INDUSTRIAL FIELD BUSES AND NETWORKS

In this page you will find basic informations about fieldbuses and general usage networks used in industrial automated applications - technologies, specifications, articles, and more ...

 See also :Ethercat (especially for the wide area networks)

"The term "fieldbus" has been used in so many ways over the years that it is hard to tell what people actually mean when using this word. For example, is HART a fieldbus ? Are Profibus and Modbus also fieldbuses ? Does use of the word only refer to buses as defined in IEC 61158? Does it relate only to buses used in process automation, or for machinery automation and motion control as well ? Must a bus be able to provide intrinsically safe power to qualify as a fieldbus ?

Over the past few years the market appears to have settled on the broader definition that fieldbus can refer to just about any automation bus running across the plant floor to connect sensors/transmitters and actuators/valves right on the process.

It is similarly hard to know what people really mean when they say that a network connects at the sensor-level. It could mean that it does indeed connect to sensors and transmitters, but more usually it refers to connections made to remote-I/O blocks that in turn are connected to the actual sensors.

Most of these fieldbus protocols are by no means proprietary. Many are based on IEC and other industry standards just as open as the IEEE standards for Ethernet. However, since the volume is much lower than Ethernet, they may be seen as relatively specialised."

Jonas Berge in The Industrial Ethernet book (http://ethernet.industrial.networking.com)

"Anybus connectivity solutions from HMS, provide reliable and flexible ways to connect industrial devices to fieldbus and ethernet networks such as Profibus, DeviceNet, Modbus, Ethernet and more [...]"

www.anybus.com

"ARCNET, once quite popular in office automation, has reinvented itself into an embedded networking technology that is frequently found in applications such as industrial control, building automation, transportation, robotics and gaming. Extremely popular in Japan with continuing popularity in America and Europe, ARCNET is now making inroads into China with some of the top China universities incorporating ARCNET into its projects. Like Ethernet and Controller Area Network (CAN), ARCNET is a data-link layer technology with no defined application layer. Designers write their own application layer to meet their particular needs and frequently do not advertise the fact that ARCNET is being used in their product. ARCNET receives no name recognition, but is frequently the network of choice in embedded applications. It is hidden from the user, but with over 11 million ARCNET nodes sold gives credibility that ARCNET is indeed popular."

www.arcnet.org

"BITBUS is a fieldbus based on standard technologies like RS-485 and SDLC. It is a simple to use Master-Slave communication system allowing a master to talk with up to 249 slaves. BITBUS is an international standard and also known as IEEE-1118."

www.bitbus.org

"CC-link (Control & Communication Link) is a field network system that processes both control and information data at high speed, to provide efficient, integrated factory and process automation."

"CC-link is a high speed, high performance industrial network technology that enables devices from numerous manufacturers to communicate resulting in a fast, deterministic control system. CC-link is an open-architecture network that was originally developed by Mitsubishi Electric, a global leader in automation and motion control products. [...]There are now almost 4 million installed CC-link nodes.[...]"

www.cc-link.org

"[...] CIP is strictly object oriented. Each object has attributes (data) and services (commands) and behavior (reaction to events). [...] Since CIP-based networks are based on a common application layer, the application data remains the same regardless of which network hosts the device. The application programmer doesn't even need to know to which network a device is connected."

www.odva.org

 See also : ControlNet | DeviceNet | Ethernet IP

"EtherNet/IP, like other CIP Networks, follows the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model [...] As with all CIP Networks, EtherNet/IP implements CIP at the Session layer and above and adapts CIP to the specific EtherNet/IP technology at the Transport layer and below."

www.odva.org

 See also : CIP | ControlNet | Ethernet

"FOUNDATION fieldbus is an all-digital, serial, two-way communications system that serves as a Local Area Network (LAN) for factory/plant instrumentation and control devices. The fieldbus environment is the base level group of the digital networks in the hierarchy of plant networks. FOUNDATION fieldbus is used in both process and manufacturing automation applications."

The Fieldbus foundation

"The underlying concept behind the fieldbus is that it is a fully digital network standard designed to connect all the devices used in an area of automation. This concept includes the connection of field devices such as valve actuators, temperature transducers and variable speed drives, and also the connection of systems such as PLCs and supervisory PCs.

WorldFIP differs from all other fieldbus systems in a number of respects -- one of them being its use of a single simple protocol to cover both the real-time and background information needs of a control or instrumentation system."

www.worldfip.org

"MODBUS® Protocol is a messaging structure developed by Modicon in 1979, used to establish master-slave/client-server communication between intelligent devices."

www.modbus.org

"PROFIBUS is an open, digital communication system with a wide range of applications, particularly in the fields of factory and process automation. PROFIBUS is suitable for both fast, time-critical applications and complex communication tasks. The application and engineering aspects are specified in the generally available technical documents of PROFIBUS International. This fulfills user demand for manufacturer independence and openness and ensures communication between devices of various manufacturers."

"At the protocol level, PROFIBUS, with the protocol DP (Decentralized Peripherals) and its versions DP-V0 to DP-V2, offers a broad spectrum of options, which enable optimum communication between different applications."

www.profibus.org

 See also : Profibus-DP | Profibus-PA | Profidrive | Profinet

"PROFINET satisfies all requirements for automation technology. With PROFINET, solutions can be implemented for factory and process automation, for safety applications, and for the entire range of drive technology right up to clock-synchronized motion control."

"PROFINET capitalizes on the advantages that ‘Industrial Ethernet’ brings to the automation environment."

www.profibus.org

 See also : Ethernet | Profibus | Profibus-PA | Profidrive | Profinet IO

"SafetyNET p was developed as a deterministic real-time Ethernet for the industrial environment. Established technology from the SafetyBUS p safe bus system was also considered and refined. So SafetyNET p is an Ethernet-based network for industry, which can be used for real-time and safe communication functions."

"In order to meet the various requirements, SafetyNET p supports two types of communication. The SafetyNET p RTFL format is optimised for extremely fast communication in highly dynamic applications."

www.safetybus.com

 See also : Ethernet