2 XI/ON philosophy
2.1 The basic concept
XI/ON: XNE-GWBR-2ETH-IP
09/2011 MN05002007Z-EN
www.eaton.com
13
2
XI/ON philosophy
2.1
The basic concept
XI/ON is a modular I/O system for use in industrial automation. It connects the sensors and
actuators in the field with the higher-level master.
XI/ON offers modules for practically all applications:
• Digital input and output modules
• Analog input and output modules
• Technology modules (counters, RS232 interface...)
A complete XI/ON station counts as
one
station on the bus and therefore occupies
one
fieldbus address in any given fieldbus structure. A XI/ON station consists of a gateway, power
supply modules and I/O modules.
The connection to the relevant fieldbus is made via the bus-specific gateway, which is respon-
sible for the communication between the XI/ON station and the other fieldbus stations.
The communication within the XI/ON station between the gateway and the individual XI/ON
modules is regulated via an internal module bus.
2.1.1
Flexibility
All XI/ON stations can be planned to accommodate the exact number of channels to suit your
needs, because the modules are available with different numbers of channels in block and
slice design.
A XI/ON station can contain modules in any combination, which means it is possible to adapt
the system to practically all applications in automated industry.
2.1.2
Compactness
The slim design of the XI/ON modules (XN standard gateway 50.4 mm / 1.98 inch, XNE ECO
gateway 34 mm/ 1.34 inch, XN standard slice 12.6 mm / 0.49 inch, XNE ECO slice 13 mm /
0.51 inch and block 100.8 mm / 3.97 inch) and their low overall height favor the installation of
this system in confined spaces.
Note
The gateway is the only fieldbus-dependent module on a XI/ON station. All other
XI/ON modules are not dependent on the fieldbus used.
