@machhub-dev/node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins 1.0.0

Node-RED nodes for Omron FINS protocol communication (TCP and UDP)

npm install @machhub-dev/node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins

node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins

Node-RED nodes for communicating with Omron PLCs using the FINS (Factory Interface Network Service) protocol over TCP/IP and UDP/IP.

Tested PLCs

The following Omron PLC series support the FINS protocol. Testing status:

If you successfully test this library with other PLC models, please report your findings so we can update this table.

Implemented FINS Commands

This library currently implements a subset of the FINS protocol commands:

Note: RUN and MONITOR modes both use command 0x04 0x01, differentiated by the mode parameter (0x04 for RUN, 0x02 for MONITOR).

Not Yet Implemented

The following FINS commands are not yet implemented but may be added in future versions:

Special Features Implemented

• Bit-level addressing - Read/write individual bits using "word.bit" notation (e.g., "100.05")
• Multi-address read - Read multiple addresses in a single operation
• Multiple data formats - Support for signed/unsigned, int32, float32, binary, hex, ASCII, buffer, and bit arrays
• Read-modify-write for bits - Preserve other bits when writing to specific bits

Installation

Using npm (when published)

npm install node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins

Local Development

cd ~/.node-red
npm install /path/to/node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins

Then restart Node-RED.

Nodes

omron-fins-tcp (TCP)

A node for reading and writing data to/from Omron PLCs using the FINS protocol over TCP/IP.

When to use TCP

• Reliable, connection-oriented communication
• Critical operations where data integrity is essential
• Lower message rates where connection overhead is acceptable
• When you need guaranteed message delivery

Configuration

• Connection: Reference to an omron-fins-config node
• Input Mode: Controls parameter source
  • Use Node Settings (default): Uses the configured operation, data type, and address from the node settings
  • Use Input Message: Reads all parameters from the input message (msg.operation, msg.dataType, msg.address, etc.)
• Operation: Read, Write, or Change Mode operation (only used when Input Mode is "Use Node Settings")
• Data Type: Memory area type (CIO, WR, HR, AR, DM, EM)
• Address: Memory address to access (supports bit notation like "100.05" for bit 5 of word 100)

Input

When Input Mode is "Use Node Settings":

• The node uses its configured settings
• Input message properties are ignored

When Input Mode is "Use Input Message":

• All parameters must be provided in the input message:
  • msg.operation (string, required): "read", "write", or "mode"
  • msg.dataType (string, required for read/write): Memory area type (CIO, WR, HR, AR, DM, EM)
  • msg.address (string, required for read/write): Memory address (supports bit notation like "100.05")
  • msg.count (number, optional): Number of words/bits to read (default: 1)
  • msg.dataFormat (string, optional): Output format for read data (default: "array")
  • msg.payload (number|array|boolean, required for write): Data to write
  • msg.mode (string, required for mode operation): "RUN", "MONITOR", or "STOP"

Data Format Options:

Output

For read operations, the node outputs:

• msg.payload (number|array): The data read from the PLC

Examples

Read 10 words from DM100:

msg.operation = "read";
msg.dataType = "DM";
msg.address = "100";
msg.count = 10;
msg.dataFormat = "unsigned"; // Optional: specify output format
return msg;

Read bit 5 from DM100:

msg.operation = "read";
msg.dataType = "DM";
msg.address = "100.05";
msg.count = 1;
return msg; // Returns single boolean value

Write values to DM200:

msg.operation = "write";
msg.dataType = "DM";
msg.address = "200";
msg.payload = [100, 200, 300];
return msg;

Multi-address read:

msg.operation = "read";
msg.dataType = "DM";  // Default for strings/objects without dataType
msg.address = [
    "1000",                                    // Read 1 word from DM1000
    {address: "200", count: 5},               // Read 5 words from DM200
    {address: "300", dataType: "CIO", count: 2} // Read 2 words from CIO300
];
return msg;
// Output: [{address: "1000", dataType: "DM", value: [...]}, ...]

omron-fins-udp (UDP)

A node for reading and writing data to/from Omron PLCs using the FINS protocol over UDP/IP.

When to use UDP

• High-speed polling and monitoring applications
• Low-latency requirements
• Applications where occasional data loss is acceptable
• No persistent connection overhead needed

Configuration

• Connection: Reference to an omron-fins-udp-config node
• Input Mode: Controls parameter source
  • Use Node Settings (default): Uses the configured operation, data type, and address from the node settings
  • Use Input Message: Reads all parameters from the input message (msg.operation, msg.dataType, msg.address, etc.)
• Operation: Read or Write operation (only used when Input Mode is "Use Node Settings")
• Data Type: Memory area type (CIO, WR, HR, AR, DM, EM)
• Address: Memory address to access (supports bit notation like "100.05" for bit 5 of word 100)

UDP vs TCP Differences

The UDP node includes automatic retry logic with configurable retry counts, making it suitable for real-time applications where speed is more important than absolute reliability.

Input & Output

The omron-fins-udp node accepts the same input message format and produces the same output format as the omron-fins (TCP) node. See the TCP node documentation above for details on:

• Input message properties
• Data format options
• Output message structure
• Usage examples

omron-fins-config (TCP Connection)

Configuration node for Omron FINS TCP connection settings.

Properties

• Host: IP address or hostname of the Omron PLC
• Port: FINS TCP port number (default: 9600)
• PLC Node: PLC node number (default: 0) - Check your PLC's FINS node settings
• PC Node: PC node number (default: 0) - Use 0 for automatic assignment
• Timeout: Connection timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000)

Advanced (rarely needed):

• Dest Network: Destination network address (default: 0 for local network)
• Source Network: Source network address (default: 0 for local network)

Note: For typical single-network setups, you only need to configure the Host IP. Leave all node numbers at 0.

omron-fins-udp-config (UDP Connection)

Configuration node for Omron FINS UDP connection settings.

Properties

• Host: IP address or hostname of the Omron PLC
• Port: FINS UDP port number (default: 9600)
• PLC Node: PLC node number (default: 0) - Check your PLC's FINS node settings
• PC Node: PC node number (default: 0)
• Local Port: UDP source port (default: 0 for automatic assignment)
• Timeout: UDP response timeout in milliseconds (default: 1000)
• Retries: Number of retry attempts on timeout (default: 3)

Advanced (rarely needed):

• Dest Network: Destination network address (default: 0 for local network)
• Source Network: Source network address (default: 0 for local network)

Note: UDP uses a shorter default timeout (1000ms vs 5000ms for TCP) and includes built-in retry logic to compensate for the unreliable nature of UDP transport. For typical single-network setups, you only need to configure the Host IP and leave all node numbers at 0.

Supported Memory Areas

Requirements

• Node.js >= 14.0.0
• Node-RED >= 2.0.0

Development

Project Structure

node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins/
├── package.json
├── omron-fins.js              # TCP node runtime
├── omron-fins.html            # TCP node editor UI
├── omron-fins-config.js       # TCP config node runtime
├── omron-fins-config.html     # TCP config node editor UI
├── omron-fins-udp.js          # UDP node runtime
├── omron-fins-udp.html        # UDP node editor UI
├── omron-fins-udp-config.js   # UDP config node runtime
├── omron-fins-udp-config.html # UDP config node editor UI
├── README.md
└── LICENSE

Testing

To test the nodes locally:

1. Link the package to your Node-RED installation:

cd ~/.node-red
npm install /path/to/node-red-lib-comm-omron-fins

2. Restart Node-RED

3. The nodes should appear in the palette under the "MACHHUB Comms" category

License

Apache-2.0

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Disclaimer

This is a basic implementation of the FINS protocol. For production use, you may want to:

• Add more comprehensive error handling
• Implement the complete FINS protocol specification
• Add support for more memory areas and data types
• Add unit tests
• Implement connection pooling for better performance

Support

For issues and feature requests, please use the GitHub issue tracker.