Brand: ABB

ABB FMBT-21 Modbus/TCP Ethernet Adapter Module for ABB Drives

Name: ABB FMBT-21 Modbus/TCP Adapter Module | Seven Star LLC
Brand: ABB
SKU: FMBT-21

Description

Modbus/TCP over Ethernet for ABB drives

The FMBT-21 equips supported ABB drives with a Modbus/TCP Ethernet interface. It is aimed at plants whose SCADA, PLC or gateway already speaks Modbus/TCP and where a standard Ethernet port is preferred over serial wiring.

Beyond Modbus/TCP, the manual describes OPC UA data access, with a limit of five connections and 50 subscriptions, useful when a supervisory system wants to read drive data without a PLC in between.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Specification
Type designation	FMBT-21
Function	Modbus/TCP Ethernet adapter
Extra protocol	OPC UA data access
OPC UA limits	Max 5 connections, 50 subscriptions
Drives (manual)	ACS380, ACS480, ACH480, ACS580, ACH580, ACQ580, ACS880
Manual	Revision C, February 2025
Mounting	Option slot of the drive

Drive support and OPC UA

The user manual, revision C from February 2025, lists compatibility with ACS380, ACS480, ACH480, ACS580, ACH580, ACQ580 and ACS880 drives, each with a minimum control program version. It is one of the newest ABB option manuals in this range.

Start-up examples in the manual cover the ACS380 through ACS880 families, including parameter settings and Modbus register maps for the ABB Drives profile.

Network setup

Compared with the older serial FSCA-01, the FMBT-21 gives faster polling and simpler multi-master access, while keeping the same register-based thinking.

Reserve static IP addresses, check switch capacity and confirm the control program version on each drive before the visit.

Selection and planning notes

Modbus/TCP is easy to test: any laptop with a Modbus client can read the drive’s status register once an IP address has been set. Do that before connecting the PLC, and write down the register addresses used so that the SCADA configuration matches the manual’s register map. Remember that two masters writing the same control word will fight each other, so decide in advance which system has control.

Browse the drives that accept the module in AC drives, or read about the ACS580 platform on the ABB ACS580 page. Ask us for help comparing it with other Ethernet adapters.

Documentation helps the next engineer. Save the drive parameter set, the IP plan, the Modbus register list used by the SCADA and the OPC UA node list in one project folder. Note the minimum control program version from the manual beside the version actually installed. When the plant later adds a second network adapter or changes the PLC, this record shows what was configured and why, and avoids guesswork during a night-time fault.

Documents and quotation

Seven Star LLC supplies the FMBT-21 on request from Muscat; send the drive type, control program version and the network details, and we reply with availability and lead time. The user manual (3AXD50000158607, revision C) is linked on this page.

Confirm before ordering: the drive control program version against the manual, the IP and subnet plan, the register map and OPC UA limits, and the module revision.

Datasheets & Documents

fmbt Manual Download

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About brand

ABB is the Swiss-Swedish engineering group for electrification and automation: low voltage drives, motors, circuit breakers and motor control, process instruments and analysers, control systems and robots. It was formed on 5 January 1988 by the merger of two older companies. ASEA was founded in Västerås, Sweden, in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm to make electric lighting and generators. BBC Brown Boveri was founded in Baden near Zurich in 1891 by Charles E. L. Brown and Walter Boveri. ABB Ltd is incorporated in Switzerland, headquartered in Zurich and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm.

ABB company profile

Formed	5 January 1988, by the merger of ASEA (Sweden) and BBC Brown Boveri (Switzerland), each holding 50%
ASEA	Founded 1883 in Västerås, Sweden, by Ludvig Fredholm; first products electric lighting and generators
Brown, Boveri & Cie	Founded 1891 in Baden, Switzerland, by Charles E. L. Brown and Walter Boveri
Headquarters	Zurich, Switzerland; ABB Ltd became the group holding company in 1999
Ownership	Public company listed on SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm
Brands in the group	Baldor (US motors, acquired 2011), B&R (machine automation, acquired 2017), K-TEK level instruments, Endura and Navigator analysers, SACE breakers
Product families	Low and medium voltage drives (ACS series), motors, SACE Tmax and Emax breakers, contactors and soft starters, flow, pressure, temperature and level instruments, liquid and gas analysers, Contrac actuators, AC500 PLCs, Ability System 800xA and S800 I/O, protection relays, robots

Milestones

1883: ASEA is founded in Västerås, Sweden.
1891: Brown, Boveri & Cie is founded in Baden, Switzerland.
1987–1988: The merger is announced on 10 August 1987; ABB Asea Brown Boveri starts operating on 5 January 1988.
1999: ABB Ltd, incorporated in Switzerland, becomes the single holding company of the group.
2011 and 2017: Baldor Electric and B&R join ABB.
2020: ABB sells its power grids business to Hitachi, focusing on electrification, motion, process and machine automation.

Choosing an ABB drive

ABB's ACS drive codes are easy to read once you know the pattern. In ACS580-01-046A-4, "ACS580" is the drive family, "01" means a wall-mounted single drive, "046A" is the rated output current (about 46 A) and "-4" means a 380–480 V supply. The family is chosen by application: ACS355 for compact machinery, ACS310 for simple pumps and fans, ACS580 as the general-purpose drive, ACQ580 for water and wastewater with pump functions such as pipe fill and dry-run protection, and ACS880 for heavy industrial duty with direct torque control. Size the drive on the motor's full-load current, not only its kW rating, and allow derating for the high ambient temperatures common in Gulf electrical rooms.

Where ABB products are used

In Oman and the GCC, ABB drives and motors run pumps, fans and compressors in water and wastewater plants, district cooling, oil and gas and industry. ABB flowmeters, level instruments and analysers are used in water utilities, power and desalination plants and refineries, and SACE breakers protect switchboards in buildings and plants.

ABB products we list

Family	Examples
AC drives	ACS580, ACS580-01-046A-4, ACQ580, ACS355, ACS310, ACS880-01, FEN-31 encoder module
Breakers, motor control and protection	SACE Tmax XT, XT3N 250, SACE Emax 2, AF09 contactor, PSR soft starter, REM615 relay
Flow measurement	ProcessMaster FEP300, AquaMaster4, CoriolisMaster FCB430, VortexMaster FSV430, SwirlMaster FSS430, OriMaster FPD500
Pressure, temperature and level	266DRH, 267CS multivariable, TTH300, K-TEK AT100, LMT200, MT5000 GWR, KM26 gauge
Analysers	Endura AZ20, AK100 hydrogen purity, Navigator AW641 silica, AW402 chlorine, AWT210
Control systems and actuators	AC500, AC500-S, S800 AI810, AC 800F SA 811F, Contrac RSD50, Contrac RHD4000

Ordering ABB products: what we need

Send the full type code from the nameplate (for example ACS580-01-046A-4 or 266DSH...) and, for spare parts, the ABB ID number (such as 3BSE008508R1 or 1SBL176001R3010). For drives, add the motor power and current and any option codes (+...). For instruments, send the complete order code, which sets range, materials and approvals. Baldor motors are listed on their own brand page.

Facts checked against ABB company filings and published histories of ASEA and Brown, Boveri & Cie, October 2026.