Ethernet Works With Digital Fieldbuses

Ethernet Takes the Bus

“Customers love Ethernet,” says one of the project managers interviewed in this month’s lead feature.

This issue of Automation World’s Industrial Ethernet Review looks at the relationship of Ethernet to the digital fieldbuses that are only just now gaining critical mass in industry. Modbus is a serial networking protocol that has been successfully ported to Ethernet via Modbus TCP (transport control protocol - one of the standard protocols that works over Ethernet). The developers of Profibus have developed Profinet - an Ethernet implementation that allows Profibus data to migrate to that medium. Other fieldbus organizations, who did not supply information for this issue, also have Ethernet implementations, including EtherNet/IP - an implementation of DeviceNet’s CIP (common industrial protocol) over Ethernet - and Foundation Fieldbus HSE (high-speed Ethernet).

Contributing Editor Terry Costlow interviewed a number of experts in the field who have their fingers on the pulse of network and communication adoption. They offer tips for implementing Ethernet and provide some cautions, as well. Costlow also offers a number of contrarian views - doubters who think Ethernet won’t work for everything. But while there are views expressed that probably have undercurrents of market position, don’t ever tell an engineer something can’t be done. She, or he, will figure out a way to do it.

Ethernet Takes the Field - Ethernet networks are seeing some use as fieldbuses, but challenges remain.

Now that Ethernet has become the backbone of choice for industrial facilities, the network is extending its reach by taking on entrenched fieldbus technologies. Though that effort is bearing fruit, fieldbuses are maintaining solid growth.

Ethernet is addressing a huge range of applications, from conventional processing plants to those little known for electronics. For Anguil Environmental, a Milwaukee company that installs equipment that helps factories reduce air pollution, the local area network (LAN) provides many solid benefits. Many of its installations span large facilities, with equipment in hard-to-reach areas such as smokestacks.

“We used to do a lot of hard wiring from inside the control panel to the machines, which had a number of I/O (input/output) points and two or three variable frequency drives for their fans. Ethernet eliminates a lot of wiring and also lets us attach things like a chart recorder directly to the network so the company can gather data to send to the Environmental Protection Agency,” says Luke Warnes, control systems designer at Anguil, which uses a number of Rockwell Automation networking products... Read more

Look PA, No Wires - While many engineers tout the benefits of using Ethernet cables to replace hard wiring or multiple networking cable styles throughout a plant, others say that completely eliminating wiring is a far more efficient installation technique.

Wireless networks are seeing solid growth in factories. Many vendors and consumers no longer fear the uncertainty that comes when signals travel through the air in noisy industrial environments. Ruggedized Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity, based on the 802.11 standard of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is making solid inroads, and a number of proprietary industrial networks are also seeing success. Another challenger is ZigBee, an industry standard based on IEEE 802.15.4 that’s starting to see usage in utility metering and consumer applications.

Together, they’re building solid market growth. Wireless is ideal for mobile equipment, many contend. “There are already a number of wireless applications using wireless for guided vehicles that run long distances in SCADA (supervisory control and data acquistion) applications, for example,” says Brian Oulton, network marketing manager at automation vendor Rockwell Automation Inc., in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.

As companies consolidate and create larger factories, wireless makes it simpler to add equipment that is far from a central hub. Petroleum processors and others feels that the larger the space, the greater the benefits. “Wireless is especially popular for sensors, especially in the processing space where you might have long distances between tanks. You can install wireless sensors without running any wire,” says Carl Henning, deputy director of the Profibus Trade Organization, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Challenges remain

Though wireless is seeing rapid growth, observers caution that it’s not a technology that fits all applications. As when they deploy any new technology, users will find a number of issues that must be addressed. One of the first involves a basic issue that comes when wires are unplugged... Read more

Raising Fish - Ethernet technology helps Michigan hatcheries raise fish and keep the state’s waterways populated.

Fish hatcheries are facilities where fish eggs are cultivated under artificial conditions for breeding, repopulation and other purposes. Typically, hatchery workers release the female fish’s eggs in a process known as “stripping,” and then add the male fish’s sperm, a process called milting. The fertilized eggs are incubated in a controlled environment free from disease, predators and other risks. The hatched fish are then moved to raceways (artificial canals) where they mature and are sold for food, sent to aquariums or pet stores, or used for restocking.

“Michigan hatcheries release all their fish into our local rivers, lakes and tributaries to support commercial and recreational fishing and to supplement the natural population of various species,” explains Chris Klage, from the State of Michiganıs Department of Natural Resources.

Monitoring and Control

Klage oversees six hatcheries in the state of Michigan, including the Wolf Lake, Harrietta, Platte River, Oden, Thompson and Marquette State fish hatcheries. These facilities produce several varieties of salmon, sturgeon, pike, trout, splake and other species. Klage’s main area of responsibility is maintaining the hatcheries’ numerous process control and alarm systems, which utilize Snap Ethernet hardware from Opto 22, an automation products developer based in Temecula, Calif... Read more

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Understanding Lean packaging

AstraZeneca discusses the Lean model, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and related purchasing strategies at this year’s Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum. March 12, Philadelphia, PA
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