Wireless EtherNet/IP

Since I seldom find time to attend any really interesting conferences, of course I missed this February's Pro-Soft "802.11n Manufacturing Industrial Automation Integration".
This is the link to the PowerPoint presentation and I would like to seek the community's opinion about the matter.

Prosoft-Integrating_802 11n_In_Manufacturing_Systems_Presentation_Feb2013.ppsx

Has anyone implemented any EtheNet/IP wireless communications or at least encounter any implemented wireless sutomation systems communications?
Is it proven or just some Beta state sales pitch attempt?
Thank you for your thoughts.

dmargineau,

i have been at this facility for 11 months and we have been using ethernet wireless access points from two different manufacturers for our laptops for years.

i have just implemented an access point connected to the ethernet communicating via radio to another acess point and it works great. laptop connects up with no problems. i switched from one signal to another and another without skipping a beat.

next part of the program is to have 2 wireless radio access points.

regards,
james

James,

I have also used wireless access points for years, however, strictly for software communications.
The Pro-Soft PowerPoint presentation claims that you could establish Implicit (I/O) wireless communications at 20 ms RPI between controllers and Remote adapters......They are "talking" wireless I/O control!!!....

ProSoft's RadioLinx are built and tested to do UDP I/O connections over WiFi, and even they have to add a lot of warnings and consideration notes to the matter.

I've been closely involved in a number of WiFi I/O systems where the designers ignored one or more crucial factors and got less performance and reliability than they expected. Some of these were mistakes it would have taken an expert not to make (planar antenna interference) but most were just incorrect assumptions or obvious ignorance (ordinary WiFi AP roaming, unmanaged enterprise switches).

I would personally only consider WiFi for a rotating or spinning machine where the distances are short and the conditions are repeatable.

Mobile equipment requires MUCH more planning and care.

dmargineau,

when we connect to the wireless network, we could be running a file from the network in word, excel, powerpoint, access, SQL,
logix 500, logix 5, and soon to be logix 5000, wonderware, barcode scanners.

anything and everything.

regards,
james

James Mcquade said:

dmargineau,

when we connect to the wireless network, we could be running a file from the network in word, excel, powerpoint, access, SQL,
logix 500, logix 5, and soon to be logix 5000, wonderware, barcode scanners.

anything and everything.

regards,
james

Click to expand...

James

The OP is making reference to I/O control over wireless. This is not possible to do with standard WIFI equipment with any level of reliability or safety.

@ The OP I have it in several processes and even a few safety items. Yes you can do CIP safety over wireless. It's monitored and if you drop conection the system faults goes to a estop / safe state.

As Ken said you have to really do your homework and use purpose built gear to be safe and reliable. I use prosoft gear and have never had an issue. System has been in operation for a little over 16 months.

Plc Kid,

thanks for clearing that up for me.

regards,
james

Hi,

Just wanted to inform you all that we have a Wireless bridge that uses Bluetooth that will work with EtherNet/IP, Profinet IO and Modbus TCP and has a range of 1Km in line of sight.
For more detailed info:
http://www.anybus.com/support/support.asp?PID=486&ProductType=Anybus Wireless Bridge

//Me

I guess it was just a sales pitch afterall......a pretty tempting one I might add...
There are probably quite a few wireless automation systems implementations out there most of them explicitly(UDP) deployed, for obvious reasons.
I am not quite sure WiFi or Bluetooth are the answer though; not for mainstream, large scale, wireless industrial automation.
Maybe another protocol is in the works and I believe it should be; you cannot quite take the chance of accidentally (or intentionally!) induced interference from every day use, personal devices.
A dropped call or a frozen browser are nuisances; hundreds of I/Os or automation controllers losing communications will be catastrophic.

For point-to-point or network wireless, Banner Engineering makes some of the simplest to use, Ethernet and Serial versions.

Ethernet Data Radios »

Serial Data Radios »