Fieldbus & Industrial Networking


IO-Link accelerates digitalisation of process plants

February 2022 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

IO-Link is enjoying increasing popularity, with demand for the communications standard growing rapidly, especially in the food and beverage industry. The fieldbus-independent technology for point-to-point communication is easy to use and provides a cost-effective way to digitalise industrial plants. Endress+Hauser, a leading provider in the industry, offers a wide range of IO-Link products for a large selection of process parameters.

IO-Link is regarded as an established standard for measurement devices with basic functionality, offering advantages such as data transparency and additional control through digital technology. Integrating IO-Link-capable sensors and actuators is especially popular with suppliers of machines or skids for the food and beverage industry. Particularly for utilities, devices with basic functionality are well suited; instruments with a rich set of different functionalities would unnecessarily increase complexity and costs.

Broad offering for the food and beverage industry

Endress+Hauser is a leading global supplier of process instrumentation for the food and beverage industry. “No other manufacturer offers such a broad and deep range of products and services. Our comprehensive IO-Link portfolio clearly illustrates this position. As a strong partner for process automation, we support our customers with IO-Link sensors in numerous fields of application,” says Dhiren Naidoo, food and beverage industry manager at Endress+Hauser South Africa.

Analog signals and digital communication

The majority of the IO-Link sensors can be optionally operated in analog mode (4-20 mA) with simple configuration changes to the instrument, thus allowing production workflows to remain in place. If extra information such as diagnostic and service data is required, in addition to the actual process parameters, an installed IO-Link-capable instrument can be simply switched to a digital signal.

A simple avenue toward Industry 4.0

“Although IO-Link is not the most powerful communications standard for process engineering, the technology is cost-effective and harbours tremendous potential for the digitalisation of process plants,” according to Naidoo.

Endress+Hauser instruments with IO-Link interfaces support the acyclic transmission of helpful metadata to ensure stable and efficient production. Furthermore, the smart sensor profile is designed for simple engineering, which reduces the effort required by plant operators to integrate sensors into their systems.

New additions to the IO-Link portfolio

Endress+Hauser offers a comprehensive product portfolio of IO-Link-capable instruments for all relevant process parameters. The company recently introduced the Smartec CLD18 compact conductivity sensor, IO-Link versions of the PMP51, PMP55 and PMC51 pressure transmitters and the Deltapilot FMB50 level transmitter. With these new additions to the company’s IO-Link portfolio, customers can exploit the benefits of digitalisation in a cost-efficient manner.


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

EtherCAT interoperability removes industrial networking barriers
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Selecting the right communication technology is one of the most important decisions engineers make, and interoperability helps with that decision. Key development tools and standards ensure interoperability among many EtherCAT devices and manufacturers.

Read more...
Condition monitoring to go
Turck Banner Southern Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Anyone who wants to efficiently monitor the climate in control cabinets will find a comprehensive range of control cabinet monitors for the DIN rail in Turck Banner’s cabinet condition monitoring family.

Read more...
Affordable building management system product range
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Schneider Electric has unveiled its EasyLogic Building Management System range, designed for basic building architectures, to the local marketplace. This is a complete and cost-effective range of field controllers and sensors that are both easy to install and scalable.

Read more...
Flexible EtherCAT communication interface for DALI-2
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The EL6821 EtherCAT Terminal from Beckhoff allows up to 64 DALI/DALI-2 slaves and 64 DALI-2 input devices to be connected. The TwinCAT 3 System Manager makes it easy to configure and parameterise DALI devices flexibly.

Read more...
EtherCAT-based control technology for building automation
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Modern non-residential buildings place many high demands on building automation. This can be optimally implemented with EtherCAT-based control technology from Beckhoff, which provides an efficient central automation architecture thanks to ultra-fast data communication.

Read more...
PC-based control for university studies
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The IDEA box developed at Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences is designed to introduce students to the topic of Industry 4.0 in a simple and practical way. At the core of the corresponding demo case is PC-based control from Beckhoff.

Read more...
Sustainability of surface water
Endress+Hauser South Africa Analytical Instrumentation & Environmental Monitoring
The sustainability of surface water is critical for South Africa’s economic development, social well-being and environmental health. Endress+Hauser has a full range of liquid analysis sensors and transmitters to measure important parameters and has an excellent global track record in water and wastewater process plants and various surface and industrial water monitoring sites.

Read more...
A new standard in high-speed Ethernet communication
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The TXMC897 module from TEWS Technologies supports a range of Ethernet standards and speeds, making it suitable for diverse applications, including the defence, industrial, and IIoT markets.

Read more...
Cloud-based inventory management software
Endress+Hauser South Africa Level Measurement & Control
Netilion is an award-winning cloud-based IIoT ecosystem designed for industrial processes. It connects the physical and digital worlds to send valuable information from the field straight to your phone, tablet or other device.

Read more...
How wet steam undermines boiler efficiency
Endress+Hauser South Africa Temperature Measurement
Endress+Hauser understands the daily challenges and demands placed on energy and utility managers across the spectrum of steam generation, distribution and consumption activities. Its global team is committed to working with its partners to overcome these complexities, and particularly those that aim for a safe, economic and sustainable sitsce of steam energy production and delivery.

Read more...