Automation Network

If someone was wanting to network all of their machine centers into one centrally located switch ensuring everything had its own IP Address and all that... Is there a process or equipment list that would be needed... We are moving in that direction and currently have roughly 10 isolated machine center "islands"

Prayder,

With regards to your question, the first thing you would need to do is determine if all of your machines have Ethernet capability and can be networked.

If they don't, then you would require a serial to Ethernet converter such as the EDW100 that we offer from Westermo:

http://www.eternity-sales.com/Westermo/media_converters.htm

The converter would take your serial signal and convert it to an Ethernet signal. The IP address would reside in the converter. More information is available on our site through the data sheet and manual.

FYI - The EDW100 also acts as a Modbus gateway.

FYI2 - We also provide switches as well - http://www.eternity-sales.com/Westermo/industrialethernet.htm

If you are networking to a switch, you will also want to consider your client as well. Likely your network of machines will be viewed through a SCADA client software.

You will also need to consider your variety of machines. Do they all have the same controller? Do they all communicate via the same protocol. If so, this is really not an issue in that SCADA software offers device drivers to interface. The challenge may be when you have different controllers with different drivers. Whether your SCADA client will handle additional drivers simultaneously will need to be determined. If they do, they are likely using an OPC server to interface the different drivers. If you are unfamiliar with an OPC server, I would suggest reviewing the link for the server we provide from Kepware:

http://www.eternity-sales.com/Kepware/Kepware.htm

Other things that you may need to consider include this machine network in relation to your IT department and their network. There is a great deal of politics that can develop based on network control. If you are intending to utilize this network as a means to provide information to other departments in your organization, you will have to go through IT. If you are merely keeping the network in the manufacturing sphere of your company, then you will likely be able to bypass IT. Keep in mind every company is different, so the challenges will vary.

Should you have any additional questions, feel free to post, pm or email through the link below.

Disclosure - ESI is an authorized distributor for Kepware and Westermo.