Ethernet's Reach Expands in Manufacturing

Occupational Convergence

Did you ever ponder why it is so hard to change someone's opinion on a subject when the facts have changed such that there is a new reality?

For example, everyone knows that automation engineers and other plant personnel hate professionals in the information technology (IT) department. And that the feeling is mutual. Right?

Well, I've accumulated some personal anecdotal evidence that “the times, they are a changing.” Series Contributing Editor Terry Costlow uncovered some additional evidence for his articles in this issue that, indeed, there is enhanced cooperation between these two vital disciplines. In fact, they may even be working for the same manager in some cases.

Ethernet is the force driving the occupational convergence. That seemingly ubiquitous network has become so important for connecting the enterprise that companies cannot afford for the two areas not to work together. Ethernet is really the only solid technology for connecting plant-floor information sources to the enterprise resource planning and manufacturing execution systems applications that executives use for decision making. IT people are the networking experts. It's essential that they be involved with network planning and implementation... Read more

New Approaches Help Broaden Ethernet's Reach - More industrial and office applications merge as understanding of diverse environments expands.

Linking disparate automation equipment remains a big challenge for engineers charged with networking the factory floor to the front office—in fields as diverse as manufacturing facilities and power distribution plants. Regardless of the industry, Ethernet is now the technology of choice.

In Oregon, electrical provider Portland General Electric is using the network to tie together a number of generators it taps to add capability during peak load times. Rather than buying a large turbine generator, PGE is tapping unused back-up generators at hospitals, businesses and other sites within its service area.

“Instead of turning on one big turbine generator, weíre turning on 35 to 50 diesel generators that have the same effect,” says Mark Osborn, distributed resources manager at PGE. “We're getting peak performance from diesels in about 10 seconds, instead of waiting from five to 15 minutes to get turbines up to speed.”

On the factory floor, Canadian-based Konal Engineering & Equipment Inc. uses Ethernet to boost efficiency and reduces cost as it manufactures headliner systems for the automobile industry. Those headliners are created by thermally forming multiple layers, which all bond at different temperatures... Read more

Keep it Simple, Somehow - Terms such as ease-of-use and user-friendliness have been widely heard for several years, but that doesnít mean that those terms will go the way of steam-powered equipment.

Connecting and maintaining thousands of points in complex industrial applications that demand extremely high reliability hasnít become a simple task despite the best efforts of the brightest minds in the industry.

As Ethernet takes over in the factory, one of the obstacles is that the information technology (IT) people who have set up corporate networking schemes donít fully understand the requirements of manufacturing environments. When these IT specialists set up industrial networks, they are often surprised to find that the front-office design techniques theyíve used successfully for years donít work.

“Everyone needs to quantify expectations. IT people often feel 90 percent uptime works, while manufacturing is looking for 99.9 percent. There's no reason IT people can't support high reliability. They just need to understand what it means in manufacturing,” says Brian Oulton, networks marketing director at vendor Rockwell Automation Inc., Milwaukee.

That underscores a fundamental challenge for many technical fields. The tools and technology are often well understood, but only by a very limited number of experts. If a design team doesn't have someone whoís knowledgeable enough to troubleshoot all the issues, the job isn't simple... Read more

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