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Figure 1: The
intelligent 2nd generation Safety Monitor locally displays all
safety relevant data of the AS-i network on the push of a button and transfers
all diagnostics information to the master and to the application
programs. |
Modern plants
are the Alpha and Omega for modern production. This is the reason why plant
operators and users always have to decide when to modernize their systems at
just the right time. However, when is the right time to switch to Industrial
Ethernet? Or what does the new machine safety guideline mean for future plant
concepts? Due to their modularity, the AS-Interface Masters of Bihl+Wiedemann
promise investment security.
Clearly,
users wasted numerous billions of Dollars and Euro during these past years by
continuing production with outdated systems instead of switching to new
automation systems. The reason for this expensive reluctance is the battle
between competing automation systems, especially on the device level, that
leaves production companies worldwide highly confused. Faced with these doubt
about the most suitable system, many responsible parties choose to wait. Since
AS-Interface is fluent in many languages of automation on the primary level,
users were able to modernize the wiring on time – independent of the
competition on the device level. Meanwhile, regional favorites, cooperating
with AS-Interface, emerged on the second level of the automation
pyramid.
In shape
for the future by incorporating AS-Interface at the system
levelHowever, as soon as one basic
question has been answered, new production and safety technology questions pop
up on the horizon. For instance: When is the right time to switch to an
Industrial Ethernet solution that, as we speak, ferociously conquers the world
of automation? Or: What does the new machine safety guideline, taking effect on
December 29, 2009 mean; especially for future plant concepts? The AS-i Safety
Masters of Bihl+Wiedemann offer investment security. The 2nd
generation AS-i Safety Monitor is also available in combination with a PROFIBUS
Gateway. Next in line is an integrated PROFINET Gateway. And, connections to
additional systems are in the development phase. The AS-i Safety at Work
concept offers what is necessary tomorrow and already prepares users today for
the requirements resulting from the new machine safety guideline. Excessive
conventional wiring should then become obsolete.
Modern
safety: Easy and effectiveUsing Safety at Work makes it
possible to transport safe and non-safe signals on one single network. This is
certainly also true in conjunction with the intelligent 2nd
generation Safety Monitor (figure 1). With the push of a button the Monitor
locally displays all safety relevant data and, if desired, transmits all
diagnostics information to the master and the application program. The
importance of this option increases constantly in the face of the so-called
state based maintenance (Intelligent Maintenance).
Safety at
Work for a growing variety of gateways
Due to a
constantly growing variety of integrated gateways, the Safety Monitor can be
integrated into other systems as easily as any normal slave. Therefore, Safety
at Work becomes an interesting alternative for users that have not utilized
AS-Interface in the past, also. For instance, when combined with a PROFINET
Gateway, AS-i Safety at Work is able to jump from the sensor-actuator -level
directly up to the management level, without the necessity for the user to
sacrifice any of the advantages of the Monitor or the masters. Any
characteristics of PROFINET can be utilized without the need for an additional
system. The Safety Monitor has a simple design, is easily configured, and
offers the universality to control an entire machine. Therefore, in conjunction
with PROFINET, Safety at Work is not only connected to all the other devices
and components as well as the control system of the network, its data can be
made available to all higher management levels as well as downloaded or
produced there. Examples are remote diagnostics and remote maintenance. Using a
suitable configuration, error messages are directly transferred to the control
system of the application. The web server, integrated into the device, enables
machine access from the outside. This opens up new options for the relationship
between system manufacturer and system user, since problems at start-up or
during operation of a machine are now easily solved.
Well
prepared to meet the needs of tomorrowIn the event of an error, the
delay time of the Safety Monitor makes it possible to get the machine into a
predefined state before the Safety Monitor stops it entirely. This is finally
possible due to the IRT technology offered by the PROFINET slave that results
in a fast network connection. At the same time, the application-independent
modularity of the individual components ensures that the different parts of a
system are independent from each other. Compared to a compact system (i.e. a
non-modular system), single interruptions will have much less impact on system
availability. Additionally, this modularity offers the user investment
security, since changes to a machine due to new product requirements or
modernization are limited to individual machine segments. Furthermore, sooner
rather than later, the proliferation of PROFINET will require the integration
of additional machine subsystems via this particular networking technology.
Manufacturers and users of the new gateway are already prepared. In general,
this is no news for AS Interface and Safety at Work. However, it now affects
much larger areas, like entire machines or production segments, and is now
controllable from a central control point. Plus, the 2nd generation Safety
Monitor can safely interconnect several Safety at Work networks. Therefore,
when designing large networks, standard and safe sensors and actuators no
longer have to be linked in separate networks. This enables an application
specific modularity even for physically extended safety networks. However,
individual local networks and their safe coupling network are still available
to the entire plant through PROFINET. Master and Safety Monitor in the new
device correspond to the 2nd generation devices that have been offered for some
time. Therefore, any existing plant can be PROFINET enabled simply by
exchanging the gateway: The safety configuration of the current device is
transferred to the new device and the Safety at Work network is yet again
operational. This unfailingly easy update is one of the reasons why
AS-Interface is a safe solution during current times of insecurity, just as it
was a decade ago when the network war on the second level of automation was in
full swing.
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