The VW3A3E309 is a DeviceNet communication card for Schneider Electric Altivar variable-speed drives. It mounts inside the drive's option slot and handles the fieldbus interface between the drive controller and a DeviceNet master scanner. The card supports three baud rates — 125 kbps, 250 kbps, and 500 kbps — and addresses 1 through 63 on the network segment, which covers a full DeviceNet node count without a repeater.
I/O exchange and display
I/O data exchange can be configured as polled outputs and polled, change-of-state, or cyclic inputs — the COS and cyclic modes reduce network traffic for status-only updates. The card carries a dual-colour LED on the front bezel that indicates MNS (status), control-word reception, and reference-word reception, so a quick glance at the drive panel confirms the fieldbus link is live.
Communication profiles and connector
The card supports multiple drive profiles: the standard CiA 402 Device Profile for Drives and Motion Control, the Allen-Bradley drive profile, and the CIP AC Drive profile (02). Communication monitoring can be inhibited if the application requires it, which is adjustable through the drive's parameter menu. The physical connection is a single 5-contact screw terminal block on a 5.08 mm pitch — standard for DeviceNet drop cables.