I would like some help about implementing the Modbus RTU communications protocol in an automated system that I am trying to develop. I am confused about how to generally set up my network because I have never used modbus and am generally new at programming PLCs.
I want to monitor the temperature of an oven that is held by a Watlow F4 temperature controller. It requires Modbus RTU communication through an RS-232C interface. I want to constantly read the temperature in the oven and process the data through my PIC microcontroller, which will then communicate back to the F4 controller to adjust the temperature accordingly.
-In this case, will the PIC controller be my client, while my F4 controller is the server?-Is the Modbus RTU protocol simply a way to structure the data transmission, or do I need to download software that uses the modbus implementation? In other words, is the Modbus RTU protocol simply the way you should structure your code to accept and transmit the data packets between the client and server?-Is it possible to simply program the PIC to automate the temperature indefinitely without having a terminal like a PC be the client?
I want to make sure I am understanding the general structure of my project and whether there are any issues with the way I will set up my Modbus network. Please let me know what I can do. Thank you for your time.
