ACS880 PROFIBUS DP Profiles: How to Choose the Right 51.05 Setting

One parameter decides how your PLC talks to an ACS880 over PROFIBUS. It is 51.05 Profile.

Not 51.02. That one is the node address, and it gets confused with the profile setting constantly — including in some vendor quick-start guides that use the label “Protocol/Profile” for 51.02. On an ACS880 with an FPBA-01, node address is 51.02 and profile is 51.05. If the FPBA-01 is installed as fieldbus adapter B, its configuration uses group 54 instead of group 51, so the corresponding profile parameter is 54.05.

Get 51.05 wrong and the drive still communicates. The bus goes green. The PLC exchanges data. But the control word bits mean something different than your program thinks they do, and the speed reference lands at the wrong scale. That is the failure mode worth understanding before you commission.

What the profile setting actually does

The FPBA-01 sits between the PROFIBUS network and the ACS880’s fieldbus interface. The adapter moves cyclic process data between PROFIBUS and the drive, and 51.05 determines how that process data is interpreted or converted.

• PROFIdrive, PROFIdrive v4.2, and ABB Drives — the adapter converts control word, status word, references and actual values into the form the drive expects.
• Transparent 16 and Transparent 32 — no data conversion takes place. The words are passed through and interpreted by the drive’s own communication profile.

That’s the whole mechanism. Everything below follows from it.

The profile options side by side

51.05	Profile	Main characteristic	Reference scaling	Drive parameter access	Typical use
0	PROFIdrive	Standard PROFIdrive speed-control profile	4000h = 100%	Yes*	Multi-vendor PROFIdrive networks
1	ABB Drives	ABB-specific control/status mapping	20000 = 100%	Yes*	ABB drive installations; ACS800 retrofits (default)
2	Transparent 16	16-bit transparent process data	Depends on 51.06	Yes*	Custom 16-bit process data
3	Transparent 32	32-bit transparent process data	No data conversion	Yes*	Custom 32-bit process data
4	PROFIdrive positioning	ACSM1 only	N/A	—	ACSM1 positioning
5	PROFIdrive v4.2	Full PROFIdrive v4.2 state machine	4000h = 100%	No	New designs requiring v4.2

* Parameter access is not a property of the profile. It depends on whether the configured telegram carries a PKW parameter channel, and on DP-V1 acyclic services being available. See PPO type and profile are two separate decisions below. PROFIdrive v4.2 is the one profile that blocks it outright.

Value 4 is supported on the ACSM1 only. It appears in the ACS880 parameter list but will not give you positioning behavior on this drive.

Where the choice actually bites

Three places matter most. Everything else follows from them.

1. Control word bit meanings

The basic state-machine bits are similar enough that the two profiles can look familiar to a PLC programmer, but their detailed bit definitions are not identical. That surface resemblance is exactly what makes a wrong 51.05 setting hard to spot — the drive starts, so the interface looks correct.

For the ABB Drives profile, the start sequence walks three states:

Control word	Decimal	State reached
476h	1142	READY TO SWITCH ON (main contactor off)
477h	1143	READY TO OPERATE (main contactor on)
47Fh	1151	OPERATING, speed mode

The FPBA-01 manual’s ACS880 example compresses this, sending 47Eh (1150 decimal) to reach READY TO SWITCH ON and then 47Fh to run. 47Eh and 476h differ only in bit 3, which is a don’t-care for that transition, so both land in the same state. If you have seen one form and not the other, that is why.

The upper bits are where they part company.

ABB Drives profile:

Bit	Function
10	REMOTE_CMD — fieldbus control enabled
11	EXT_CTRL_LOC — select EXT1 or EXT2
12–15	Drive-specific

PROFIdrive (legacy):

Bit	Function
8, 9	JOGGING_1, JOGGING_2
10	REMOTE_CMD
11–15	Vendor-specific, defined by PROFIdrive parameters 933–937

The status word splits the same way. ABB Drives gives you named bits for EXT_CTRL_LOC (11), EXT_RUN_ENABLE (12) and FBA_ERROR (15). PROFIdrive maps 11–15 through PROFIdrive parameters 939–943 instead.

That FBA_ERROR bit in ABB Drives status word bit 15 is worth calling out. It is a fieldbus communication error flag the drive raises for you. Under PROFIdrive you build the equivalent from vendor-specific mapping or from the PLC’s own slave diagnostics.

One more ABB Drives detail that catches people: control word bit 3 (INHIBIT_OPERATION) needs the Run enable signal active. If the drive is set to take Run enable from the fieldbus, this bit provides it. If Run enable comes from a hardwired input instead, the bus command alone will not start the motor.

2. Reference scaling

This is the one that produces motors running at a tenth of expected speed.

PROFIdrive — a 16-bit speed reference of 4000h (16384 decimal) equals 100% of the speed scaling value. On an ACS880 that is parameter 46.01 Speed scaling. A 32-bit reference uses 4000 0000h for the same 100%.

ABB Drives — 20000 decimal is the reference value corresponding to the configured speed scaling. On the ACS880, the zero reference is also affected by parameter 46.06 Speed ref zero scaling, so a PLC value of zero does not necessarily correspond to zero speed when that parameter is configured above zero. Reference 2, used for torque, runs to ±10000.

Transparent 16 — parameter 51.06 T16 scale sets a reference multiplier and an actual-value divisor. On an ACS880 the bus reference is multiplied by (51.06 + 1). Default 51.06 is 99, so the multiplier is 100: send 1000 and the drive sees 100000.

This is narrower than it first looks. 51.06 is effective only when all three of these hold:

• Transparent 16 is the selected profile
• the drive is using its native communication profile
• a 16-bit transparent Reference 1 / Actual value 1 is in use

Outside those conditions the parameter does nothing, so don’t treat it as a global scaling knob for every 16-bit word in the telegram.

Transparent 32 — no data conversion. The 32-bit word arrives as sent.

3. Parameter access

Drive parameter access can be provided either through the PKW area of a PPO telegram or through DP-V1 acyclic services. These are two different mechanisms, not two names for one. Whether cyclic PKW is available depends on the selected PPO type — PPO3 and PPO4, for example, have no PKW area under any profile. DP-V1 access uses the PROFIdrive V3 parameter channel and is configured on the master side.

One profile removes the option either way: drive parameter access through the adapter’s parameter channel is not available when PROFIdrive v4.2 is selected. That is not something you configure around. If your PLC program reads acceleration times, writes constant speed setpoints, or pulls diagnostic parameters at runtime, v4.2 is out.

Option by option

ABB Drives (51.05 = 1)

The factory default, and the right answer for most ACS880 installations on ABB-heavy sites.

Pick it when: the network is ABB drives, you want the named status bits, you are replacing an ACS800 or ACS600 and want the PLC logic to carry over with minimal edits.

Cost: it is vendor-specific. A Siemens integrator arriving in five years will look for PROFIdrive and find something that resembles it but is not it. Document the choice in the panel drawings.

PROFIdrive, legacy (51.05 = 0)

The PI-standardized profile as ABB implemented it before v4.2.

Pick it when: the PROFIBUS network carries drives from more than one manufacturer and the PLC library is written against PROFIdrive, or the customer specification names PROFIdrive explicitly.

Cost: nothing dramatic. Slightly more work to get at the drive-specific bits, since they route through PROFIdrive parameters rather than being named in the profile.

PROFIdrive v4.2 (51.05 = 5)

The full v4.2 state machine. Supported on ACS880, ACS580 and ACS380, but only with specific drive firmware versions — check the firmware manual for your unit before you commit to it in a design.

The state machine differs from legacy PROFIdrive in ways that matter:

• Jogging bits 8 and 9 are gone.
• Status word bit 8 changes meaning. In legacy PROFIdrive it is AT_SETPOINT — actual matches reference. In v4.2 it reports whether the actual value tracks the ramp function generator’s output, which is not the same signal.
• In RAMP STOP state, clearing control word bit 4 forces the ramp generator output to zero, so the drive stops as fast as current and DC voltage limits allow.

Pick it when: a specification demands v4.2 conformance and your PLC does not need parameter access.

Cost: no drive parameter access through the adapter’s parameter channel, plus a firmware dependency to verify at design time.

Transparent 16 (51.05 = 2)

No data conversion. The 16-bit words pass through to the drive’s native FBA profile, which is what interprets them.

Pick it when: you are writing a drive application program and want to define your own control word bit layout, or you need process data words the standard profiles do not expose.

Cost: you own the whole interface. Nothing is standard. Set 51.06 T16 scale deliberately — leaving the default 99 in place while assuming a 1:1 reference on Reference 1 is a common commissioning surprise.

Transparent 32 (51.05 = 3)

Same as above with 32-bit words. Groups 52 and 53 default to CW 32bit and SW 32bit when this profile is active.

Pick it when: you need 32-bit resolution on references or actual values — high-resolution position or a wide-range process reference.

Cost: same as Transparent 16, plus double the process data bytes per signal, which costs bus cycle time on a loaded segment.

The setting that overrides your choice

If standard telegrams (ST1 or ST2) are used instead of a PPO type, the communication profile is selected automatically, so 51.05 is no longer the parameter you use to select the profile.

You will see this as: you set 51.05 to ABB Drives, refresh, cycle power, and the drive comes up behaving like PROFIdrive anyway. The cause is in the PLC hardware configuration, not the drive.

Check 51.04 MSG type. It is read-only and shows what the master actually selected. Values 7 and 8 are ST1 and ST2. Value 8 is ACSM1 only. Anything from 1 to 6, plus 9 and 10, is a PPO type, and with those your 51.05 setting stands.

The retrofit alternative: emulation modes

There is one more path that is not a profile at all, and it solves a problem the profile options cannot.

51.07 Emul mode makes the FPBA-01 present itself to the PLC as an older ABB adapter:

Value	Emulates
1	RPBA-01
2	NPBA-02
3	NPBA-12
4	VIK-NAMUR

Use it when you are dropping an ACS880 into a network built around an ACS800 or ACS600 and you cannot change the PLC hardware configuration. Emulation makes the FPBA-01 present itself as the older ABB adapter, allowing the existing master configuration to be retained. The profile and process-data configuration still need to be checked against the existing application.

In RPBA-01, NPBA-02 and NPBA-12 emulation modes, the FPBA-01 also emulates the corresponding older adapter’s cyclic and parameter-handling behavior. Verify the existing PLC telegram and process-data mapping before commissioning the replacement. Note that only the parameter addresses are emulated — the parameters themselves have to be created on the drive side with application programming tools.

VIK-NAMUR mode behaves differently and is covered below.

Two things to know before you plan a retrofit around emulation:

• In NPBA-x2 and VIK-NAMUR emulation, the cut-off timeout is fixed at 30 ms. You cannot adjust it.
• VIK-NAMUR mode works with the ACS880 NAMUR application, runs the adapter in transparent mode, and uses Standard telegram 20 with the generic VIK-NAMUR GSD file (pd013aa0.gsd).

PPO type and profile are two separate decisions

They get conflated. They shouldn’t be.

The PPO type is chosen in the PLC configuration tool and defines how many words move in each direction. The profile is chosen on the drive and defines what those words mean.

PPO type	PKW words	PZD words
PPO1	4	2
PPO2	4	6
PPO3	—	2
PPO4	—	6
PPO5	4	10
PPO6	—	10
PPO7 / PPO8	extended	up to 12

PPO7 and PPO8 extend the process data area to twelve words. Confirm the exact byte count in the module entry your configuration tool reads from the GSD before you size the PLC I/O area.

Groups 52 (data in, drive to PLC) and 53 (data out, PLC to drive) run from index 01 to 12. Index 01 in each is set automatically — status word in 52.01, control word in 53.01. Indexes 02 onward are yours to map.

Two GSD files exist and they are not interchangeable:

• ABB_0959.GSD — DP-V0
• ABB10959.GSD — DP-V1

Install the one matching the DP extension you intend to use. With TIA Portal, install both and let the device catalog sort it out.

How to decide in under a minute

Work down this list and stop at the first match.

1. Retrofitting into a network you cannot reconfigure? → set 51.07 emulation mode, then continue down this list for the profile.
2. Customer spec names PROFIdrive v4.2, and the PLC never reads drive parameters? → v4.2.
3. Customer spec names PROFIdrive, or the network has non-ABB drives? → PROFIdrive.
4. Writing a drive application program with a custom interface? → Transparent 16, or Transparent 32 if you need 32-bit resolution.
5. Everything else → ABB Drives.

Most straightforward ABB installations can use ABB Drives, which is why it is the default. Use PROFIdrive v4.2 when the project specification or an interoperability requirement specifically calls for it.

Commissioning notes

A short list of things that eat an afternoon.

Refresh after every change. Group 50, 51, 52 and 53 edits do nothing until you set 51.27 FBA A par refresh to Refresh, or cycle the drive’s power. And 51.27 cannot be changed while the drive is running.

Save before you refresh. Set 96.07 Parameter save manually to Save first. Otherwise a power cycle takes your settings with it.

Fail-Safe Timeout of 0 disables the drive’s communication fault function. This is set in the PLC’s device-specific parameters, not on the drive. A drive with no comm-loss reaction on a bus that drops is a safety problem, not a nuisance.

Check 51.03 and 51.04 first when something looks wrong. Both are read-only and show what the master actually negotiated. If 51.03 remains at 0, the adapter has not detected the PROFIBUS communication speed. Check the bus connection, master configuration, node address and termination before troubleshooting the profile.

Termination is not on the module. The FPBA-01 has no internal bus termination. It relies on the switch in the D-SUB connector, and the module can supply up to 30 mA for an active termination network. First and last stations on, everything between off.

Set control locations. The profile does not select itself as the command source. On an ACS880 you still need 20.01 Ext1 commands = 12 (Fieldbus A), 22.11 Speed ref1 source = 4 (FB A ref1), and 19.12 Ext1 control mode = 2 (Speed).

Data consistency on Siemens masters. On Siemens S7 systems, SFC14 (DPRD_DAT) and SFC15 (DPWR_DAT) may be required for consistent transfer of larger or structured cyclic data areas, depending on the CPU and configuration. Without consistent transfer, a multi-word reference can be read half-updated.

FAQ