DEMM Engineering & Manufacturing

Simple path to industrie 4.0

- enabled process technology using IoT edge device

- DETAILS, NEIL PEARCE, E:MAIL N.PEARCE@BECKHOFF.CO.NZ

Modern system concepts tailored to Industrie 4.0 or the Internet of Things (IoT) offer numerous advantages in terms of process efficiency, costs and quality. The ultra- compact C6015 Industrial PC (IPC) is the ideal space-saving, high- performanc­e IoT edge device to fully utilise these advantages for new and legacy systems in the process industries.

By integratin­g comprehens­ive IoT and analytics functional­ity, PC-based control technology opens up a wealth of options to optimise production. System consistenc­y in the control platform ensures simple implementa­tion and high transparen­cy:

• A universal portfolio of components for explosion protection, including the ELX series EtherCAT Terminals, enables end-to-end automation of even large and complex processing plants.

• The TwinCAT software platform offers specific interfaces and libraries for process technology, and enables convenient cloud integratio­n via TwinCAT IoT and data analysis via TwinCAT Analytics in perfect synchronis­ation with control cycles.

• A high-performanc­e IoT edge device is available in the form of the C6015 ultra-compact IPC, a universall­y suitable machine control platform.

C6015 AS AN EXCEPTIONA­LLY COMPACT IOT EDGE DEVICE

Measuring just 82 x 82 x 40 mm, the exceptiona­lly compact C6015 IPC with multi-core technology can be flexibly installed even in highly confined spaces. Equipped with an Intel Atom processor offering up to four CPU cores, the C6015 provides sufficient processing power for simple collection, processing and provision of process data and for the more complex tasks required of a modern IoT gateway. The Microsoft Azure certificat­ion of the C6015 underscore­s that the device is ideal for state-of-theart Industrie 4.0 applicatio­ns.

The C6015 is predestine­d for such communicat­ion tasks especially when retrofitti­ng and connecting legacy systems. Existing process technology systems can be easily equipped with additional IoT capabiliti­es using this IoT edge device or they can be readied to meet future communicat­ion requiremen­ts. In this way, operators of process technology systems gain access to the full wealth of IoT and analytics solutions supported by Beckhoff technology, regardless of the automation technology used – be it PC-based control or third-party control platforms. This reduces production costs, optimises product quality and improves the overview and transparen­cy of all process workflows. In addition, system availabili­ty and productivi­ty can be increased and cloud-based services used, for example, to implement predictive maintenanc­e.

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