Ethernet Wins at the I/O Level

Ethernet Takes Over

The ubiquitous network is moving down to the I/O level.

The huge pricing benefits of commodity technologies continue to expand their usage, often taking them into areas far distant from those they were built for. Ethernet is no exception. The ubiquitous network - which started out in the office - is today extending deeper into manufacturing environments, connecting sensors and other input/output (I/O) points to more sophisticated modules.

Ethernet was derided as too slow and too fragile just a few years ago, but today it’s going into applications that could be described as real-time environments. Some of them are harsh enough to make the factory floor seem like the front office.

Advanced Measurement Inc. uses Ethernet to link sensors in remote oil fields in northern Canada to ruggedized systems that send data to distant offices. The application has millisecond communication requirements as well as demanding environmental specifications. But those hurdles weren’t enough to offset the benefits of Ethernet.

“We like the ubiquitous nature [of Ethernet], and we’ve got tons of experience with it,” says Steve Conquergood, chief executive officer of the system integrator, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. But it’s pricing that drives him away from proprietary fieldbuses. “Ethernet’s so dirt cheap, we use it everywhere it’s practical.”

That reasoning is shared by a growing number of developers who focus on more traditional industrial applications. While Ethernet may still be rare in the wilds of Canada, it’s becoming the norm in many factories around the globe. “Material handling is one of many fields that are pushing very hard to standardize on this,” says Helge Hornis, intelligent systems manager at automation components vendor Pepperl+Fuchs Inc., of Twinsburg, Ohio.

Managers who use Ethernet for higher level communications are extending the technology down to simple devices such as sensors. All types of dedicated buses are moving to Ethernet. “We’re seeing more activity with safety, putting it into the Ethernet I/O rack instead of laying out a separate safety network. The real value in that is that safety becomes an I/O function. Instead of wiring special safety relays and safety networks, you wire everything as an I/O point, the same as if it were a motor,” says Jeremy Bryant, networking technology specialist at Siemens Energy & Automation Inc., the Alpharetta, Ga.-based automation supplier.
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Ethernet Keeps Water Flowing - The Waterford Township Water Department keeps the water supply up-to-date and flowing with the help of Ethernet-connected programmable automation controllers.

Since 1996, the Waterford Township Department of Public Works (DPW) has used Opto 22 hardware and software in its water treatment plants, sewer pumping stations, and other facilities.

Serving a community of more than 74,000 people just northwest of Detroit, the Waterford DPW has looked to Opto 22, based in Temecula, Calif., to provide the automation and control systems needed to pump and treat water from 15 wells and 10 water treatment plants into a 350 mile distribution system and 62 sewer pumping stations. The water plants are designed to remove iron and manganese (both secondary contaminants) from the water, and to inject chlorine for disinfection and orthophosphate for corrosion control.

The DPW is using the Opto 22 Snap PAC System to monitor and control it’s newest water treatment facility, which performs a biological iron removal process via pressure filters.

The DPW chose to install Opto 22 Snap PAC controls instead of using the “black box”-type control system typically supplied by the filter manufacturers. The DPW is able to create any type of control program it wishes, resulting in a finely tuned system. Snap PACs, and the accompanying PAC control programming software, provide the DPW with the flexibilty to design using flowcharts, which are much easier for everyone involved to use and understand.

The Snap PAC system also proves invaluable for the DPW because of the very high number of input/output (I/O) points involved in their applications. Many existing sewer pumping stations and treatment plants still use Opto 22 mistic I/O systems, which feature mostly single-channel modules, but the higher density Snap PAC line is now preferred because it boasts 4-channel (and even higher density 32-channel) analog I/O modules that can be used to take chlorine, pH, and other readings from the treated water. The DPW understands that higher density modules save cabinet space, which saves a good deal of money in I/O racks and housing. Read more...

A Quest For The Best Roast - An upgrade to an Ethernet-based control system enables Diedrich customers to get precise and accurate control over their coffee roasting process.

According to the International Coffee Organization, more than $70 billion worth of coffee is sold worldwide each year - annual retail sales in the United States alone are estimated at $19 billion. With coffee being one of the few drinks considered universal, perhaps the Diedrich family was on to something when they delved into the coffee trade in 1912. What began as a family coffee-growing business has become a roaster manufacturing company known internationally for original product development and high quality.

Diedrich Manufacturing is an international leader in the design and production of industrial roasting systems designed to apply the correct combination of heat, airflow and timing to create an optimum roasting environment for coffee beans. Based in Sandpoint, Idaho, the company offers a range of roasters to commercial operations, shop owners and even consumers. Diedrich Manufacturing ships more than 170 systems annually, with each commercial automated system taking approximately 60 days, or 1,200 man-hours, to build.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2005, Diedrich Manufacturing remains committed to the advancement of roasting technology by combining the roasting methods developed by three generations of Diedrichs with cutting-edge automation to achieve accurate “roast profiling.” Diedrich strives to make every machine capable of the best roast through quality of construction and depth of automation.

According to Dave Williams, software engineer at Diedrich Manufacturing, optimal roasting requires precise process control. “Our machines provide very fine control over the coffee roast, and by adding automation, our customers can maintain that one variation point or roast profile they strive for,” Williams says. “This means we need top performance from every part of the machine to consistently hit that variable.”

Declining equipment reliability and technical support limitations were threatening to impact the company’s manufacturing performance standards. To maintain the high level of accuracy and reliability of its machines, Williams and his team knew they needed to update the existing platform that controlled the machine’s roasting environment. Read more...

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