The GE Fanuc IC697BEM721 Series 90-70 I/O Link Interface Module provides a high-speed serial interface between Series 90-70 IC697 PLCs and CNC-compatible serial I/O link on the GE Fanuc proprietary I/O Link. The proprietary GE Fanuc I/O link offers high-speed I/O data exchange between connected field devices (especially a master device and up to 16 slave devices). The IC697BEM721 I/O Link Interface Module offers a maximum I/O serial connection distance of 10 meters, but using a fiber cable and an optical module can increase the maximum cable distance to 100 meters. Each GE Fanuc IC697 PLC controller can hold 4 I/O link modules in both master or slave modes and separate I/O links. In the master mode, the IC697BEM721 I/O Link Interface Module can support 1024 discrete I/O points with slave devices like IC693 PLCs, Power Mate CNCs, or Series 0 CNCs, and it also supports up to to 64 discrete I/O with master devices in slave mode like a second IC697 PLC in the I/O link, an F-D Mate CNC, a Series 0 Model, a C Series 16, a Series 15, or a Series 18 CNC device.

The GE Fanuc Series 90-70 IC697BEM721 I/O Link Interface Module can be installed in any slot of the IC697 PLC rack except slot 1 which is reserved for the CPU module, and it can be configured with Windows-based application software that lets the operators set up the I/O link, assign a location for the input and output data to and from the I/O link, provide diagnostics capabilities for the I/O link, and integrate with the rest of system application program. The IC697BEM721 I/O Link Interface Module comes with two 20-pin D-type connector RS-422 and RS-485 serial ports for connecting to the I/O link, and it also has 3 LED indicator lights that shows its current operation and communication status to the operators.