Q3 • 2014
Happier
Together
process and Discrete Applications and their
traditional Distinct networks come together
With the Help of Distributed intelligence,
ethernet and related tools
P16 AlternAte energy SourceS
P19 Hype, Hope, HAppineSS in WireleSS
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IN14Q3_01_Cover.indd 1
7/30/14 3:17 PM
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IN14Q3_FPA.indd 2
1-800-633-0405
the #1 value in automation
7/30/14 4:44 AM
Volume xII, no. 3
Features
CoVer story
oPtIMIze
CONTENTS
14
e Va l u at e
16
alternate energy
sources – Power to
the Processor
Wireless Networks Have to Dependably
Enable Power to the Sensors
by Ian VerHaPPen
researCH
22
successful network
Connections
Devices That Let Nodes on Industrial
Networks Communicate Faster and
Over Remote Locations
Happier together
Process and Discrete Applications and Their Traditional Distinct Networks Come
Together With the Help of Distributed Intelligence, Ethernet and Related Tools
by jIM Montague, exeCutIVe edItor
ColuMns & dePartMents
5 FIrst bIt
Step-by-Step to Wireless Benefits
7 PaCkets
The Cybersecurity Disconnect and
More Networking News
9 bus stoP
Wireless Signal Intensity
19 ParIty CHeCk
Hype, Hope, Happiness
20 bandwIdtH
Extreme Connection Technology
25 ProduCts
26 terMInator
INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING is published four times annually to select subscribers of CONTROL and CONTROL DESIGN magazines by PUTMAN MEDIA INC. (also publishers of CHEMICAL
PROCESSING, FOOD PROCESSING, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING and PLANT SERVICES), 555 W. Pierce Road, Suite 301, Itasca, IL. (Phone: 630/467-1300; Fax: 630/467-1124.) Address all
correspondence to Editorial and Executive Offices, same address. ©Putman Media 2014. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or part without consent
of the copyright owner. INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. Single copies $15.
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIal networkIng
IN14Q_03_TOC.indd 3
3
7/30/14 3:19 PM
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©2014 Hilscher North America, Inc. All trademarks are the properties of their respective companies.
IN14Q3_FPA.indd 4
7/30/14 4:44 AM
t eFri rmsi tn abti to r
step-by-step to wireless benefits
Not aNother wireless columN! sorry, but
this one was timely and too useful to pass up. i was
pleasantly surprised at the recent rstecheD event
in orlando, Florida, when experts from rockwell
automation and cisco summarized their “wireless
Design considerations for industrial applications”
to help users apply wireless appropriately, safely
and securely in their machines, applications and
production processes.
located at www.tinyurl.com/qdje9k5, the guide
includes details of wireless local area network
(wlaN) implementations, test details and results,
and links to cisco’s documentation on wireless
technology. The presenters were rob snyder,
product manager for rockwell automation’s
stratix 5100 wireless access points (aPs), and scott
Friberg, senior applications engineer in cisco’s
internet of Things (iot) group, and they focused
on wireless governed by the ieee 802.11a/g/n
standard, which covers i/o components, peer-topeer and safety controls, and mobile hmis.
however, due to more mobile, “fast-roaming”
machines and other possible latency sources,
rockwell automation and cisco’s wireless
application guide recommends users employ the
5-Ghz band for their wireless networks, don’t
exceed 20 wireless nodes per wireless aP and keep
20% of network bandwidth capacity in reserve
to handle increased data traffic. “Determining
the right packet size, speed and interval is
probably the most important metric for wireless
implementation,” snyder adds. “in general, we
found it’s important not to exceed 2,200 data
packets per second (PPs) in a wireless channel,
but further reducing packet rates is important in
environments with radio frequency (rF) issues or
other interference.”
to prepare an application and facility for a
wlaN, snyder and the guide recommend that
users assess their site requirements and identify:
• Wireless channels available and in use;
• IT policy regulating wireless spectrum;
• Existing and potential sources of wireless
interference in the area;
• Locations, dimensions, material compositions
of required coverage areas;
• Environmental characteristics of the site;
• Obstructions that might enter and leave the
coverage areas;
• Installation limitations for the antennas, APs
and cabling;
• If a site survey was done before, determine
devices and parameters used.
“Performing a comprehensive site survey is
crucial. No wireless system should be installed
without one,” snyder says. “an accurate site survey
is necessary to determine appropriate antenna
type and placement.”
once the site survey is done, preparing to
install a wlaN also requires identifying network
requirements. These include:
• Picking an autonomous or unified WLAN
architecture;
• Evaluating existing WLAN and switch
infrastructure;
• Deciding who will manage the WLAN;
• Settling on required WLAN security and
required network redundancy;
• Determining IP addressing, DHCP and VLAN
requirements.
Next, individual application requirements must
be determined. These include:
• Number and types of both wireless and wired
components;
• Type of CIP and non-CIP protocols required by
the application;
• Packet intervals, size and PPS rate for each type
of traffic;
• Directional flow of the traffic per protocol;
• Total PPS per wireless channel;
• Application timeouts required per protocol;
• Maximum tolerable latency and jitter per
protocol;
• Handling of lost or late data packets by the
application;
• Time synchronization requirements;
• Equipment mobility requirements such as fast
roaming;
• If multiple, identical applications need to
operate throughout the plant, the number of
installations and distance between each area.
Finally, the application guide recommends
using wPa 2 with aes encryption to secure
wireless network, which doesn’t affect application
performance. “many components have these
security functions built in, but users must enable
them,” snyder concludes. “security is organic to the
wireless standards, so use them.”
”DETERmInIng ThE
RIghT paCkET sIzE,
spEED anD InTERVal
Is pRObably ThE
mOsT ImpORTanT
mETRIC fOR wIRElEss
ImplEmEnTaTIOn.”
JIM MONTAGUe
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
jmontague@putman.netl
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIal networkIng
IN14Q3_05_FIRSTBIT.indd 5
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7/30/14 3:16 PM
IN14Q3_FPA.indd 6
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PA C K E T S
Businesses Know They Need More
Cybersecurity; Don’t Do Much About It
ACCORDING TO A RECENT SURVEY BY INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ORGANIZATION PONEMON
Institute (www.ponemon.com) and Unisys (www.unisys.com), industrial cybersecurity is a lot like diet
and exercise. Most of us know we should do a lot more of it than we do—but we don’t.
The study, “Critical Infrastructure: Security Preparedness and Maturity,” found big security
gaps in the world’s critical infrastructure organizations that could impact their ability to prevent
devastating attacks to disrupt power generation and other critical functions. The study surveyed
599 global IT and IT security executives at utility, oil and gas, alternate energy and manufacturing
organizations in 13 countries from April to May 2014. These industries have become high-risk
targets for cybersecurity incidents.
According to the survey, only 17% of companies represented in the research self-reported that
most of their IT security program activities are deployed. Fifty percent say either that their IT
security activities haven’t been defined or deployed (7%), or they’ve defined activities, but they’re
only partially deployed (43%). Only 28% of respondents agree that security is one of the top five
strategic priorities across the enterprise.
At the same time, 57% of respondents agree that cyber threats put industrial control systems
and SCADA at greater risk. Ten percent more (67%) say their companies have had at least one
security compromise that led to the loss of confidential information or disruption to operations
over the past 12 months.
So what are companies waiting for?
Reasons cover everything from lack of knowledge about threat severity to worry about the
cost-effectiveness of remedial efforts and the effect they might have on uptime. A full one-third
of those surveyed reported they were unaware of the potential vulnerabilities in their ICS/SCADA
environment, and another 19% said they were unsure about the degree of threat.
NOT PUTTING THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH S ARE
9%
Security is one of the top five strategic priorities
across the enterprise
19%
11%
Use of state-of-the-art technologies to minimize
security risks to SCADA networks and industrial
control systems
9%
17%
Effective management of security risks to
information assets, enterprise systems, SCADA
networks and critical infrastructure
9%
17%
Sufficient resources to achieve compliance with
security standards
9%
The risk level to ICS and SCADA has
substantially decreased because of regulations
and industry-based security standards
0%
• EMI-RFI immunity
• Tight Bend Radius
• Superb Flexibility
• Lower Overall Cost
• 1-Gbt Bandwidth (coming soon)
16%
3%
Strongly agree
Features are:
17%
18%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Agree
Unisys
Security and compliance industry initiatives
enhance the security posture
Mitsubishi’s Plastic Optical Fiber/
Cables are a proven designed-in
technology for the Industrial market.
It delivers clean signals for networks,
machine control, data automation
and transfer, in addition to a number
of sensing applications.
www.fiberopticpof.com
Sixty-four percent of respondents anticipate one or more serious attacks to networks or
critical infrastructure each year, but reducing the risk is not a high corporate priority.
2014 • Q3 • INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING
IN14Q3_07_PACKETS.indd 7
7
655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Tel.: 212-605-2392 • Fax: 212-605-1030
E-mail: ken.eben@mitsubishicorp.com
MIC-ESKA 6-14 adrev1aR1.indd 1
2:54 PM
7/30/147/9/14
3:44 PM
PA C K E T S
Bits & Bytes
Moxa (www.moxa.com) received Class I, Div. 2 hazardous
location certification from United Laboratories (UL, www.
ul.com) for its EDR-810 industrial multiport router, qualifying it
for safe use in oil and gas refineries, offshore platforms, fueling
stations and other areas containing ignitable concentrations of
volatile liquids, gases or vapors.
Lemo (www.lemo.com), a Swiss designer and
manufacturer of custom connectors, acquired Northwire
(www.northwire.com), U.S. specialty cable manufacturer
of wire and multi-conductor cable and retractiles for the
medical, aerospace and defense, energy and industrial
markets.
Belden (www.belden.com) introduced an EMEAwide certification program for industrial Ethernet
infrastructures. The company trained and qualified its first
group of industrial network solution providers to design,
install, configure and test companies’ new or expanded
industrial networks.
Fieldbus Int’l (FINT, www.fieldbus-international.com),
maker of embedded and DIN-rail-mounted converters for
HART, WirelessHART, Profibus and Foundation fieldbus,
and Fieldbus Inc. (FI, www.fieldbusinc.com), a fieldbus
technology solutions provider, have announced a strategic
alliance.
Profibus UK (www.profibusgroup.com) issued a call for
papers to be presented at its user conference in Stratford
upon Avon, on June 23-24, 2015. Speakers will make a 30to 40-minute presentation on applications and other user
aspects of Profibus and Profinet.
AC drives manufacturer Vacon (www.vacon.com) became
a member of BACnet Int’l (www.bacnetinternational.
org), an industry association that facilitates the use of
the BACnet protocol in building automation and control
systems through interoperability testing, educational
programs and promotional activities.
LPRS (www.lprs.co.uk) wireless system design house and
manufacturer of short-range radio devices, is supplying its
easyRadio Advanced (eRA) wireless modules to conditionmonitoring system vendor Perpetuum (www.perpetuum.
com) for a sensor system that enables users to predict
failure of rotating components including wheel bearings
and gearboxes.
8
The perception that much of their corporate network is out of
the control of those responsible for security is another factor. Sixtyeight percent said that up to a quarter of their network components,
including third-party endpoints such as smartphones and home
computers, are outside the direct control of their organization’s
security operations. Another 30% estimate that between one-quarter
and three-quarters of their networks are out of their control.
Finally, there’s that “is-it-worth-it” factor. When asked whether
they were confident they could upgrade legacy systems to
improve security while maintaining operation functionality
and cost-effectiveness, more than half said they were not very
confident or unsure.
The complete report is available at www.unisys.com.
Fieldbus Groups ‘Unite’
The boards of directors of the Fieldbus Foundation
and the HART Communication Foundation approved unifying
the two groups into a new industry organization dedicated to the
needs of intelligent devices and their integration in the world of
process automation.
The combined power of both organizations will aim to protect
the investments that end users in process automation have made
in HART and Foundation fieldbus communication technologies.
The mission of the combined organization will be to develop,
manage and promote global standards for integrating devices into
automation-system architectures, providing functional solutions
for process automation suppliers and end users.
The two organizations have a long history of cooperation. For
example, they worked together to develop common international
standards such as Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL)
specifications and Field Device Integration (FDI) technology.
The Foundation fieldbus and HART specifications will continue
to exist individually and evolve in the future. Each protocol will
retain its own brand name, trademarks, patents and copyrights.
ISA Offers Cybersecurity
Certificate Program
ISA HAS developed a knowledge-based ISA99/IEC 62443
Cybersecurity Fundamentals Specialist Certificate program
designed for professionals in IT and control system security,
who need to develop a command of industrial cybersecurity
terminology and an understanding of the material embedded in
the ANSI/ISA-62443 standards.
The program consists of passing a course on using the ANSI/
ISA-62443 standards to secure industrial control systems. The
course is available in the classroom or online. Students must also
pass a written exam in the classroom or online.
For more information about the program, visit www.isa.org.
Industrial Networking • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_07_PACKETS.indd 8
7/30/14 3:44 PM
A Beacon for Wireless Signal Integrity
our site maintenance contractor
requested a beacon in the shop as a backup to
walkie-talkies to help alert craftsmen to possible
plant emergencies. The shop is a few hundred feet
from the control house, and there’s no existing
signal wiring to the building—not even the business
network Lan has cable or fiber going there. This
seemed like an application tailor-made for wireless.
We’ve been using WirelessHart for over a year
now, and i’ve been impressed when somewhat
whimsical installations by curious operators,
nested at some distance in jungles of steel with
no obvious line-of-sight path, still manage to
join the network and communicate reliably.
We think we’ve repeatedly demonstrated that
the practical capability of low-power radios far
exceeds the conservative specifications. There
are a few WirelessHart devices in the mesh that
are a reasonable distance from the shop, and at
least one is line-of-sight. so thanks to being priced
below the per-transaction limit on our company
mastercard, a rosemount model 702 wireless
discrete transmitter arrived last week.
until now, the measurements brought in
wirelessly have not been safety-related or missioncritical, at least with respect to time. if a signal
went offline, the plant manager wasn’t going to
appear in my office. While views of the criticality of
our new beacon vary, it would certainly be ignored
if it became subject to spurious activation, or if it
came on a minute or two after being commanded
from the control house. is the robustness and
signal integrity of a WirelessHart network
sufficient for this challenge?
concerns about signal integrity of radio
networks in process plant jungles of steel were
anticipated by the designers of both WirelessHart
and its non-interoperable cousin, isa 100.11a.
Both employ a mesh topology, in which devices
don’t need a direct path to the root access
point or gateway. They can identify and use an
alternate route if their primary pathway becomes
unavailable. But it’s a little different from your
moxa or cisco wireless mesh network for ethernet
and its kin—it’s quite possible the gateway is
the only line-powered device in the system. The
majority of devices, including routers, run on
batteries, expensive ones designed for use in
hazardous atmospheres. We want these batteries
to last a few years if possible, so we tend to
specify the longest update rate we can tolerate. a
device in the mesh might only become active and
transmit every 30 seconds or longer.
WirelessHart and isa 100.11a go beyond
using mesh technology to ensure signal integrity.
Both use time division multiple access (tDma),
which enforces specific time slots for device
communication. For operating in the increasingly
crowded 2.4-GHz band, both also employ channelhopping, so messages can avoid transients and
interferences on individual frequencies. When
i asked emerson Process management about
my 702, i heard from ted schnaare, director of
engineering-wireless. He said, “multiple transmit
slots are available within the update period of
each generated data packet, and retransmissions
of unacknowledged packets occur on different rF
channels and via different paths.”
When we come back to a wireless device a
few weeks after commissioning, we usually see
its “nearest neighbors” have changed. That’s
because both WiHart and isa 100.11a employ
self-optimizing, self-healing mesh networks that
constantly probe for more efficient and reliable
paths back to the gateway.
What about bad guys trying to hack the wireless
network? it seems like we hear a new caveat every
day about the vulnerability of wireless transmissions
emanating from our cell phones and laptops. There’s
a lot of security built into WiHart and isa 100.11a
at the network and the message level, using 128-bit
aes encryption and a message integrity code (mic)
added to every message. Joining the network is
closely managed, making it highly unlikely a rogue
device might provide a foothold for an attacker.
The 702 manual suggests i could see a contact
closure communicated in 15 seconds or less. But
it also cautions about “other latencies.” some of
those latencies can arise when you’re mapping
the gateway points using modbus or oPc. if your
gateway is on an rs-485 network with a dozen other
devices with sizable gobs of data to poll, you might
be compelled to find a “dedicated” port for your
critical wireless “control.”
Will our beacon application light the way for
future wireless control? aside from the vagaries of
modbus and oPc mappings, the industrial wireless
infrastructure is looking pretty solid.
t eBrUmS i n
S taot o
Pr
UntIl noW,
the meASUrementS
BroUght In
WIreleSSly hAve not
Been SAfety-relAted
or mISSIon-crItIcAl,
At leASt WIth
reSpect to tIme.
John Rezabek
jrezabek@ashland.com
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIal networkIng
IN14Q3_09_BUSSTOP.indd 9
9
7/30/14 3:36 PM
Happier
Together
Process and discrete aPPlications and their traditionally distinct
networks come together with the helP of distributed intelligence,
ethernet and related tools
from oxygen or uv radiation and extend their shelf lives.
Just as smaller, slower streams eventually carve out
Because it requires open, flexible controls to integrate new heads
larger, faster rivers, industrial networking evolved from separate
onto existing and new machines, müller switched to ethercat
methods for individual purposes to common pathways that can
networking and twincat software from Beckhoff automation
handle many different tasks.
(www.beckhoff.com). These enable the control-cabinet and other
analog signals and data that used to be brought in by point-toIPcs with dual-core processors to control the extruders’ heating
point wires, cables, connectors and cabinets have given way to digital
zones and wall thicknesses at the same time. over the subfieldbuses, ethernet, wireless and Internet-enabled networks that
distributions of ethercat’s terminal system, signals provided by the
jointly manage data from multiple applications. Power, temperature,
blow-molding machine are logged along with servo-axis motion
vibration, pressure, flow, speed and other traditional values continue
data and heating zone process-variable information. Generally, one
to be generated at more varied sources than ever before, but they’re
servo axis is used per extrusion machine, and a further axis is used
more quickly converted into digital formats that can be sent via
for wall thickness control.
common networks to controllers and enterprise levels for
Jim montague,
“I/o data comes from the thermocouples” explains
quicker analysis and better decision making.
executive editor
James Birt, müller’s control technologist. “our concept
In short, microprocessors and software don’t care
uses a large number of individual heaters, since this is the
what kind of ones and zeros they chew on, and this
best way to control the flow of material. a maximum of 220 heating
brings together process, discrete, motion, power and other functions
zones are available in the control system, although 50 heating zones
that used to require dedicated communications and networks.
are usually sufficient, even for larger systems. There also are numerous
For instance, w. müller (www.w-mueller-gmbh.de) in troisdorf,
temperature-controlled zones for water-cooled feed zones or valve
Germany, builds extrusion heads and platforms for retrofitting onto
control. The openness and flexibility of this control technology and
blow molding machines, which are producing more complex and
networking enables us to integrate existing machine signals and
capable bottles and other products with multilayered walls. müller’s
drive technology along with temperature controls from third-party
coex extrusion head works with six extruders to produce a three- to
seven-layer, co-extruded plastic strand, which combines a glossy exterior, suppliers without great expense, and it helps us meet customer
requirements for various bus systems.”
layer-coupling agents and inner layers that protect consumer products
10
IndustrIal networkIng • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_10_15_COVERSTORY.indd 10
7/30/14 4:58 PM
Batch PrinciPles aid instruments
Similarly, Amtex (www.amtex-corp.com) decided in 2010 to automate
one of the five reactors at its functional polymers plant in Medellín,
Columbia, so it could operate using improved batch methods, follow
ISA-S88 standards, move from traditional supervisory batch management
to production-based management, and aim to achieve about a
30% production increase. The firm worked with system integrator
Automatización S.A. (www.automatizacion.com.co), and together they
implemented the first batch application of ABB’s (www.abb.com) System
800xA distributed control system (DCS) in Columbia (Figure 1).
Amtex is Latin America’s largest producer of sodium
carboxymethylcelullose (CMC), and its four plants in Mexico,
Columbia and Argentina have an installed capacity of 32,000 metric
tons per year. Marketed under Amtex’s Gelycel brand name, CMC is
an anionic polymer derived from cellulose that’s used as a thickener in
the food, pharmaceuticals and oil industries. Amtex has two plants in
Columbia, one annually produces 15,000 metric tons of CMC, and the
other produces 14,000 metric tons per year of functional polymers.
Consequently, Amtex and Automatización outfitted the reactor
with System 800xA Batch Management, which is ISA-S88-compliant,
recipe-management, procedural-control software for configuring,
scheduling and managing batch operations. The batch software
was implemented in conjunction with the reactor’s two AC800M
controllers, network controls and AC800M connectivity server, which
covers 600 tags. The first controller performs process control, while
the second is for auxiliary equipment and includes connecting plant
meters via a Modbus RTU network to prevent possible data traffic
overloads on the process controllers.
In general, ISA-S88 (www.isa.org/isa88) standardizes production
controls to better meet customer requirements. ISA-S88 started out
in process control applications, but its commonsense, flowchartbased procedures have been so popular that the World Batch
Forum (www.mesa.org) has reported its principles are applied to
continuous processes and packaging applications, and it’s even
helped standardize working relationships between process, control
and IT people because it gives them a common language. ISA-S88 also
enables modular software designs, which can be more easily reused in
different applications.
The polymer reactor at Amtex includes a batch server that runs
50 equipment clients and a data-management server that generates
reports for raw materials, energy consumption, steam and water use,
and other production and process variables, events and alarms. It also
includes two production-management clients, one engineering and
two operator workstations, and three controllers. The main controller
also has five Profibus-DP modules—one for each reactor to connect
remote I/O modules, drives and Profibus-PA instruments.
To coordinate its process and discrete functions to better meet
ISA-S88 requirements, the reactor also includes a rack for the
controllers and DP/PA converters, as well as four distributed control
racks that have remote I/O modules connected via Profibus-DP. Each
reactor also has a Profibus-DP master module to which variablespeed drives and I/O modules for rotating equipment are connected
via remote DP/PA converters. The upgrade project also implemented
Profibus-PA instruments such as pressure transmitters, temperature
transmitters and Coriolis mass flowmeters.
After a few months, Amtex reports product quality from the newly
automated reactor was so much better than the other four that
it decided to upgrade them as well. With its polymer process fully
automated, the plant increased production by 35%, gained more
real-time production information, secured historical data to further
improve decision-making and plans to implement System 800xA at its
CMC plant in Columbia.
“We’re convinced we can offer our customers reliability and
repeatability in our products by using ISA-S88-compliant batch
management and System 800xA,” says Juan Camilo Arango, general
manager at Amtex. “Nowadays, customers worldwide seek minimal
Unify Your Network!
As industrial networks pick up speed, data capacity and new
functions, they’ve gained the ability to have one or two networks
do the jobs of multiple predecessors. Here’s how to simplify and
secure some of these new benefits.
• Evaluate existing network infrastructure, protocols, software
and support systems. How many serial, digital, fieldbus,
Ethernet and/or wireless networks do you have? Where are
they located, how are they connected, and who and what
applications use them?
• Recruit a team and draft a step-by-step plan to upgrade your
plant-floor, in-the-field and enterprise/office networks. Include
all operations, engineering, IT and other affected stakeholders.
Ask what are the operational and business purposes of each
network? How well does each one fulfill its goals?
• Decide which networks are needed, which can be combined
with others, and which can be safely eliminated. Can
fieldbuses replace existing point-to-point or serial networks?
Can Ethernet or even wireless replace fieldbuses in some
locations? Will the benefits outweigh the costs?
• Investigate how a newly combined network should be
segmented and firewalled, and how communications
can be encrypted to provide sufficient security. Base the
decision on risk assessment, including frequency, severity
and consequences of intrusions and breaches. Also, draft a
mutually agreed-upon password and patching policy and
train staff to follow them.
• Check if other accessories and capabilities might be
useful and deployable via your new network. Could some
equipment use Power over Ethernet (PoE)? Would some
sensors, instruments or intelligent components benefit
from device-level networks such as AS-i or IO-Link? Could
some values be gathered via wireless? Can some remote
monitoring and control be done by Internet-enabled devices?
• Following implementation, schedule regular revaluations of
network to address any needed upgrades or changes.
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIal networkIng
IN14Q3_10_15_COVERSTORY.indd 11
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changes in their process, and the only way of managing it is by
reducing process variables.”
Amtex and ABB
EthErnEt Assists intElligEncE
Of course, one of the main factors enabling formerly separate process
and discrete networks to come together is Ethernet and its common,
widely accepted network cabling and hardware, which allows users
to pull digital networking further down into production layers and
further out into field applications.
For example, though it grew 15% per year from 2005 to 2010, Full Sail
Brewing (www.fullsailbrewing.com) in Hood River, Oregon, needed to
migrate away from its manual mash-filtration process, which required
continuous, manual data-testing and reporting, and would restrict
future production demands, efficiency and cost-cutting efforts, and
quality improvements. In addition, spent grain after filtration had an
82% moisture content, which meant that valuable product was leaving
as a heavier, more costly to transport byproduct.
Full Sail considered adopting a fully computerized brewing system, but
it would have required 24/7 operation to achieve return on investment
(ROI) and would have compromised the employees’ work-life balance.
The brewery also wanted to create a more scalable solution, improve
filtration efficiency and minimize operator dependence on automation.
ProduCe More PolYMers
Figure 1: Amtex’s functional polymers plant in Medellín,
columbia, upgraded its five reactors with isA-s88-compliant
batch management software aided by Profibus PA/DP
converters, and increased production by 35%.
12
As a result, Full Sail worked with system integrator Aurora
Industrial Automation (www.aurora-ia.com) in Portand, Oregon, to
implement Rockwell Automation’s (www.rockwellautomation.com)
PlantPAx process automation system with Logix Batch and Sequence
Manager (LBSM), which also complies with the ISA-S88 batch
standard. LBSM allows Full Sail to configure sequences directly into its
ControlLogix controller through its FactoryTalk View HMI software
without needing server-based batch software.
In addition, FactoryTalk Historian software identifies and gathers
tags from PlantPAx to provide real-time production data from Full
Sail’s 60-step filtration process. So where its old manual filtration
system collected only four or five data points, the new FactoryTalkenabled filter can pull up to 250 tags (Figure 2).
“All our PLCs are tied together using EtherNet/IP and Data Highway
Plus (DH+) networks, so every PLC in the facility can communicate
with any other PLC or PanelView station,” explains Jamie Emmerson,
Full Sail’s executive brewmaster. “We use a Control Logix rack with a
1756-ENBT Ethernet bridge and 1756-DHRIO DH+ module to link the
two networks. Our PLCs include three SLC 5/04s, five 5/05s, two Control
Logix, seven CompactLogix, five MicroLogix and one PLC 5 that all talk
to each other and the 12 PanelView Plus HMIs on the same network.
“On the device level, we use DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP and remote
I/O. Most of the brewhouse, bottling line, and waste treatment are
tied in. The communication networks and PanelViews allow easier
interfaces for the operators. Before, they had to identify which
machine, and physically go over to see what was going on. Now,
alarms and warnings occur, and most can be handled remotely”
Finally, FactoryTalk VantagePoint software aggregates this data into
predefined dashboards. This real-time data helps Full Sail optimize
filtration as it’s happening, and catch discrepancies that might occur
during a batch. “We make about 20 varieties of beer,” says Emmerson.
“Now, brewers of each batch benefit from the information available
from the previous brew. They can see the metrics that produced a
successful batch and optimize the new brew based on that data.”
Thanks to its new filtration system, Emmerson adds Full Sail
increased its brewing capacity by 25% and cut its brew-cycle time in
half. Also, because operators can optimize brews on the fly, Full Sail
trimmed raw material costs by 5% per year, removed more moisture
from its spent grain, and cut annual water use by 1 million gallons.
“The key to all this is how process control and factory automation
have evolved over the years,” says Ira Sharp, product manager for
I/O and networks at Phoenix Contact (www.phoenixcontact.com).
“Everyone used to distribute connectivity from their I/O points
to get intelligence into the field, and this meant various protocols,
controllers, racks of I/O and parallel wires from sensors all the way
back to landing on separate I/O cards, and then converting to digital
signals. Now, instead of converting at the rack, we put remote I/O
cards on the machine or in the field, and send bus cables back to the
controllers. Three years ago, we released our third-generation remote
I/O strategy, which focuses entirely on Ethernet communications.”
Unlike typical remote I/O devices that need an extra processor for
protocol conversions, data encryption and decryption between bus
IndustrIal networkIng • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_10_15_COVERSTORY.indd 12
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couplers and controllers—and which also
add latency—Sharp says that its Axioline
remote I/O achieves microsecond-level
conversion from I/O to protocol. “It’s like
a terminal block for protocols, so if you’re
running an EtherNet/IP network, you don’t
have to worry about delays in the protocol
to the I/O drop,” Sharp explains. “The
process industries also are moving toward
remote I/O strategies with their distributed
I/O and electronic marshalling, which also
collect instrument signals, convert them for
transmission via Ethernet, and give them to
the controllers. About 90% of process field
devices still are considered stranded, but this
situation is getting better.”
New CoNtrols CoordiNate
ProtoCols
While Ethernet provides common cabling
for process, discrete and other applications,
there’s no guarantee that participants on it
will be able to communicate or interoperate
with each other. In fact, most don’t interact
directly, even though they’re on the same data
highway. This is one of Ethernet’s persistent
drawbacks, even though suppliers keep on
parroting about how “open” it is. Fortunately,
better data-translating software and
microprocessors, more widely standardized
Ethernet flavors and more capable control
systems are picking up some of this slack.
For instance, Merck Serono Biotech
Center (MSBC, www.merckserono.com) in
Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, produces
biopharmaceuticals from large molecular
structures, such as proteins created
from living cells using recombinant DNA
technology. MSBC presently makes the active
ingredient in Merck Serono’s Rebif multiple
sclerosis medicine and Erbitux targeted
cancer therapy. To expand production of
monoclonal antibodies such as Erbitux,
MSBC completed a new, large-scale biotech
(LSB) facility in 2012, including an upstream
plant, downstream plant, utility area for
supplying clean water, air and steam, and an
onsite wastewater treatment plant.
Of course, all of the LSB’s new applications
are monitored and managed by more than
2,000 Foundation fieldbus (FF) devices and
nearly 6,500 Profibus control valves. So MSBC
sought help from Yokogawa Deutschland
(www.yokogawa.com), which installed them
along with its Centum VP production control
system. This core automation software
takes in and integrates data from PLCs and
other components with Profibus, FF and
other interfaces, and then distributes it to
VP Batch software to help manage recipes
and parameters and Exaquantum/Batch
plant information management system to
generate batch reports required by 21 CFR
Part 11 regulations. In addition, Yokogawa’s
PRM plant resource management software
was used at plant start-up to check loops,
parameters and different control valve
types, and diagnose them. This enables it
to perform proactive maintenance, and
schedule Profibus and FF-based field device
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IN14Q3_10_15_COVERSTORY.indd 13
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Driven to the Device-LeveL
Ironically, as intelligence and Ethernet make their way into the field,
many components out there rely on some new and rediscovered
networking methods. Two notable examples are 25-year-old, devicelevel protocol AS-i and point-to-point newcomer IO-Link. Both are
useful to deliver basic process and discrete signals from instruments
up to higher-level networks.
“AS-i originally was developed for the machine side, but it’s now
heavily used on the process side,” says Helge Hornis, manager of the
Intelligent Systems Group at Pepperl+Fuchs (www.pepperl-fuchs.
us). “Valve manufacturers in North America found that AS-i was easy
to use, fast, inexpensive and could go into Class I, Div 2 areas. This is
really where the process and discrete networking worlds meet.”
Turck’s Durick adds, “Previously, Ethernet was deployed at the
controller level and above, but now it’s getting to the device level
to support process measurement devices that check temperature,
level and flow, as well as positioning devices, linear transducers and
encoders. Turck’s innovation is our MP1 multi-protocol technology,
which has a microprocessor with three protocols and can selfconfigure to whichever protocol is being used on its network. This
means users can put an I/O device and an Ethernet gateway in a box,
and they no longer need a converter between them to talk Profinet,
EtherNet/IP or Modbus TCP.”
14
MuLtipurpose BackBone
Once process and discrete applications and their networks come
together, it can seem like everyone else wants to jump on the
bandwagon. Wireless accessories, video feeds, and even safety
capabilities and other crucial functions are getting in on the act—
fueling the need for even better coordination by all network controls.
For example, Gerdau Ameristeel (www.gerdauameristeel.com)
in Tampa, Florida, operates 11 mini-mills in the U.S., including
its mill in Jacksonville, Florida, which has a melt shop with about
10,000 I/O points and a rolling mill with about 13,000 I/O points
both which combine process variables and discrete signals (Figure
3). Nationally, Gerdau’s operations are controlled by 19 different
types of PLCs, which are organized by KepServerEx software from
Kepware Technologies (www.kepware.com), and the PLCs report to
a QMOS manufacturing execution system (MES). The melt shop and
rolling mill also employ InTouch software and terminal services from
Wonderware (www.software.invensys.com/wonderware) to support
thin clients and use Kepware’s LinkMaster software to access data
from multiple OPC data sources via Ethernet, and integrate network
protocols from multiple suppliers into one software-based solution.
More recently, the plant integrated a standalone IBA historian,
which pulls client data from its Kepware devices. Presently, the
Jacksonville plant logs all its tags, which allows engineers and
operators to track problems down to the smallest details and recreate
any operator actions done using Wonderware or push buttons.
“QMOS figures out what ingredients are needed for ordered products,
and recipes for those orders reside in QMOS and Wonderware,” says
Jarrod Parrotta, improvement facilitator at Gerdau’s Jacksonville
plant. “QMOS tracks each step in the process and all critical
operational parameters, such as amps, pressures, kilowatt hours, time
start/stop. Moving products from one station to the next triggers and
racks PLC events, and they’re all communicated via KepServerEx and
LinkMaster. Also, with the current system configuration, I don’t have
Full Sail and Rockwell Automation
checks. Also, because all devices can be monitored online with PRM,
the plant can operate with fewer field staff.
“Our target for the Vevey facility is for it to be an integrated e-plant
from vial to bulk,” says Nicholas Martin Clement, Merck Serono’s
ePlant manager. “We’re continuing to automate plant operations,
and make this a highly efficient operation with less impact on the
environment. In this integrated e-plant, engineers and operators have
access at any location to what’s going on with the plant’s processes, so
they can make quicker and more timely decisions.”
Naturally, cases of new control systems and software handling
multiple communication protocols are even more remarkable in light
of their networks’ divergent backgrounds. Randy Durick, network
and interface division director at Turck (www.turck-usa.com),
explains the main difference between discrete and process networks
is that discrete networks are historically byte-level and require speed
to serve the automotive and manufacturing applications where
they originated, while process networks value data quality and
sophistication over speed because of the pressure, temperature and
level values in their traditional oil, gas and other process applications.
“A handful of Ethernet versions, including EtherNet/IP, Profinet,
Modbus TCP, EtherCAT and Ethernet Powerlink, are gaining popularity
because users can move a lot more data faster; their underlying
Ethernet infrastructure, hardware, connectors and topology are wellknown; and they can handle innovative solutions in the field,” Durick
says. “And because protocols like Profinet and regular TCP/IP can be on
the same wire, developers even find ways for two networks to exchange
data by using devices like our Ethernet Spanner, which employs
embedded switches and IP addresses to bridge each network.”
saVe some suds
Figure 2: Full sail Brewing’s new mash filtration system pulls
up to 250 tags via components on its ethernet/ip network and
increased its brewing capacity by 25%, cut raw material costs by
5% and saved 1 million gallon of water per year.
IndustrIal networkIng • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_10_15_COVERSTORY.indd 14
7/30/14 4:59 PM
Gerdau and Kepware
to let anyone through the firewall because using the two Kepware
servers across the firewall allows me to provide a security control
feature and limit the amount of traffic on the process network.”
However, when the mill recently sought to add more Wonderware
terminals and I/O points, its PLC scan rates slowed down, stopped
communicating and skipped a whole scan cycle, according to
Parrotta. Fortunately, his team used KepServerEx to centralize
MANAGe More MeTAL
Figure 3: When PLC scan rates slowed and stopped at Gerdau
Ameristeel’s melt shop and rolling mill in Jacksonville, Florida, it
used KepServerEx software’s ability to read many types of PLCs to
centralize formerly separate communications on one server.
IN14Q3_10_15_COVERSTORY.indd 15
separate communications on one server. “Rather than having five or
six clients pulling data from PLCs, which was mostly repetitious, we
had one Kepware server that clients pulled from,” explains Parrotta.
“Our two challenges were the overtaxed PLCs and managing network
traffic from the process and corporate domains, and KepServerEx’s
ability to read many PLCs helped us overcome them.”
Beyond coordinating orders and existing operations, Phoenix
Contact’s Sharp adds, “We can even do safety control via remote I/O
without a safety PLC by using our Safety Bridge, which takes safety
processes and puts them on a standard network, and collects regular
I/O signals and safety control on the same I/O block.”
Of course, this is where security becomes even more paramount.
Ethernet is easy, redundant and expandable, but its very accessibility
can be a big negative if it lacks security. “So our MGuard security
and firewall appliances allow users to define who and what
communications are allowed in and out of their networks,” Sharp
says. “Industrial applications also require DIN-rail mounting, 24Vdc cabinets and hazardous-area approvals where needed. Discrete
factory-floor networks already have a lot of Ethernet, so they need
more security, but process networks are adding more Ethernet to
replace parallel networks, so they need more security, too. This is all
in the name of giving users the data they need to know what’s going
in with their remote assets for better service and operations, but then
decreasing network complexity at the same time.”
7/30/14 5:00 PM
E V A L U AT E
Alternate Energy Sources
Wireless Networks Have to Dependably Enable Power to the Sensors
by Ian Verhappen, p. eng.
There are many control and automation installations
such as SCADA or cathodic-protection systems in which ac or dc
line power is not available. However with the escalating growth
in wireless field networks, the issue of providing power anywhere,
anytime, or more accurately all the time, becomes an increasingly
critical part of the design of industrial communications systems.
Options are available to meet today’s new demands and we’ll
discuss some things to consider when you compare the various
alternate energy options.
SCADA Is over the Top
We’ve been using SCADA systems for decades, however, while
they’re designed to be energy-efficient, SCADA systems are much
larger than what is needed for the new generation of wireless
field networks. However, many of the technologies used in these
applications are being scaled to the size where they’re relevant to
the low-energy, typically mW, demands of modern plant networks.
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) usually require high current
pulse power levels and low background currents because sensors
normally have three (or more) operating modes: 1) sleep or standby,
when battery power consumption is a low background current in
the microamp range; 2) measurement or interrogation, when the
unit requires power in the range of tens to 100 milliamps; and 3)
transmission, during which time the unit might require a few hundred
milliamps for up to a few milliseconds before power-down and return
to an energy-saving sleep or standby status.
Depend on a Battery
The most commonly used alternate energy source in the consumer
and industrial sector is a battery. However, a battery system
alone isn’t likely to provide a power source that will last the
lifecycle of the wireless network application without maintenance
intervention. This drives the need for energy harvesting (using
ambient energy to perform functions of mobile/small electronic
devices) products that convert immediately available energy such
as mechanical (vibration), thermal (heat), light or RF energy to
milliwatts of power. With this suitable external energy source,
battery life can be extended to the effective shelf life of the battery.
To meet the power and other demands of a wireless sensor
energy harvesting system, it must meet some minimum criteria.
The module either must have the same form, fit and function
as the standard OEM wireless field-device, battery-pack module
or, alternately, have an interface compatible with the device’s
power supply input connections. Fortunately, the ISA100.18.01
draft standard is close to completion. ISA100.18 defines
the mechanical connection and pin-out for M12 A-coded
connectors compliant with IEC 61076-2-101, as well as flying lead
(terminal block) connections.
Sufficient capacitor capacity is required to supply the power needed
for a typical transmission without drawing power from the battery.
It must be hazardous area certified and, ideally, intrinsically
safe, so it can be field-replaceable in any electrical classification
environment without having to remove the device from service.
Table I: Lithium Battery Characteristics
16
Chemistry
Cathode material
Specific
Energy
(Wh/kg)
Voltage
Operating
Temperature
Range °C
Anticipated
Service
Life (yrs)
Li/SOCL2
Thionyl Chloride
700
3.6
-55 to 150
15
Li/SO2
Sulfur Dioxide
260
2.8
- 55 to 70
5
Li/MnO2
Manganese Dioxide
330
3.1
-20 to 60
5
Li/(CF)x
Poly (carbon monofluoride)
310
2.8
-20 to 60
5
Li/I2
Iodine
230
2.7
0 to 70
10
Industrial Networking • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_16_18_FEATURE2.indd 16
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Note that the energy harvester doesn’t provide peak power
and normally is not the direct source of energy for the device,
but instead is the device that keeps the battery charged. The
battery in turn energizes a capacitor or supercapacitor that is
the power source during the brief period when a device is awake
and transmitting. When asleep, the wireless device could be
consuming 0.1 mW. When transmitting, this increases by factor
of 1,000 to 100 mW. Power system sizing is therefore based on
the average demand of long periods charging, keeping in mind
the obvious fact that the minimum power level must be greater
than the sleep-mode consumption, plus losses due to energyconversion efficiency and, of course, have a small footprint itself.
Love that Lithium
Minimizing losses and maximizing long-term energy storage over
a broad range of ambient conditions are therefore criteria used
to select the type of battery used in the system. Lithium-based
batteries are the preferred energy storage system for many reasons,
including the basic physical fact that lithium is an ideal material
for battery anodes because its intrinsic negative potential exceeds
that of all metals. Lithium is also the lightest non-gaseous metal.
Batteries based on lithium chemistries have the highest specific
energy (energy per unit weight) and energy density (energy per unit
volume) of all types of power cells. Other primary cell technologies
can’t have cell voltage above 2 V (water dissociates into oxygen
and hydrogen at potential above 2 V), so any aqueous (watercontaining) cells will stop working quickly.
One of the drawbacks of lithium is that it reacts strongly with
water, so only non-aqueous electrolytes can be used, and the
cells must be isolated from water at all times.
As can be seen in Table I, some lithium cells have a nominal
open-circuit voltage of 3.6 V, and can operate at temperatures as
low as -55 °C and as high as 150 °C.
Though not indicated in the table, manganese dioxide lithium
cell internal impedance is somewhat lower than for other types of
lithium-based cells, but they’re well-suited to applications having
relatively high continuous-current or pulse-current requirements.
Hold the Charge
Maintaining the charge in wireless sensor batteries is most often
done using photovoltaic (PV) solar cells that must perform and
generate electricity under a broad range of temperature and
cloud-cover conditions (or dust/snow cover), and they need to
produce electricity at all times of the day (from dawn to dusk).
As a result, critical parameters used to evaluate solar-based
systems also include temperature sensitivity and varying (low/
diffuse) as well as indoor/outdoor light conditions.
It turns out that crystalline silicon has a much stronger
spectral response towards the infrared region in comparison to
lower wavelengths of the visible-light spectrum, and, fortunately,
a significant portion of outdoor light is available. GaAs (gallium
arsenide) photovoltaic cells are 10 to 100 times more expensive
than other PV technologies because they have the highest
potential of crystalline cells, but they nevertheless are the
technology gaining traction for industrial installations.
Additional research is being done to develop dye-sensitized
solar cells (DSSC), also sometimes called dye-sensitized cells
(DSC), which use a photoactive dye that catches photons to
excite electrons much the same way photosynthesis works. The
dye injects the excited electron into titanium dioxide, which
is conducted away by nanocrystalline titanium dioxide. Then
chemical electrolyte in the cell closes the circuit to return the
electron to the dye. The movement of the electrons through this
circuit creates the harvested energy. One advantage of DSSC is
that it works with similar efficiencies of about 14% conversion in
both ambient (solar) and inside lighting conditions.
Energy Harvesting Challenges
Despite many advances being made in energy-harvesting
technologies, we, as the team responsible for the
installation and maintenance of these systems, must be
aware that each of these options comes with issues that
need consideration. These are some ideas to keep in mind
when working with each of the technologies discussed in
this article:
Batteries are governed by directive 2006/66/EC, the
“battery directive” on batteries, accumulators, waste
batteries and accumulators, which regulates manufacture
and disposal of batteries in the European Union, and puts
the onus on manufacturers incorporating such devices in
their products to provide cradle-to-grave support.
Photovoltaic systems need to consider not only the
availability of light (winter versus summer, including
incident angle), but also how covers such as dust or snow
reduce the available incident radiation energy.
Thermoelectric systems rely on the temperature difference
between the hot and cold sides of the generator, so the
design can’t impede heat flux (release of heat). Or, as
indicated, the number of nodes (not physically possible
once installed) will have to increase to compensate for the
reduced temperature driver.
Vibration systems require that the source of vibration
driving the harvester must be present in natural frequency
for the energy harvester, though the harvesters are
designed for a broad range.
RF power is limited by available frequencies, which need
to consider what else might be affected in the frequency
band used for transmission, as well as the maximum
distance that can realistically exist between source and
receiver. It’s possible to use multiple sources or receivers
to increase the range by adding up multiple sources.
However, there’s also the risk of reflections in a facility’s
canyon-of-steel environment.
2014 • Q3 • Industrial Networking
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7/30/14 3:37 PM
E V A L U AT E
Table II: How to Get 3 mW
Technology
Energy Input
Vibration
40 – 50 milli-g vibration
Thermal
30 oC differential
Photovoltaic
233 x 133 mm at 500 lux
RF Power Transmission
3 W transmitter at 1.2 m
It takes these inputs for these sources to generate 3 mW
Work by National Instruments’ (www.ni.com) Nagarajan Sridhar
and Dave Freeman has shown that the energy available from PV
systems can be related to illuminance (light level) incident on the
cell as per two equations:
Fractional current method: Imax = 0.93 * Isc
Fractional voltage method: Vmax = 0.74 * Voc
The first equation shows the strong linearity between short
circuit (Isc) and maximum power point current (Imax). The second
equation relates a similar linear relationship between the opencircuit voltage (Voc) and the maximum power point voltage (Vmax)
on a logarithmic scale of illuminance.
However, each individual solar cell develops very low levels of
voltage and current, so manufacturers use Ohm’s law to connect
energy-harvesting modules in series (voltage increase) or in parallel
(current increase) to achieve the desire power levels from the
system.
The same Ohm’s Law principles apply to thermoelectric power
generators, where the voltage generated is directly proportional to
the number of couples (N) and the temperature differential (dT)
between the top and bottom (hot and cold) sides of the unit as per
the relationship, V = 4N(af-an)dT, where an and af are the Seebeck
coefficient for n and p type materials, respectively. The Seebeck
coefficient is defined as the Seebeck voltage per unit temperature,
and is a material property based on the fact that electrons are
carriers of both electricity and heat. If a temperature gradient exists
over a piece of electrically conductive wire, there is a net diffusion of
electrons from the hot end toward the cold end, thereby creating an
opposing electric field.
Similar principles have been used for many years in SCADA systems
using thermopiles to develop the necessary voltage by putting many
small thermocouples in series, and then summing all the resulting mV
temperature measurements to obtain the desired voltage.
The Power of PoE and RF
Another potential source of energy—for gateways at least—is
Power over Ethernet (PoE). Though not an energy-harvesting
18
technology because PoE is 44-57 V and not the 24 V traditionally
used in the automation and control space or required by the device
circuitry itself, it must be converted to the appropriate voltage
level. In addition, if we could scavenge power from the gateway,
we could then use it as the supply for another energy-harvesting
technology—RF transmission. RF can be used to transmit energy
over short distances at specific frequencies.
RF power transmission systems are limited by the Friis
Transmission Equation, which calculates the amount of power an
antenna receives from another antenna under ideal conditions.
Other requirements for RF systems are that antennas must be far
field in an unobstructed space; broadcast and receive over a narrow
bandwidth so single wavelength can be assumed; and have correctly
aligned and polarized antennas.
The Friis equation is:
( )
P λ
_r= G tGr _
4πR
Pt
2
where Pr = power at receiving antenna,
Pt = power at transmitting antenna,
Gt = gain of transmitting antenna,
Gr = gain of receiving antenna,
λ = frequency,
R = distance between antennas
The Friis equation illustrates that the driving factor in
deterioration of available energy is that it is an inverse function of
the square of the distance between the two antennas, thus limiting
the total energy that can be achieved from a single pair of antennas
beyond any longer distances.
To illustrate the relative capabilities of RF and the other
commonly used energy-harvesting technologies commonly used in
WSN systems, Table II summarizes several different ways to generate
a typical energy output level of 3 mW.
Keeping wireless sensors reliably powered is a continuously
evolving process with improvements being made in many different
technologies that can provide the energy necessary, not only for
the sensor and transmitter, but also for the signals that allow us to
better control our processes with subsequent improvements in the
energy used to manufacture products.
[Reference: “A Study of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Under Indoor and
Low Level Outdoor Lighting: Comparison to Organic and Inorganic
Thin Film Solar Cells and Methods to Address Maximum Power Point
Tracking,” Nagarajan Sridhar and Dave Freeman, Texas Instruments,
bit.ly/1AvzT6e.]
Ian Verhappen is an ISA Fellow, Certified Automation Professional
and a recognized authority on industrial communications
technologies with 25+ years’ experience. Ian can be reached at
iverhappen@gmail.com or via his blog at http://community.
controlglobal.com/kanduski.
Industrial Networking • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_16_18_FEATURE2.indd 18
7/30/14 3:37 PM
pa
t erri m
t yi ncahteocrk
Hype, Hope, Happiness
reports on a wide range or predominantly it-driven
technologies for the consumer markets called
“hype cycles” (gtnr.it/1sXV63l) that describe the
five phases in the adoption of a technology, and an
estimate of timing before the technology reaches its
expectations or dies a quiet death.
The five phases of a technology’s lifecycle used by
gartner are:
• Technology Trigger—prototypes and media
coverage begin;
• Peak of Inflated Expectations—lots of coverage
in the press of successful implementations;
• Trough of Disillusionment—products don’t
live up to their hype, early adopters become
discouraged, and consolidation begins;
• Slope of Enlightenment—enough experience
is gained to understand how the technology
might be of benefit; and
• Plateau of Productivity—it finally works.
my experience with new technologies and the
industrial sector (Foundation fieldbus and now
industrial wireless), tell me the time frame from “on
the rise” to “plateau” is a minimum of 10 years. so,
if you put a timeline on the curve from entry into
“Peak of Inflated Expectations” or start of maximum
hype to “Plateau of Productivity” or happiness, my
estimate is it will take 15 years.
engineers are enamoured with technology,
yet we often can’t use the latest and coolest
technology in our facilities. most companies want to
see something proven in use before installing it.
of course, we in the press only serve to whet your
appetite by providing news about the latest and
greatest widget, and how it will make your life that
much better and easier. This is hype to an extent, in
part because most end users can’t or won’t share how
they use the wonderful things being developed.
For those few brave souls who actually
do attempt to use some of this cutting-edge
technology, typically in pilot plants, they and the
supplier of the technology are in the “hope” phase
of a project lifecycle in that they both hope it will
work as promised or envisioned.
inevitably, these early implementations hit some
bumps in road—some of them giant potholes—
and disillusionment sets in. The latest and greatest
wasn’t so great after all, we decide.
Finally, we learn what the technology can really do.
in the last phase of the lifecycle, assuming all worked
well, we figure out how to use it and are happy with
the result. it becomes mainstream, and everyone
starts to use it for projects as part of their suite of
tools to solve automation and control problems.
The gartner group (www.gartner.com) develops
Industrial Internet
of Things
On the Rise
HIt some bumps
In tHe road—
some of tHem
verItable gIant
potHoles—and
dIsIllusIonment
sets In.
Ethernet for
Process Automation
Virtualization
Plateau
RFID for Process
Control
Asset
Management /
Tracking
Intrinsically Safe
PoE
gartner group
ImplementatIons
Wireless for
Process Automation
At the
peak
Technology
Trigger
tHese early
Ethernet field
Devices
Big Data
(real time)
Control in
Cloud
InevItably,
RFID (Item)
Wired
HART
Climbing the Slope
RFIDÕ s (Case/
Pallet)
Sliding into the
Trough
FF H1
Intelligent Device
Management
Technology
Trigger
Peak of
Inflated
Expectations
Trough of
Disillusionment
Slope of Enlightenment
Plateau of
Productivity
IndustrIal automatIon ups and downs
automation technology goes through the same cycle as other hardware and applications. Ian
Verhappen’s riff on Gartner’s hype cycles.
Ian VErHappEn
iverhappen@ gmail.com
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIal networkIng
IN14Q3_19_PARITYCHECK.indd 19
19
7/30/14 3:38 PM
bandwidth
For cabling and
connecTorS
uSed ouTSide
The encloSure, a
diFFerenT world oF
requiremenTS openS
up aS compared To
ThaT For deviceS
ThaT SiT inSide
nema-raTed boxeS.
LesLie Gordon
Senior Technical ediTor
lgordon@putman.net
20
extreme connections
When it comes to recent technology
advancements or design considerations that
have helped ensure stable control signal
connections in hostile environments that
involve moisture, dust, heat, cold or external
exposure, many possibilities come to mind.
A few applications might include heavy-duty
connectors (hDc) designed for oil and gas
pipelines, devices intended to work outside
the enclosure, modern insulation displacement
connectors (iDc) and certain power supplies.
one example of hDcs for harsh
environments comes from devices intended
for connecting power between the heaters on
exposed oil and gas pipelines that might be
located in canada or the northern U.s., where
temperatures can fall to -50 ˚c. A fairly recent
innovation is a Weidmüller (www.weidmuller.
com) heat-trace connector, which replaces
the traditional junction box method of cable
connection. the large connectors mate face-toface and feature diecast, tin-plated, aluminum
construction for high strength and impact
resistance. A special coaxial design allows 360˚
plugability, meaning maintenance workers need
not spend lots of time lining up the two parts
at a certain point before mating them. this is
especially important because they’re working in
such extreme temperatures.
“The technology lets workers connect cables
quickly and reliably, which is also important
because should a pipeline freeze, it would close
everything down,” says heidi Kellum, Weidmüller
product manager-north America. “After mating
the connectors, the technician pushes down
a locking mechanism, which ensures the parts
don’t separate accidentally due to wind or cold.
however, the lock was designed to be released
easily using a flat edge screwdriver as a lever when
disconnecting is required.”
For cabling and connectors used outside the
enclosure, a different world of requirements opens
up as compared to that for devices that sit inside
nemA-rated boxes, says nate owens, industrial
field connectivity (iFc) product marketing
lead specialist at Phoenix contact UsA (www.
phoenixcontact.com). For example, outdoor
installations necessitate thinking about the entire
system instead of just factors such as temperature,
which can be controlled by a heat sink in the
cabinet, or vibration, which can be controlled
through the use of alternate components.
“A problem that’s persisted over the years is that
of using typical industrial components, specified to
withstand oils and abrasion, and mounting them
on the side of heavy-duty outdoor equipment
such as cranes, lifts and loaders,” owens says.
“The cabling and connectors used in these cases
must work in much wider temperature ranges,
withstand exposure to ultraviolet light, and stand
up to a gamut of more extreme conditions.”
recent advances in this area from Phoenix
contact are factory-molded cables that, unlike
typical pin-and-socket connectors that must be
assembled, are sealed and just plug into display
and control devices onboard construction
vehicles, agricultural equipment and forestry
machinery. other cordsets such as m12s and
solenoid valve plugs employ corrosion-resistant,
stainless steel components, silicone gaskets and
UV-resistant cabling to ensure they can withstand
extreme outdoor environments.
According to owens, other improvements
can be found in push-in technology for
connectors. “this actually has been available
for decades, but what’s new are key functions
like a pushbutton for disconnecting, which is
important because it lets users rewire easily,”
he explains. “the connector has a low insertion
force and a high retention force, which makes
push-in devices a major player in extreme
environments because the retention force is
higher than that of a typical spring cage.”
iDcs, first developed in the 1960s for 28-gauge,
seven-stranded wire, have advanced over the
years to target a wide range of industrial, lighting
and transportation applications. intended as an
alternative to crimp-to-wire and hard-soldering
wires to a PcB, the technology usually provides
a reliable, gas-tight, wire-to-board connection
in harsh environment applications. “however,
this capability depends largely on the contact
material,“ says tom Anderson, connector
product manager, AVX interconnect (www.avx.
com). “For example, consider a standard iDc that
accepts any size wire between 18 and 24 gauge.
here, the contact material must be fairly soft to
compensate for the different wire sizes, so the
IndustrIal networkIng • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_20_21_BANDWIDTH.indd 20
7/30/14 3:40 PM
“CONSIDER A STANDARD IDC THAT ACCEPTS ANY SIZE WIRE BETWEEN 18 AND 24 GAUGE. HERE, THE
CONTACT MATERIAL MUST BE FAIRLY SOFT TO COMPENSATE FOR THE DIFFERENT WIRE SIZES, SO THE
MATERIAL TENDS TO STRESSRELIEVE OVER TIME AND TEMPERATURE.”
material tends to stress-relieve over time and temperature.”
To address this problem, the company designs IDCs to match
each specific wire gauge. In addition, instead of soft 260 brass,
the contacts are produced in phosphor bronze, which gives them
enough flexibility so they won’t cut the wire, while providing
a high enough force to ensure a robust connection. According
to Anderson, the phosphor bronze option even lets users place
solid wires into the connector, and get the same performance as
with stranded wire, which is unusual because the technology was
always based on stranded wire.
In addition, unlike traditional pin-and-socket connectors, users
can push the wire into the IDC and then over-mold or pot the
unit without having to worry about the potting or plastic getting
into the contact area, Anderson says. “This makes the connectors
useful for extreme outdoor applications such as emergency
vehicle lighting, where the flashing lights are in the grill or on
the vehicle roof, while the wiring or control modules are bolted
somewhere under the hood or on a wheel well, and are exposed
to extreme temperatures, shocks and vibration.”
Lastly, the concept of extreme connectors can even include
power supplies. For instance, recent power supplies no longer
have screw terminals, nor do they need to be located in a control
box. Instead, they mount on the machine in the environment.
“Units such as our ‘intelligent’ power supply change the way
designers must think about putting power on their equipment
reliably,” says Will Healy, strategic marketing manager at Balluff
(www.balluff.com). “Basically, the power supply has a miniconnector that connects the ac to the device and another miniconnector that connects dc to the device, and then it provides
dc power on to the equipment for your automation. The devices’
IP67 rating means they can be submerged to 1 meter for 30
minutes and still work well, which is pretty impressive.”
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IN14Q3_20_21_BANDWIDTH.indd 21
7/30/14 3:40 PM
RESEARCH
Successful Network Connections
A Closer look At DeviCes thAt let NoDes oN iNDustriAl Networks
CommuNiCAte FAster AND reACh remote loCAtioNs
ThIS MONTh’S PRODUCT RESEARCh DEPARTMENT FOCUSES
ON how Industrial Networking readers use industrial Ethernet (IE)
equipment. A steadily increasing amount of Ethernet-connected
equipment is driving the design of hubs, routers, switches and
gateways. A recent electronic survey of Industrial Networking
readers showed that 90% of the survey’s respondents recommend,
purchase or specify industrial Ethernet equipment, and of these,
69% said their most common application is hMI to controller
and controller to controller. Only about 12% reported a focus on
physical/perimeter security applications.
When asked about their data rate needs, most IE specifiers said
they require nominal rates of 100 MBps on Cat6 copper (61%),
followed by 12% using Gigabit with Cat5/6 copper. Another 12%
do 100 Mbps with fiber-optics, and finally 8% prescribe 10 MBps
with Cat5 copper.
About 84% indicated that PLCs topped the list of IE-enabled
equipment they plan to install in the next 18 months. About 72%
said they were planning to install Ethernet-enabled hMIs, and 70%
reported an interest in remote I/O.
Factors most often mentioned that limit the use of IE included
legacy equipment (28%), cost (26%), security fears (26%),
deterministic behavior (22%), experience (21%), maintenance
(16%) and training (15%). The top two benefits were open
standards (72%) and interoperability (65%).
dIn BrIdges
gateway Coupler
Tropos 1410-DIN industrial automation wireless
bridge and mesh router extends Tropos mesh
networks, which deliver broadband wireless
connectivity for M2M communications, to
devices where installation of standalone routers
is impractical. The 1410-DIN lets workers
with laptops or tablets communicate with
automation devices wirelessly, rather than
having to plug into the device with a cable. It can be installed in
PLCs, RTUs, electrical distribution relay cabinets and pad-mounted
transformers. The unit is Class I, Div. 2 (U.S.) and Class I, Zone 2
(U.S. and Canada) certified.
ABB Tropos Communication Systems; 408/331-6800;
abb.tropos.com
EK9300 Profinet IO bus coupler
connects different control
networks, allowing a Profinet
controller to exchange data with
one or more EtherCAT, Profinet,
Profibus and, in the future,
EtherNet/IP systems. The device supports collecting product data
in distributed units with different control systems, and supports
the exchange of data in real time between two Profinet networks
placed in different IP spaces.
Beckhoff Automation; 877/894-6228;
www.beckhoffautomation.com
remote gateways
EKI-1321 and EKI-1322 GPRS IP gateways for
remote locations include two SIM card slots, and
automatically switch between the cards to gain
the best signal and transmission rate. During the
switch, the serial data being transmitted is buffered
in memory or stored on an SD card from which
it will be sent when the signal resumes. A reverse
virtual COM ensures the gateways automatically
connect to a server if a public IP address is used,
and then the original VCOM mode can be applied as usual.
Advantech; 800/205-7940; www.advantech.com/ea
22
energy-effICIent
LGB5128A is a Gigabit/10Gigabit managed-fiber
Ethernet switch that lets users define distances from 500 m to 10 km
and speeds of 100, 1,000 and 10,000 Mbps by installing different SFPs.
The switch features 20 100/1,000-Mbps SFP ports, four dual-media
100/1,000-Mbps UTP/SFP ports, and four 10-Gbps SFP+ ports. The
switch complies with IEEE 802.3az energy-efficient Ethernet.
Black Box; 724/746-5500; www.blackbox.com
Iot gateway
ReliaGate 15-10 industrial grade multiservice gateway has connectivity
options that support Internet of
IndustrIal networkIng • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_22_24_RESEARCH.indd 22
7/30/14 3:41 PM
Things applications, such as data aggregation, on-board processing
and data transfer for M2M solutions. The device includes the
pre-certified ReliaCell 10-20 modular cellular adapter, making it
immediately deployable on different mobile carrier networks.
Eurotech; 301/490-4007; www.eurotech.com
M2M router
Flexy industrial M2M router lets OEMs
and system integrators link remote devices
in environments where communication
technologies constantly change (2G, 3G, 4G,
Wi-Fi). The unit’s base modules can contain up to four expansion
boards, from a simple serial, MPI or Profibus gateway to Ethernet, to
the Wi-Fi LAN router with redundancy via 3G modem.
eWon ; 412/586-5901; www.ewon.biz
FlexIble gateway
Netbiter EC350 gateway is for remote
management and configuration of industrial
machinery, connecting to machinery via
Modbus (serial or Ethernet), SNMP, EtherNet/
IP or I/O, and then sending data to a cloud-based server via Ethernet or
cellular communications. Six status LEDs provide detailed diagnostics.
HMS; 312/829-0601; www.hms.se
Hardened etHernet swItcH
EDS-G500E series of industrial Ethernet
switches have 8-, 12-, or 16-Gigabit
Ethernet ports and up to four fiber-optic
ports. Besides Level 4 EMS protection,
severe shock/vibration resistance and a thermal fin design that
reduces switch temperatures, the switches have Class 1, Div. 2/ATEX
Zone 2 ratings.
Moxa Americas; 888/669-2872; www.moxa.com
can to wan
PCAN wireless gateways
facilitate connecting CAN
busses over WLAN, wrapping
CAN frames in TCP or UDP
message packages, and forwarding
them from one device to another over the
IP network. They have two built-in, high-speed CAN
channels with a bit rate to 1 Mbps. Units come with two nine-pin
D-Sub connectors or a 12-pin Tyco automotive connector, and can
operate in a -40 to 85 °C range.
Peak-System Technik; 630/245-1445; www.peak-system.com
swItcHes wItH redundancy
Series 7000 advanced managed switches
support the device-level ring (DLR)
redundancy mechanism. This features a
recovery time of less than 3 ms, letting switchovers be performed
quickly should a failure occur. The switch allows the integration
of up to six non-DLR-capable devices into the ring. IGMP
snooping, multicast source detection and auto-query port for
intelligent multicast filtering enhance network stability and use in
EtherNet/IP systems.
Phoenix Contact; 800/322-3225, www.phoenixcontact.com
extend etHernet/IP
Stratix 5100 wireless access point (WAP) has a
work group bridge that lets engineers connect
up to 19 IP addresses simultaneously, helping
reduce design time when integrating machines
into an industrial control network. The device
has 802.11a/b/g/n with 3 x 4, multiple-input, multiple-output
(MIMO) technology and three spatial streams, letting users access
production data from remote areas.
Rockwell Automation; 414/328-2000; www.rockwellautomation.com
Modular swItcHes
Scalance XM-400 compact Industrial
Ethernet switch family includes XM4164C, which connects up to 16 network
stations, and has 16 electrical RJ45 ports
and four SFP slots for optical plug-in
transceivers. The family also includes XM408-8C, which has eight
RJ45 ports and eight SFP slots. This DIN-rail-mounted line of
switches includes separate port extenders that expand the base
devices to support up to 24 network stations. Other features
include rapid spanning tree protocol (RSTP), multiple spanning
tree protocol (MSTP) and ring redundancy.
Siemens Industry, 770/751-2000; www.siemens.com/x-400
gateway Module
750-658 gateway module links CAN field devices
to 750 Series PLCs or couplers, providing a gateway
between a CAN network and fieldbuses, such as
Ethernet or Profibus. The module can be integrated
into a CANopen, SAE-J1939 or DeviceNet network by
using CoDeSys function blocks.
Wago, 800/346-7245, www.wago.us
cellular routers
Spectre cellular routers are industrial
M2M networking devices that can
connect to wired and cellular networks.
The units provide automatic failover
should the user-selected primary
connection fail. They can Ethernet enable legacy serial devices,
or provide them with their own 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi hotspots. A
variety of I/O options are available.
B&B Electronics; 800/346-3119; www.bb-elec.com
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIal networkIng
IN14Q3_22_24_RESEARCH.indd 23
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7/30/14 3:41 PM
RESEARCH
FIELDBUS WITHOUT SLOTS
INDUSTRIAL ROUTERS
NetHost fieldbus master is a standalone
module that’s intended to replace PC-cardbased controllers in applications where an
open PC slot is unavailable, or in slotless
systems such as embedded systems, laptops
and industrial compact computers, panels
and HMIs. The unit plugs into the PC via its Ethernet port, or
it can be connected via switches, over VPN connections, over
the Internet with routers or by using wireless. The module
includes fieldbus configuration software, Windows DLL for direct
programming, a test program of all functions and an API interface
description. A C-driver toolkit is included for embedded users.
Hilscher; 630/505-5301; www.hilscher.com/usa
EBW industrial routers include the
EBW-H100 cellular router, which features
an integrated, two-port switch and
uses HSPA and GPRS for data transfer.
EBW-E100 is a pure Ethernet router with
one public and one local LAN interface.
Insys icom; +49-941-58692-0; www.insys-icom.com
ETHERNET RING SWITCH
EOTec 2104 industrial Ethernet ring switch
provides the reliability of a managed
switch at a cost not much higher than
an unmanaged switch. The unit doesn’t
require master switch selection or an IP
address to operate in a redundant ring
topology. It comes with two 10/100BaseT
copper ports and two 100BaseFX fiber
ports (single or multi-mode). The unit operates from a 15-40
Vdc power input, and has an operating temperature range of
-40 to 85 °C.
Ultra Electronics; 800/880-9333; www.ultra-nspi.com
GATEWAY MODULE
MB-Gateway is a single-port Modbus
gateway module that converts Modbus
TCP to Modbus RTU. The module has an
automatic read function, and comes with
one RJ45 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port and
one RS-422/485 two- or four-wire serial port.
It supports up to 12 Modbus TCP client
(master) Ethernet connections and up to 128 RTU server (slave)
serial connections. The device is 35-mm and DIN-rail-mountable.
AutomationDirect; 800/633-0405; www.automationdirect.com
UNMANAGED SWITCHES
Brad Direct-Link unmanaged switches in fiveand eight-port versions feature special
push-pull, plug-and-play technology. The
IP67-rated modules let users quickly convert
from traditional in-cabinet to on-machine
mounting—reducing installation time and costs for
lengthy wiring runs, cabling and protected cabinet enclosures. The
eight-port switches have an operating range of -40 to 75 °C.
Molex; 800/786-6539; www.molex.com
INCABINET IP20 SWITCHES
In-cabinet Ethernet switches come in small
expansion five- to eight-port, unmanaged and
eight-port, managed options. All models contain
RJ45 sockets for fieldbus connection and removable
terminals for power. The switches meet UL and
ATEX ratings for use in hazardous locations,
conform to necessary IEEE standards, and support
EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP and Profinet.
Turck; 800/544-7769; www.turck.us
CELL MONITOR
NETWORK GATEWAY
ICX30-HWC industrial cellular gateway
remotely monitors devices and equipment
where Wi-Fi might not be an option.
The gateway can send information to a
ControlLogix or CompactLogix system, such
as signal strength, data use and more. Remote
devices are accessed using secure VPN tunnels
over Internet connections. The gateway supports cellular networks,
including 3G GSM, WCDMA and HSPA+.
ProSoft Technology; 661/716-5100; www.psft.com/icx30in
WebPort acts as a network gateway, providing
a secure remote connection to IP-based and
serial devices. It lets users employ the Internet
or cellular network to connect their automation
system, and modify devices using native
programming tools. It also features data logging
and alarm notification via email and SMS, and
supports simultaneous serial and Ethernet
device connectivity.
Spectrum Controls; 425/746-9481; www.spectrumcontrols.com
Net Concentrator System (NCS)
with EMM interface module
comes standard with an Ethernet
(Modbus TCP) port and dual,
independent Modbus RTU (RS-485) ports. One or both of the RTU
ports can be configured as Modbus master ports, allowing the NCS to
poll other Modbus RTU slaves like a typical Modbus master.
Moore Industries-Int’l; 818/894-7111; www.miinet.com
24
ETHERNET OR MODBUS
INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING • Q3 • 2014
IN14Q3_22_24_RESEARCH.indd 24
7/30/14 3:42 PM
PRODUCTS
25
ContaCt us
Protect AutomAtIon networks
1501 E. Woodfield Rd., Suite 400N, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124
industrialnetworking@putman.net
Tofino Xenon security appliance protects automation
networks and is customizable for use in electrical substations,
hazardous environments or transportation systems. Custombuilt options include temperature ranges and software
modules. The device complies with global standards and can
be used in existing live networks with no pre-configuration
needed or risk of production disruptions.
Belden; 800/235-3361; www.belden.com
Editorial tEam
Editor In Chief
Executive Editor
Managing Editor
Digital Managing Editor
Associate Digital Editor
Senior Technical Editor
Senior Technical Editor
Contributing Editor
Editorial Assistant
dEsign & ProduCtion tEam
IndustrIAl APPlIAnce
Senior Production Manager Anetta Gauthier
Art Director
Angela Labate
Groov-AR1 is an industrially hardened, web-serving appliance that
hosts the company’s mobile operator interfaces for monitoring and
controlling almost any automation system. The device has an operating
temperature range of 0 to 70 °C and a solid-state, fanless design with
no moving parts. It features a compact footprint, high-performance
quad-core processing, gigabit Ethernet interfaces and USB expansion
for wireless LAN interfaces.
Opto 22; 951/695-3000; www.opto22.com
Publishing tEam
Group Publisher/VP, Content
Director of Circulation
VP, Creative & Production
Keith Larson
Jack Jones
Steve Herner
ExECutivE staff
President & CEO
VP, Circulation
CFO
John Cappelletti
Jerry Clark
Rick Kasper
subsCriPtions
888/644-1803
remote I/o
salEs tEam
U-remote is a distributed I/O device with 11.5-mm wide,
hot-swappable slices. It has plug-in connections and a
built-in web server that provides real-time network access
to the 64 I/O slices/cards connected to a single fieldbus
coupler for Profinet, EtherCAT, Modbus TCP or Ethernet
TCP/IP protocols. The device works with as many as 256
DI/DOs in 20 μs.
Weidmüller; 800/849-9343; www.weidmuller.com
northeastern and mid-atlantic regional manager
Dave Fisher • dfisher@putman.net
24 Cannon Forge Dr., Foxboro, Massachusetts 02035
508/543-5172 • Fax: 508/543-3061
midwestern and southern regional manager
Greg Zamin • gzamin@putman.net
1501 E. Woodfield Rd., Suite 400N, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124
Western regional manager
Laura Martinez • lmartinez@putman.net
218 Virginia, Suite 4, El Segundo, California 90245
310/607-0125 • Fax: 310/607-0168
choose A or V
XT1210 and XT1220 BusWorks XT Ethernet I/O modules
provide an eight-channel interface for analog voltage
or current input signals and EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP,
Profinet or peer-to-peer communication. Differential
inputs have noise rejection for reliable measurements
when radio frequency or electromagnetic interference is
present. Internal software helps eliminate the effects of network traffic loads for more reliable
messaging. The device has dual Ethernet ports, removable front-facing terminal blocks and
DIN-rail power bus support.
Acromag; 248/295-0880; www.acromag.com
inside sales manager
Polly Dickson • pdickson@putman.net
630/467-1300 • Fax: 630/467-1124
rEPrints
foster reprints
Jill Kaletha • jillk@fosterprinting.com
866/879-9144 ext.168 • www.fosterprinting.com
Ad Index
hmI softwAre
Automation Direct ......................................................... 2
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hardware. The software includes visualization,
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Schneider Electric; 888/869-0059; www.wonderware.com/ITME
2014 • Q3 • IndustrIAl networkIng
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Joe Feeley
Jim Montague
Nancy Bartels
Katherine Bonfante
Erin Massey
Leslie Gordon
Dan Hebert
Hank Hogan
Lori Goldberg
Beckhoff Automation..................................................27
CC-Link Partner Assn. ..................................................28
Hilscher North America ................................................ 4
Mitsubishi Int’l ................................................................. 7
Moxa Americas ................................................................ 6
ProSoft Technology......................................................13
25
Red Lion Controls .........................................................15
7/30/14 3:42 PM
t e r m i n at o r
The CATCh iS ThAT
our moniToring
SySTemS AnD oTher
AppliCATionS
hAve To rely on
uSerS’ neTwork
infrASTruCTureS
AnD iT groupS. Some
bigger CompAnieS
hAve SegmenTeD
AnD firewAlleD
neTworkS, buT moST
uSerS STill hAve one
big, open-ColliSion
DomAin neTwork.
Rick caldwell
Caldwell@SCADAware.com
26
good monitoring needs infrastructure
I helped start Chrysler’s JOINt VeNtUre
with Mitsubishi, diamond-star Motors here in
Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, in the 1980s as a plC
programmer. They had Mitsubishi plCs and ran
proprietary bus networks such as MilsecNet, which
was similar to data highway and dh+.
The body shop was thought to be the bottleneck of the plant, so the idea of a monitoring
system to help with identifying problems was
put forth, and I took the project. Citect sCada
software was used to gather the data, and present
reports and graphics screens depicting the
process in real time as it ran. This solution was
successful, and I even got to write an article about
it, “automating the Most automated Car plant in
the World,” in the January 1993 issue of Industrial
Computing magazine (http://tinyurl.com/l6h6aht).
In 1994, I went to work for springfield electric
supply to help create an automation division
called springfield automation. In 2000, I started
my system integration company, sCadaware,
and it diversified with projects in manufacturing,
food and beverage, water/wastewater, pipelines,
power systems and control, and more.
during this time, a large, midwestern heavyequipment manufacturer asked us to develop
a data acquisition (daQ) and monitoring
system similar to what we’d done at diamondstar. however, there weren’t any packaged
Oee reporting packages back then, so we
used a sCada solution similar to that at the
automotive plant.
The equipment builder had a lot of allenBradley and Modicon plCs, and its machine
shop had a lot of CNC machine tools that were
harder to talk to because they had proprietary
controls, and we couldn’t connect to them. so
we had to mount shoebox plCs and/or slice I/O
devices from Wago on these machines, and locate
signals to use as digital inputs on these small plCs
that were then connected to the laN for data
acquisition. This is still a problem today. It’s only in
the past few years that CNC machines are getting
networking links via MtConnect, but there still
don’t seem to be many builders embracing open
communication to their controllers.
Of course, the Internet and web browsers began
to arrive in the mid-1990s, all monitoring and
sCada systems moved to browser-based systems
in the late 1990s, and now ethernet and the
Internet are everywhere.
In 2005, the large equipment manufacturer’s
research group wanted to build a standardized,
commercial daQ and monitoring product, so we
partnered with them to develop our statusWatch
software, which is a flexible, Oee reporting tool
that lets users make their own reports using a
browser without any third-party reporting tools.
We even have an ipad app for it.
I think the emergence of the browsers felt
more like an intrusion, so by the time tablet
pCs arrived, we could accept them more easily
because we’d already experienced ethernet,
browsers and wireless. They’ve proven to be
reliable and durable, and we use them everyday.
The catch is that our monitoring systems
and applications have to rely on users’ network
infrastructures and It groups. some bigger firms
have segmented and firewalled networks, but
most users still have one big, open-collision
domain network. so even though we’ve become
more product-oriented, installing a monitoring
system like statusWatch on a customer’s server
means we still have to go in, jump on their
equipment, document their network, make sure
they have a reliable network, enough computer
processing power, memory and hard drive space,
and recommend fixes to their systems.
Our main network requirements are Category
5e/6 (aNsI/tIa/eIa 568-B or IsO/IeC 11801)
cables; maximum 100-m cable lengths, 100 Mbps
connection speed, minimum latency of 100 ms
from shop floor network to data collector, and a
dedicated subnet for the shop floor.
likewise, wireless has to start with a good site
survey and audit. Our wireless requirements
are 2.4 Ghz, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi with supported
encryption protocols, including Wpa-psK,
Wpa2-psK/tKIp, CCMp, Wpa-eap (peap, tls,
ttls) and Ieee 802.1X.
Users always can find and select a useful
monitoring product, controls or other application
technology, but they all depend on having a good
network infrastructure to support them.
Rick Caldwell is president of sCadaware in
Bloomington, Illinois. to learn more, visit www.
sCadaware.com.
IndustrIal networkIng • Q3 • 2014
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7/30/14 3:43 PM
2014
WINNER
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7/30/14 4:45 AM
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