Expand your performance capabilities with 5069 Compact I/O platform

The Compact I/O system from Rockwell Automation future-proofs your system and enables The Connected Enterprise, allowing machine builders to bring added value to their customers through a single, unified architecture, using EtherNet/IP™ for increased overall productivity. It is the ideal distributed I/O solution for use with the Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® 5580 controller and for users with high processing requirements.

The 5069 Compact I/O system offers diversity and flexibility with dual 1 Gigabit (Gb) embedded Ethernet ports for Linear and Device Level Ring topologies allowing easy customization for applications demanding high performance and speed.

Features and benefits:

• Built-in power input with field power to I/O modules
• Support for 31 local I/O modules
• High-speed backplane for faster transfer rates
• Improved status indicators for information about module health
• Supports 1-Gb embedded switch technology for Linear and Device Level Ring (DLR) topologies
• Integrated USB port allows easy configuration

Further product information can be found by clicking here to purchase this product on our website please click here.

Powerful, scalable visualisation solutions with FactoryTalk® View Site Edition

To meet plant floor expectations, HMI software must meet the demands of multiple stakeholders.

• Engineering and Maintenance demands to quickly develop applications, scale architectures, and easily maintain systems once deployed.
• Operations demands easy to understand display screens, quick access to alarming, and system-wide diagnostics.
• Production Information Technology (IT) demands system-wide security, web capabilities, highly available systems and alignment with virtualised solutions.

Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk View Site Edition (SE) meets the demands of each of these groups, providing robust and reliable functionality in a single software package that scales from a stand-alone HMI system to a distributed visualisation solution. With FactoryTalk View SE, HMI challenges in process, batch and discrete applications are managed in a single software solution that enables critical visibility in real-time when and where you need it.

Features and Benefits

Premier integration with Logix controllers

• No need to create and maintain a separate HMI tag database – define tags once in the Logix controller, then access them throughout your system
• Referencing Logix controller tags directly from HMI displays provides optimized communications and display of data
• Subscribe to Logix controller-based alarms to display, annunciate, and manage them in the HMI

Productivity

• Rich, reusable graphics and animation capabilities with Symbol Factory graphic library, global objects, and RSLogix 5000 process faceplates
• Application edits can be automatically rolled out to a running system

Alarm configuration and management

• View and interact with alarm conditions throughout the architecture with easy-to-use graphical alarm objects
• Alarm groups provide the ability to control how related alarms are viewed, filtered and annunciated
• Align with ISA 18.2 alarm management standards with built-in alarm features

Mobility

• Mobile HMI provides continuous system visibility anytime, anywhere
• Extend your applications to your favourite iOS or Android mobile device for improved real-time decision making
• Publish HMI screens as-is, or create mobile device-specific screens for better visibility on a smaller screen

Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk Software is available to purchase  from the Routeco website click here. If you require any further information you can email info@routeco.com or call us on 0370 607 1000. 

What to Consider When Starting Your Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Journey – part one

The term ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ or IIoT seems to be everywhere at the moment! But what does it actually mean?

ProSoft Technology define it as: “The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is about intelligent devices like overloads, photo eyes, variable frequency drives, or PLCs providing data that we use to make our processes more efficient.” 

ProSoft have also looked at some of the ways old-school automation engineers are making use of IIoT concepts to improve their operations, and what considerations all of us should keep in mind.

Remote Monitoring and Equipment Access

• In the old days, remote access meant installing a serial modem connected to a dedicated phone line, so the machines made remote access-capable were limited to the most critical operations.
• What’s changed in the IIoT world is the proliferation of wireless connectivity, especially cellular networks and wireless LAN. Now, all that data deemed not important enough to transmit can be made available from remote sites. 
• Remote access to industrial equipment has become more accessible for more people throughout the organisation
• Finally, machine builders and control engineers responsible for widely dispersed global operations can build reliable connectivity into their systems without the need for custom infrastructure and integration at the end site.
• For mobile equipment, access is available just about anywhere the equipment goes. This simplifies the design and maintenance of the system, and enables the machine OEM to build high-value applications that make use of an “always connected” machine.

Machine and Process Control

• IIoT technology is not just about cellular connections to remote machines. 
• Major automation vendors like Rockwell Automation have been offering industrial Ethernet connectivity for PLCs and related devices for more than a decade. Industrial Ethernet protocols like ODVA’s EtherNet/IPTM provide the kind of performance required for automation systems, while also enabling interoperability with the massive Internet Protocol-based network infrastructure found in virtually every organisation. 
• Today’s automation engineers are taking advantage of the Internet Protocol-based industrial technologies to design more reliable networks for moving equipment. 
• Wireless LAN products designed for the harsh industrial environment and optimised to handle protocols like EtherNet/IP allow engineers to eliminate the cost and downtime of frayed cables, yet still take advantage of high data rates and application-specific requirements like machine safety and time synchronisation.

Asset Mobility

• One area of automation where IIoT technology is creating new opportunities involves taking the network connection anywhere in the plant. 
• Old systems offered only so many places to “plug in.” 
• Automation systems are now benefiting from the same “network everywhere” mindset as our home and office environment. 
• Using industrial hotspots, control engineers can connect to the automation system easily from anywhere in the plant. The same wireless network allows maintenance applications running on smart phones or tablets to access and update equipment records, capture and store photos, and even help maintenance technicians troubleshoot machines. Operators and supervisors can view the status of a machine from anywhere, and even control the machine.

Next week in Part Two: Things to consider about how your system can fit into this new world of connected machines. Make sure you’re subscribed to our blog and the part two will go straight into your email inbox. In the meantime, please email info@routeco.com if you require more information. The full whitepaper from ProSoft Technology can be found here.

Learn more about the Industrial Internet of Things

The IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) Ecosystem is complex. Yet discovering ways to navigate it is increasingly key, as manufacturers’ competitive position depends on taking advantage of emerging levels of interconnectedness, integrated sensing capabilities and value-add from third-party control. 

Learn where you should be focusing your products and workflows in this 16-page free E-Book from Panduit and Automation World.

Contents include:

• Research advances on the Internet of Things
• From Smart Manufacturing to Manufacturing Smart
• Network of the Future
• Top Three reasons you need industrial network training
• The Internet of Things and the importance of modelling and simulation

Download the free E-Book here.  

To find out more about the Internet of Things or to discuss your requirements, please email info@routeco.com or visit www.routeco.com

Down to the wire - building a resilient network infrastructure

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a trending topic in the technology world. The Internet of Things can be defined as the connection and interaction of objects to the Internet or networks. 

With the Internet of Things increasingly broadening the production space to connect Operations Technology (OT) with Information Technology (IT), it's never been more important to build a highly resilient network infrastructure, as this article from Panduit outlines.

The article also includes tips on how to begin implementing the Internet of Things including assessment steps for manufacturers to undertake to understand their bandwidth and cable requirements. 

To read more, please click the link:

http://www.controlsdrivesautomation.com/page_568773.asp? 

How do you think IoT will affect you? Do you think it will create the business opportunities (to the value of $3.8 trillion for the manufacturing industry) Panduit expect? Let us know your thoughts below. 

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com