Modern non-residential buildings place many high demands on building automation. These range from energy-efficient and sustainable building operation, and comprehensive energy management, through to the charging infrastructure for electromobility and fulfilling new legal requirements for recording energy and consumption data. 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. In addition, a wide variety of network topologies can be implemented based on the client’s needs, and all established sub-bus systems can also be integrated into the topology with a high degree of flexibility.
EtherCAT celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, confirming its success as a high-performance real-time Ethernet system and open IEC standard for a diverse range of applications. These include a wide range of functions in industrial and functional buildings, such as air-conditioning, lighting and shading, technical control centres for supply systems, event technology, and measurement technology in energy distribution systems. Fast, consistent and reliable data acquisition is becoming increasingly important. Legislation now requires energy and consumption data for non-residential buildings to be recorded, which can only be achieved efficiently and cost-effectively with high-performance communication technology.
Specifications can be optimally implemented with the EtherCAT-based central automation philosophy. This is based on centralised control technology. This means that the control is distributed to one or more industrial PCs as required. This technology is supplied with the required data via decentralised I/Os and fast EtherCAT communication. A cost-optimised structure can thus be set up with as few controllers as possible, which can then operate the required number of I/O components as an alternative to the more complex conventional approaches, which generally have many controllers which only operate a few I/Os each. This central philosophy is supported by the openness of the EtherCAT-based system solution. EtherCAT provides a technological foundation for integrating all building automation fieldbus systems, and thus avoiding the subsystem bottleneck that often occurs with conventional data transmission. BACnet/IP, BACnet-MS/TP, DALI, DMX, EnOcean, KNX/EIB, Modbus, M-Bus, MP-Bus and SMI, for example, can be seamlessly integrated via the relevant EtherCAT terminals and bus terminals.
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.
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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.
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A plant built by Belgian specialist machine builder, Absolem Engineering features an innovative process for separating recyclable materials. Using PC-based control from Beckhoff, a major problem has been elegantly solved - the generation of different signal sequences for the exact synchronisation of different camera systems.
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Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Innodisk has announced its cooperation with Advantech, a global leader in AIoT and edge computing. This collaboration leverages Innodisk’s customisable MIPI camera modules and Advantech’s Intel x86-based AFE-R360 solution to enhance AI-powered object detection and recognition capabilities, expanding visual applications for autonomous mobile robots in smart factories and warehouses.
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Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Embedded computing pioneer, AAEON has launched the PICO-ASL4 and GENE-ASL6, both featuring the new Intel Atom x7000RE Processor Series for the edge.
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Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The SRG-CM4 from Vepac brings all the open-source flexibility of the Raspberry Pi OS and ecosystem to AAEON’s signature rugged, durable gateway design to create a truly industry-ready modular system.
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Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Belden has expanded the Lumberg Automation LioN family with its new LioN-Safety I/O Modules. Designed to support functional safety efforts in industrial operations, the modules streamline the transmission of data over existing networks.
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Editor's Choice
For every online retailer, warehouse logistics is part of the critical infrastructure. An Australian office equipment supplier has retrofitted the warehouse logistics installation of its central warehouse, and replaced the proprietary decentralised controllers of the conveyor lines with PC-based control from Beckhoff, based on powerful EtherCAT communication.
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Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The decentralised IO-Link master modules from ifm serve as a gateway between intelligent IO-Link sensors and the fieldbus. Important information on the intelligent sensors can also be simultaneously sent.
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Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Whether in the materials handling industry, in packaging machines or in wind turbines, sensors with an IO-Link interface are increasingly being used to pave the way to Industry 4.0. Pepperl+Fuchs was one of the first manufacturers to launch an absolute rotary encoder with IO-Link interface, that was available in numerous variants and with a wide range of setting parameters.
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