Feature

Joining the Industry 4.0 dots: The IO-Link encoder

IO-Link is a breakthrough technology that has achieved rapid and widespread acceptance over the past five years and helped ‘join the dots’ for many industrial processes working towards Industry 4.0.

03/05/2019 11:51:42

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IO-Link has delivered a standard open communications gateway that enables a common architecture to be used for sensors and actuators of all types in a machine. It means they can cooperate at the lowest level of
the automation hierarchy, then link, through an IO-Link Master, to transmit data, often with added value, via the factory ethernet network to a controller, such as a PLC.

Missing link

But until recently motion control sensors
were a noticeable ‘missing link’ in the IO-Link mix. Now by adding IO-Link to encoders, a vital step forward has been taken on the transition to Industry 4.0.

Adding motion sensing into the IO-Link mix could soon
be prompting new ideas about organising and configuring sensing capability within machines. Sensors with integrated Smart Tasks, offer the potential for reducing the processing load on the PLC. IO-Link has already made it possible for many
devices, such as presence detection and process sensors, to be economically connected into an IO field gateway and at the same time provide transparent access to the intelligence contained within the sensor.

Read the full article in the May issue of DPA

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.