This Connectivity Showcase presents the viewpoints of eight industry experts. With Factory Automation Connectivity Solutions, manufacturers are collecting data in real-time to monitor, track, and optimize production processes, and improve safety, reduce downtime and increase production speed and efficiency.

EtherNet/IP offers a potent industrial automation network solution by relying on commercial-off-the-shelf technology and standard, unmodified Internet Protocol and Ethernet made up of IEEE 802.3 combined with the TCP/IP Suite, to enable seamless, interconnected networks for local, edge and cloud applications.

Single Pair Ethernet as backbone for IoT data services.

Single Pair Ethernet is leading the way by enabling new possibilities for smart factory digitalization. But industry experts point to CAT7 cable innovations, along with application-specific and hybrid solutions, as catalysts for achieving IT/OT convergence and long lasting impact on factory automation applications.

One cable technology and EtherCAT P minimize system cabling for a medical equipment manufacturer, and ensure significant increases in efficiency. A major benefit is standardization on OCT for drives and EtherCAT P at the I/O level, significantly reduced the wiring effort and improving decentralized power distribution.

New technology does not eliminate the cause of EMC interference, but it does address significant points at which interference is introduced into a system. A new cable design enables equalization currents to be reduced by up to 80% at the frequency inverter output and on parallel paths such as data…

Manufacturers of Ethernet switches and other industrial networking devices often make vague claims like “weatherproof” or “dust-resistant” about their products. But how do you know if these claims are legitimate? Are the devices truly safe? Is there a certification that is trusted industry-wide? Fortunately, there is.

To solve many communication and safety challenges mobile robot manufacturers must establish a wireless connection, send data over different networks, ensure safety, connect to CAN systems, and securely access the robots remotely. Each installation must be re-assessed and adapted to meet the on-site requirements.

New hardware-assisted Layer 3 switches with router capability use special purpose hardware to route traffic from one Ethernet network to another at Ethernet line speed. They can simultaneously operate as an Ethernet switch or an Ethernet network-to-network router with equal performance forwarding traffic in either role.

The development of Digital Device Description technology will lead to a more robust and secure device description than is currently available. Moving ahead, efforts at ODVA are continuing toward development of xDS, the publication of both an xDS specification and tools needed to prove these concepts.