Industrial Ethernet

ENEFITS OF SING ETHERNET IN A MANFACTRING OPERATION

Enanced inforation flow etween te anufacturing rocess and te enterrise couting syste Numerous manufacturing entitieshave recently invested large amounts of money in installing Enterprise esource Planning EP software, and implementing ust in Time IT, cellularproduction systems. One key to realiing a return on these types of initiatives is extracting real time data from the factory floor. aving to traversemultiple networks to get this data to the point it can be utilied adds a great deal of complexity to the endeavor. aving a single network simplifiesthe process, and in the case of Ethernet, the ability to carry multiple application layers on the same wire enables both factory floor and front officecomputing devices to receive information without excessive amounts of data manipulation. Ease of aintainaility One obstacle that prevents customers from implementing networks in their plant is the issue of whos responsible for itsoperation. For current open industrial networks, the common solution is to designate a specific controls/maintenance engineer to be specially trainedto provide support. By standardiing on Ethernet, the number of support options greatly increase, and in many cases the Ethernet experts already inyour IT department can be utilied. Aility to we enale acinery Once the plant floor equipment and controls are wired together via Ethernet, it is a simple next step to collectinformation and provide a uman Machine Interface MI via intranet/Internet, often by utiliing standard browser technology. Individual machinescan also be designed to serve up web pages that can provide key diagnostic information, potentially preventing having to send service personnel to aremote site. Leverage coercial tecnology ith the myriad of resources devoted on the commercial side, Ethernet technology and products evolve at ahighly dynamic pace. The vast market volumes can often lead to lower hardware costs, particularly in the area of Network Interface Cards NIC.

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