Networking

Field Wireable Connectors and T-couplers available

epakowski — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:06:43 +0000

Field-wireable M8 and M12 connectors and T-couplers (T-splitters) are available.

Honeywell Launches Enterprise-Wide Software for Process Industries

Gary Mintchell — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:00:22 +0000

Intuition Executive Solution connects people, process and technology for more intelligent operations.

Know Your Cables and Connectors

George Shurtleff — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:10:55 +0000

Although the physical layer of cables and transmission rates may often be the same, there are number of significant differences between industrial grade and commercial grade Ethernet cables and connectors.

9 Steps to Building a Better Network

George Shurtleff — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:58:12 +0000

Follow these guidelines for a solid network system.

Industrial Network Protocols in the News

George Shurtleff — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:48:20 +0000

Industrial networks are past the adolescent stage and are evolving into mature and responsible members of the automation community. A number of the organizations that manage the network protocols recently made announcements about upgrades and advances to their specs. Here's a round up.

IEC Guide Endorses EDDL Device Integration

George Shurtleff — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:20:14 +0000

The Fieldbus Foundation (www.fieldbus.org) announced its support for a new International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) report that provides guidance to end users for selecting an industry-standard device integration technology encompassing all host systems, field instruments and device protocols.

EtherNet/IP Upgrade Supports Energy Awareness, Power Management

Renee Robbins Bassett — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:21:22 +0000

ODVA, the industrial network association responsible for the media independent network protocol CIP and the network adaptations of CIP—EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet and ControlNet—has released its first round of specification enhancements for 2012, which include publication of expanded capabilities for the optimization of energy usage on EtherNet/IP and other CIP Networks.

Networking: Ethernet Based Sercos III Specification Updated to V1.3

epakowski — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:36:10 +0000

The Sercos vendor organizations have released an update to the specification for the Sercos III Real-time Ethernet solution.

Energy as a Direct Cost

George Shurtleff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:04:48 +0000

More companies are finding that folding energy into overhead is no longer necessary. Applications exist today for modeling energy usage in processing plants, and reaching across corporate networks to track energy as a direct cost of products. The energy savings can be enormous.

DeviceNet and CANbus Analyzer

epakowski — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:01:21 +0000

DeviceNet Analyzer helps increase efficiency of industrial networks by analyzing, commissioning, monitoring and maintaining DeviceNet/CAN bus installations.

New Products to Help Engineers Go From Prototype to Production

Gary Mintchell — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:15:48 +0000

New, lightweight applications extend the benefits of cloud PLM to a new audience. The Autofill feature enables engineers to complete documentation for an entire BOM in one click.

Ethernet Serial Servers

Peter Cleaveland — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:48:33 +0000

These small form factor serial servers connect RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 serial devices to Ethernet networks, allowing the serial devices to become nodes on the network.

WiFi Analyzer Said to Simplify Testing Connectivity

Gary Mintchell — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:41:32 +0000

Wi-Fi Hotspots are hot. From coffee shops, to airports, to sport venues, to gas stations and Laundromats, they’re springing up everywhere and are projected to grow 350 percent by 2015.

Standards Help Industrial Wireless Devices Gain Traction

epakowski — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:07:53 +0000

The prospect of adding wireless devices to the process automation architecture is a compelling one from the perspective of tangible business benefits and incremental operational improvements.

B B Electronics Expands Its Wireless Reach with Czech Acquisition

epakowski — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:38:34 +0000

B&B Electronics, a developer of wired and wireless connectivity technology, has deepened its wireless solution portfolio with the acquisition of Conel s.r.o. of the Czech Republic.

IT Infrastructure Challenges

George Shurtleff — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:13:47 +0000

Since manufacturing execution system (MES) implementations are much like enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations in that production and information technology (IT) are closely involved throughout the process, the issue of integration between the infrastructures used by production and IT is unavoidable.

EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary Unit

Jenn Brink — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

The Allen-Bradley EtherNet/IP Communications Auxiliary module helps enable DeviceNet-based components, such as the E3 Plus electronic overload relay, to communicate with an EtherNet/IP network.

CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) Celebrates 10 Years in the United States

Gary Mintchell — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:19:26 +0000

The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) will celebrate its 10 anniversary in the U.S. on March 14 at the J.W. Marriott Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, with a half-day program that features recent technology advancements and application successes. The first announcement of CLPA’s Gateway-to-China, an initiative for providing support services to automation exporters, will also be made.

Connect Fieldbus to Ethernet

George Shurtleff — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:17:01 +0000

netBrick, a gateway solution for harsh industrial environments, converts real-time Ethernet protocols (including ProfiNet and EtherNet/IP) into other fieldbus and serial protocols using loadable firmware modules.

Modular Industrial Patch Panel

Jenn Brink — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

The new MIPP is a termination panel for cables that need to be connected to active equipment such as switches, Industrial Ethernet devices and any other device with an Ethernet link.

Wide Temperature Ethernet Switches

George Shurtleff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:19:29 +0000

852 Series Ethernet Switch family now features two wide temperature models for operation between -40°C to +70 °C.

Safety Network Protocols

George Shurtleff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:40:16 +0000

The term “safety network” can apply to both peer-to-peer networks and I/O bus systems, and the safety protocols used can range from proprietary to various levels of open or vendor-independent. Here are some safety protocols and the industrial networks they are associated with:

RJ45/Ethernet Field-Wireable Connector

George Shurtleff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:28:51 +0000

The IP 67 Bayonet Style RJ45/Ethernet field-wireable connector offers robust housing in both plastic and metal models.

All-in-One Ethernet Module

George Shurtleff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:44:20 +0000

WIZ820io is a plug-in network module that offloads Internet tasks to a mini-board that includes WIZnet’s W5200 integrated circuit (TCP/IP hardwired chip + PHY), a mag-jack (RJ45 with transformer) and other peripheral logic.

Avoid the Drama of Downtime

George Shurtleff — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:04:26 +0000

There are lots of analog devices still in the field and not many new plants are being built right now, so upgrades are taking center stage. But do you simply enhance the current infrastructure with digital devices, or adopt an entirely new control strategy?