established gateway concept, the proven fieldbuses enable fast ATC, while the Industrial Ethernet systems take care of the vertical communication. The crucial drawback of the concept is the increased complexity of the whole system due to the utilization of two different standards. This has a noticeable negative effect on maintenance and service.

Wireless devices solve the problem of a start up either through keeping the communication up all the time or utilizing the technique of communication establishment shortly before the tool is coupled.

The advantage of the wireless solutions is the absence of idle times during the start up and cable-caused problems (for instance, line disruption or short circuit due to damage to the cable or connectors). The disadvantages of the wireless technique are safety risks and interferences that lead to higher jitter, longer cycle times, additional planning effort, and a limited number of transmitting devices in the local area.

In summary, wireless technique will be used where:
•    Cable usage is not economical or not possible.
•    The mentioned disadvantages play a negligible role.

Future developments

One of the worldwide leading German car manufacturers is currently planning its future production line and needs to select the communication peripherals for its robots with ATC. The typical operations of the robots in the application are welding and gripping. The time for the car body’s production in a robot cell is as low as 45 seconds, which includes the delay for tool changing.

The automobile manufacturer has specified the following:
•    FSU devices with a start-up time less than 500ms are required.
•    Gateway concepts will not be used due the mentioned disadvantages.
•    The use of wireless components is limited because the cycle times are usually not satisfactory.

The German automotive industry has said that the next step for the communication components manufacturers is for them to implement the PROFIsafe and PROFIenergy profiles in their devices. The safe environment for a human and a machine is a fundamental pre-condition for the use of future industrial communication systems. PROFIsafe fulfills this requirement. PROFIenergy, which is in the specification stage at the moment, provides for cost effective energy utilization.

With start-up times lower than 500ms, nothing stands in the way of PROFINET IO utilization for robot ATC. Based on AIDA’s choice and the advantages in comparison to the alternative solutions, PROFINET IO becomes an approved standard for ATC systems.

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