Predictive maintenance is an important tool for avoiding unplanned machine downtimes. LAPP is presenting the new ETHERLINE GUARD, which monitors the service life of a data line at risk of failure in Ethernet-based automation technology networks.

Cables usually last for many years, but in the case of highly dynamic, demanding movements at high speeds and strong torsion, it is advantageous and cost-saving if the connection systems are monitored so that unforeseen downtimes, thus impairing productivity, can be avoided.

The innovative solution from LAPP is the ETHERLINE GUARD. This is a stationary monitoring device that evaluates the current performance of a data line and indicates it as a percentage.

The basis for this is data that is determined by sensors from the physical properties of the data transmission. The real-time status display makes it possible to recognize the wear limit of a line and to plan the optimal replacement time in advance. LAPP recommends the ETHERLINE ® GUARD primarily for data lines in accordance with the 100BASE-TX transmission standard (up to 100 Mbit / s) according to IEEE 802.3, but also for EtherCAT, EtherNET / IP and 2-pair PROFINET applications such as the ETHERLINE TORSION Cat. 5 or the ETHERLINE PN Cat. 5 FD.

In many industries, these cables are used in the last few meters or at the process level of an application, so they are often part of drag chains or torsion-prone cable guides, such as those found in robot arms. The ETHERLINE GUARD is suitable for top-hat rail mounting and, thanks to its protection class IP 20, can be used in the control cabinet.

Lapp