We need to talk – Automated communication

Right at the base of the automation pyramid there is a demand for universal communication capability, so that actuators and sensors can play their supporting role in the modern plant à la industry 4.0. The AS-Interface pioneers at Bihl+Wiedemann have long been making their portfolio ready for the wholly networked future – here are just a few examples:

Safe coupling using

Safe Link Now even more flexible and efficient

With the ability to safely couple multiple AS-Interface networks Bihl+Wiedemann has long been setting new efficiency standards in safety technology: the so-called Safe Link technology is onboard in all the Gateways with integrated Safety Monitor and in the Safety Basic Monitors with Ethernet diagnostic interface and provides all the nodes in the network with safe signals.

Now Safe Link has become even more versatile. Now in addition to the “Standard” option in the ASIMON360 safety software, which is optimized for speed and availability of the signals, two other variations can be selected: in “Augmented reliability” mode the tolerance of the system is increased at the expense of worst-case response times, whereas the “Fast” setting is targeted towards short worst-case turn-off times to reduce the safety response time over Safe Link by around 75 percent.

New webserver for remote maintenance

Universal, simple and secure

Remote access to the networked components in an automated assembly plant is taken for granted in the intelligent factory of tomorrow. Bihl+Wiedemann is already paving the way for this – with a consistently advanced webserver having optimal usability and functionality.

Regardless of whether the objective is monitoring, diagnostics and setup or addressing of the nodes at commissioning, or whether the emphasis is on rapid diagnostics of the system, testing and troubleshooting, or simply changing settings on-the-fly: the new webserver makes many Gateway functions available over the network and can be used regardless of the display medium – even with portable terminal devices.

Interface to the field level

Versatile, efficient and cooperative As sensors become ever more intelligent and provide greater quantities of data, the demands on communication with the components in the field beneath the industrial Ethernet increase as well. The AS-Interface Masters at Bihl+Wiedemann are taking the initiative in driving this development – for example by continually expanding their broad range of IP67 I/O modules with highly efficient and versatile products. Among the new introductions is a flexibly configurable safety I/O module with 6 to 8 two-channel inputs and up to 2 safe electronic outputs. And of course efficient solutions are also provided for cooperation between AS-Interface and IO-Link: 2 versions of the IO-Link master/ASi module with 4 IO-Link ports each for IO-Link Class A or Class B.