Hardware channels can only be connected to a function block input or output. A hardware connection can be established with the Application Configuration tool or Signal Matrix tool.
When a hardware channel is connected, a graphical symbol appears in the Application Configuration tool. The connection is also displayed in the Signal Matrix tool with a cross mark. Hardware channels are always visible in the Signal Matrix tool.
There are three types of supported hardware channels.
- Binary input channels
- Binary output channels
- Analog input channels
Hardware input channel can be used as often as needed. A hardware binary output channel is taken from the list of available channels when a new channel is requested. This prevents using the same hardware binary output channel twice.