Following close on the heels of launching its VTSA configurable valve terminal, Festo has announced availability of an AS-i version, enabling OEMs and system integrators to implement high performance decentralised control systems very easily and economically. The company is also now offering this interface technology as an option for its popular CPV fixed grid and MPA compact series valve terminals.
Actuator sensor interface (AS-i) technology is an open standard, supported by a large number of leading automation companies. Designed for interconnecting digital and analogue devices such as sensors, actuators and valve terminals via a 2-wire cable, it is the simplest industrial networking protocol on the market, and is used for a wide variety of PLC- and PC-based automation systems. There are currently more than 13 million AS-i devices in use worldwide, in a diverse range of applications including food processing and packaging lines, bottling plants, conveyors, process control valves, airport carousels and elevators.
The AS-i version of Festo’s VTSA configurable valve terminal is supplied as a fully assembled and pre-tested unit, enabling users to effectively replace an entire control panel via a single order. It can accommodate up to eight ISO standard 18 mm, 26 mm and 42 mm valves in any combination mounted on the same manifold. Festo offers a wide range of compatible 5/3, 5/2 and dual 3/2 valves. The VTSA-AS-i valve terminal – and the new AS-i versions of the MPA series valve terminals – are fully compliant with AS-i specification 2.1 which accommodates up to 62 digital slaves and 31 analogue slaves per master.
Festo’s new CPV-AS-i fixed grid or block type valve terminal complies with AS-i specification 3.0, and is the first of its type to use the 7.A.7 profile. This facilitates A/B operation with four inputs and four outputs per slave, paving the way for even more flexible and cost-effective control schemes. Each master can accommodate up to 62 digital slaves and 62 analogue slaves, and the cycle time per slave is only a few hundred microseconds. A fully populated network using the 7.A.7 profile will exhibit a maximum bus cycle time of only 20 ms. Enhancements to AS-i system functionality combined with exciting new products fully utilising the system capabilities heats up the technology race between base level fieldbus systems, making all options more attractive for machine builders.