Consistent communication

The smart factory of the future is highly productive, flexible and responsive. The basis for this is a wide variety of communication technologies – depending on what the application requires: The transmission of large amounts of data, real-time monitoring of processes, localisation of assets or high energy efficiency.
 

Industrial Ethernet leads the way

According to an analysis by HMS Networks, a provider of solutions in the field of industrial information and communication technology, Industrial Ethernet currently accounts for 68 percent of newly installed nodes in factory automation worldwide. This is a whole family of network technologies that includes around 20 different protocols. One advantage of industrial Ethernet over classic bus systems is that it establishes a uniform communication system between the management level, the control level and the sensor level.

Market shares of industrial networks 2023 (Source: HMS Networks)

Communicating in real time

However, the development of Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) has been a prerequisite for Industrial Ethernet to be used in industry at all. TSN enables the control and prioritisation of data streams in the network. In this way, different requirements of individual applications can be taken into account, such as large bandwidth or low latency. In this way, TSN creates a convergence between information technology (IT) and industrial operating technology (OT). With only one communication system, both real-time-critical data and data-intensive applications can be realised via a common Ethernet line.
 

Connecting sensors cost-effectively

Ethernet can reach even to the smallest sensor - as Single Pair Ethernet (SPE), the sensor data is transmitted via only one pair of wires. However, Ethernet does not always make sense all the way to the last component in the field, because the cables are relatively expensive and the transmission of large amounts of data is usually not necessary when connecting individual sensors. This is where IO-Link, as a communication technology that works via low-cost standard sensor cables, has increasingly secured market share. Recently, the standard has also been available as IO-Link Wireless, which as a wireless variant enables even more flexible integration of sensors and actuators. IO-Link Wireless is a deterministic, highly reliable and scalable, universal radio communication protocol with a latency of five milliseconds.
 

Wireless results in flexibility

Basically, the industry is increasingly relying on wireless industrial network solutions in factory automation – they offer enormous opportunities for flexible, scalable networking. According to the analysis by HMS, wireless networks will grow by 22 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. Here, too, a wide variety of solutions will be used – from 5G and WLAN to Bluetooth and RFID.

With peak data rates of up to more than 10 gigabits per second, latency times of less than 1 millisecond and availabilities of more than 99.999 per cent, the 5G mobile communications standard will enable more secure, flexible and efficient manufacturing systems. Ultra-wideband technology (UWB) is less about data transmission and more about the localisation of objects in the factory. It enables the localisation of, for example, forklift trucks or semi-finished parts to within half a metre using the so-called Time of Flight (ToF) method. In this way, processes can be monitored continuously and problems can be responded to quickly.
 

Standardised data exchange

In order for the devices and components of the most diverse manufacturers present in an automated factory to actually communicate with each other, however, not only the corresponding networks are required. The integrated participants must also understand each other. This is ensured, for example, by data exchange standards such as OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA). Standards and guidelines form the foundation of OPC UA, so that manufacturer- and platform-independent communication between products from different manufacturers and a continuous exchange of information across all levels is made possible.