules. If the modules support it (described in GSDML), the submodules can in turn be appended to them in the same way.