Communicate with a Modbus RTU RS485 device using a Raspberry Pi
A Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer that can talk to other devices using something called Modbus protocol. This allows us to read information from these devices, like temperature values, which is very important in many industries. For example, if we want to know the temperature of a machine in a factory, we can use a Raspberry Pi to read this information and make sure the machine is working correctly. This is very helpful because it can save us time and money by detecting problems early and fixing them before they become bigger issues. Plus, a Raspberry Pi is small, cheap, and easy to use, which makes it a great tool for controlling and automating many different devices. All we need is a little bit of code, and we can read and control all kinds of machines and sensors.
To communicate with a Modbus RTU RS485 device using a Raspberry Pi, you will need to install the “pymodbus” package in your Raspberry Pi. To install the package, you can use the pip package manager with the following command:
sudo pip install pymodbusYou will also need to connect a USB to RS485 adapter to your Raspberry Pi and connect it to the Modbus RTU device. Once you have done that, you can use the following Python code to read temperature values from the device:
#!/usr/bin/env python
from pymodbus.client.sync import ModbusSerialClient
from pymodbus.register_read_message import ReadInputRegistersResponse
# Configuration
baudrate = 9600
parity = 'N'
bytesize = 8
stopbits = 1
timeout = 1
unit_id = 1
start_address = 0
num_registers = 1
# Create a Modbus client
client = ModbusSerialClient(method='rtu', port='/dev/ttyUSB0', baudrate=baudrate, parity=parity, bytesize=bytesize, stopbits=stopbits, timeout=timeout)
# Open the communication port
client.connect()
# Read temperature value from the device
response: ReadInputRegistersResponse = client.read_input_registers(start_address, num_registers, unit=unit_id)
if response.isError():
print(f"Error: {response}")
else:
temperature = response.registers[0] / 10.0 # assuming the temperature value is stored in a 16-bit register and multiplied by 10
print(f"Temperature: {temperature}°C")
# Close the communication port
client.close()
This code assumes that the temperature value is stored in a 16-bit register and multiplied by 10. You may need to adjust the start_address and num_registers variables depending on the register where the temperature value is stored and the number of registers it occupies.
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The main brains (RasPi) boots up directly to my custom application that holds the drink database, system state (making drink, current ingredient, motors homed, etc), and real-time communication to the motors. I developed the applications using Javascript with Node.JS, C programming language, Socket.IO and JSON.
