Schneider Electric VX4A1104 Network Interface Card

Product Details

VX4A1104 Product Description

The Schneider Electric VX4A1104 is a CANopen communication interface card engineered for Altivar variable speed drives, delivering deterministic, real-time data exchange across industrial network architectures. In smart factory environments where every millisecond of latency and every byte of process data matters, the VX4A1104 serves as the critical bridge between field-level drive hardware and upper-layer control and supervision systems. From signal acquisition at the motor shaft to live visualization on SCADA dashboards, this module anchors the complete industrial data chain with protocol-native precision and network-grade reliability.

Designed to plug directly into the option slot of compatible Altivar drives — including the ATV31 and ATV71 series — the VX4A1104 enables seamless CANopen DS402 drive profile communication. This allows PLCs, motion controllers, and network masters to read and write drive parameters, monitor real-time speed and torque feedback, issue run/stop commands, and receive fault diagnostics — all over a single, standardized CANopen bus. The result is a tightly integrated automation loop that eliminates proprietary wiring complexity and reduces commissioning time significantly.

In a fully connected smart factory, the VX4A1104 operates at the intersection of field devices and supervisory systems, enabling a continuous, bidirectional data flow that supports real-time control, predictive maintenance, and production transparency. The data chain begins at the motor and drive level: an Altivar ATV71 drive equipped with the VX4A1104 transmits live speed references, output frequency, current draw, and fault codes over the CANopen bus to a Schneider Modicon M340 or M580 PLC acting as the network master. The PLC processes this data in real time, executing closed-loop control logic and forwarding aggregated process values upstream.

From the PLC, data flows to an industrial Ethernet backbone — typically via a Schneider ConneXium managed switch or a MOXA EDS series industrial switch — where it becomes accessible to SCADA platforms such as Schneider EcoStruxure SCADA Expert or Wonderware InTouch. HMI panels, including Schneider Magelis HMIGTO series terminals, display live drive status, alarm histories, and production KPIs directly on the factory floor, giving operators immediate visibility without requiring remote access.

For remote diagnostics and cloud-level data aggregation, an edge gateway — such as a Schneider EcoStruxure Machine Advisor gateway or a Moxa UC series IIoT gateway — collects CANopen-sourced drive data and forwards it via MQTT or OPC-UA to cloud analytics platforms. This enables predictive maintenance algorithms to detect bearing wear, thermal overload trends, or abnormal current signatures before they escalate into unplanned downtime. Alarm events generated by the VX4A1104-equipped drive are timestamped, logged, and pushed to maintenance dashboards in real time.

The VX4A1104 also integrates naturally into multi-drive architectures. In conveyor systems, packaging lines, or pump stations where multiple Altivar ATV31 drives operate in coordinated sequences, each drive's VX4A1104 card participates as a CANopen node, allowing the PLC master to synchronize speed ramps, monitor individual drive health, and execute emergency stops across the entire network simultaneously. Remote I/O modules — such as Schneider TM3 or Advantech ADAM-6000 series — can be co-located on the same CANopen segment, extending the data acquisition reach to proximity sensors, temperature transmitters, and pressure transducers without adding separate communication infrastructure.

For facilities running mixed-protocol environments, the VX4A1104's CANopen output can be bridged to Modbus TCP or PROFIBUS DP via protocol gateways such as the HMS Anybus X-gateway or Moxa MGate series, ensuring that legacy SCADA systems and newer Ethernet-based supervisory platforms can both consume drive data without architectural redesign. This protocol flexibility makes the VX4A1104 a long-term investment in connectivity infrastructure, not just a point solution for a single drive.

Many industrial sites still operate with drives that are either completely isolated from the control network or connected only through basic analog I/O — a configuration that creates data blind spots, slows fault response, and prevents meaningful production analytics. The VX4A1104 directly addresses these gaps by converting the Altivar drive from a standalone actuator into a fully networked, data-producing node on the CANopen bus.

Protocol fragmentation is one of the most common integration challenges in brownfield automation. Sites that have accumulated drives, PLCs, and sensors from multiple vendors often face incompatible communication stacks. The VX4A1104's CANopen DS402 compliance ensures interoperability with any CANopen-certified master, reducing the need for custom protocol adapters and simplifying network commissioning.

Data silos between drive-level and system-level data are eliminated when the VX4A1104 is deployed. Parameters that were previously only readable via a local keypad or proprietary software tool — such as motor thermal state, DC bus voltage, or accumulated run hours — become live network variables accessible to PLCs, SCADA systems, and maintenance platforms simultaneously.

Remote monitoring and alarm tracking become operationally viable with the VX4A1104 in place. Maintenance engineers can query drive fault registers, review historical alarm logs, and adjust speed references remotely through the CANopen network, reducing the need for on-site intervention and enabling faster mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) across distributed production lines.

Production line transparency and system scalability are further enhanced by the VX4A1104's node-based architecture. Adding a new drive to an existing CANopen network requires only assigning a node ID and configuring the EDS file — no new wiring infrastructure, no additional communication hardware. This makes the VX4A1104 an ideal choice for phased factory expansion projects where connectivity must scale without disrupting existing operations.

Q1: What is the communication latency of the VX4A1104 on a CANopen network? The VX4A1104 supports configurable PDO transmission rates on the CANopen bus, with typical cycle times ranging from 1 ms to 100 ms depending on network load and master configuration. For time-critical drive control applications, synchronous PDO transmission with SYNC objects ensures deterministic, low-latency data exchange aligned to the PLC scan cycle.

Q2: Is the VX4A1104 compatible with third-party CANopen PLCs and SCADA systems? Yes. The VX4A1104 implements the CANopen DS301 communication profile and DS402 drive profile, which are open international standards. It is compatible with any CANopen master that supports these profiles, including Beckhoff TwinCAT, Siemens S7 with CANopen CP, B&R Automation Studio, and Schneider Modicon platforms. SCADA systems that connect via OPC-DA/UA or Modbus TCP can access drive data through a CANopen-to-Ethernet gateway.

Q3: How does the VX4A1104 support remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance? The VX4A1104 exposes drive fault codes, warning states, thermal registers, and operational counters as CANopen SDO objects, which can be polled by the PLC or edge gateway at configurable intervals. This data can be forwarded to cloud analytics platforms via IIoT gateways, enabling trend analysis, anomaly detection, and maintenance scheduling without requiring physical access to the drive cabinet.

Q4: What warranty and pre-shipment testing does the VX4A1104 include? Every VX4A1104 unit supplied by NANKMOS is covered by a 12-Month Warranty and undergoes pre-shipment functional verification before dispatch. Stock is sourced from verified supply channels, and units are inspected for physical integrity and communication functionality prior to packaging. Fast global shipping via DHL and FedEx ensures rapid delivery to automation sites worldwide.