By Dr. Matthias Laasch, laasch:tec technology editorial consulting
Technologies such as SPE, PoDL, and Ethernet APL overcome traditional limitations of industrial communication. Advanced interfaces for signals, data, and electrical power are essential here: they help automation providers save resources and costs when networking production equipment. Digitalization and seamless data networks penetrating corporate processes right down to the field level of production are a lasting trend in automation technology. Their goal is to create highly flexible production environments that can be customized to achieve an unprecedented level of diversification and productivity. For this purpose, the manufacturing industry is experiencing a disruptive transformation under the umbrella of 'Industry 4.0', with the sustainable use of all available resources being one of the most important aspects.
between Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT). With Industrial Ethernet, a technology is available today that can seamlessly interconnect even field-level devices via TCP/ IP to companies' cloud-based data infrastructures broadband and cost-efficiently. Unlike fieldbuses, Industrial Ethernet crosses all levels of automation – end-to-end, from the field device to the cloud. Factory and plant operators can thus access device data in real time and use it for their production planning, process control, and data analysis. The Industrial Ethernet enables, for example, the real-time acquisition and analysis of data from sensors, power supplies, or drives. Information about temperature change or vibrations at critical points as well as load profiles allow conclusions to be drawn for the optimization of process parameters. They announce when overload situations are to be expected and signal the need for maintenance at an early stage. Predictive maintenance is of particular importance here, as it helps operators to improve the availability of their plants and machines, as well as to minimize energy consumption and use of resources – which, on the one
hand, lowers operating costs but, on the other hand, makes a decisive contribution to the sustainability of process and factory plants. Rugged RJ45 alternative The physical backbone of these networks, particularly of Industrial Ethernet, is high-performance interconnect technology that allows for reliable transmission of signals and data between the various nodes of the automation networks. In addition to the physical robustness they require in industrial use, such solutions face a number of new challenges today, resulting, for example, from the sheer quantity of network nodes, their miniaturization, or the high transmission bandwidth. These include, in particular, compact form factors, reduced installation and cabling effort, high signal integrity – i.e., sophisticated shielding against electromagnetic interference – and reliability over long transmission distances. The latter is particularly relevant in extended plant fields. Increasingly, the power supply of devices using data connectors is also required. The standard interface for Ethernet communication is the widely used RJ45 connector. Users frequently report problems with the contacts
From field to cloud seamlessly
Seamless connectivity between machines, products, and – in the final instance – people is characteristic of this transformation, which is beginning to massively penetrate the traditional boundaries
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