Darmstadt, July 23, 2013

New component creates interface between fieldbus and Ethernet

Schenck Process, a world leader in the market for applied measurement and process technology, is now offering its weighing electronics of the types DISOMAT®, DISOCONT® and INTECONT® with the new PROFINET IO VPN 28020 fieldbus module. In future, this innovative development from Schenck Process will allow fieldbus and office communication to be carried out via the same network infrastructure. That offers clients major advantages: cost savings and the maximum possible level of transparency.

Manufacturing companies generally face the following problem in the area of industrial communications: While traditional office communications are transmitted via Ethernet, the exchange of information between automation systems and the associated decentralized devices is carried out via fieldbus. The operation of two parallel networks is not only expensive, it also has a detrimental effect on transparency within companies. The solution: The PROFINET IO VPN 28020 fieldbus module. Although it is a traditional fieldbus, the PROFINET module uses the same connections as office networks. Costly, time-consuming conversions thereby become a thing of the past. The fieldbus module also allows improved internal monitoring of networks, which means that the sources of errors can be centrally identified and addressed.

PROFINET can be used in two different operating modes – PROFINET IO and PROFINET CBA. The VPN 28090 fieldbus module is designed to use PROFINET IO, and therefore for cyclical data transfer between a bus master and the connected slaves. PROFINET IO is available in three different conformance classes, A, B, and C, which differ in terms of transfer speed and system security. Taking into account the requirements of our clients, the PROFINET IO VPN 28020 fieldbus module supports conformance classes A and B.

“The development of the PROFINET IO VPN 28020 module allows us to meet the requirement of clients with respect to the connectivity of Schenck Process weighing electronics. The demand for standardized industrial communication networks will continue to grow in the future – and the PROFINET IO VPN 28020 module means we can offer tomorrow’s solutions today,” explained Dr Ulrich Rauchschwalbe, a weighing technology project manager at Schenck Process.