Cable & Connection Technology for Automation
By Marc Jarrault, Managing Director – Lapp India Pvt. Ltd.
Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution has changed the automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, which is driven by rapidly-increasing digitalization of the economy and society. The nature of manufacturing has changed with the introduction of technology and production process has become more flexible, efficient and customer-specific. Product development, logistics and customers are intermeshed with the help of the latest intelligent information and communication technology. The world of factory automation, which is largely based on electrical engineering and hierarchical structures, is metamorphosing into smart factory networks, in which production plants can communicate with one another.
This represents a turning point that offers enormous opportunities and at the same time confronts the sector with enormous challenges. It is only with consistent, interdisciplinary collaboration of all involved participants from industrial machinery, electrical engineering, automation and information technology that uniform, ground-breaking standards can be created and the future can be shaped. Component, system and solution providers must all change the way they think. In the course of Industry 4.0, the demands on cable and connection technology are also changing.
Cable and connection technology is being re-thought. Since data rates will climb with the consistent networking of company and business processes, it is a development that demands high-performance networks. In future, network cables will no longer only be used to connect machinery and within control cabinets, they will also be laid directly to intelligent actuators or sensors in the field. The solution lies in system-specific field-compatible Ethernet cables and robust connectors.
Reliable networking of production across all levels is only possible with a comprehensive cabling and connection concept. Ethernet cables in a production environment must be substantially more robust than LAN cables in an office environment. They have to be oil resistant, must withstand high temperatures and must also function reliably and durably in the drag chain.
It is an enormous challenge to combine the requirements of flexibility, robustness and the highest data rates. In addition, it must also be possible to install network connectors in the field without special tools. Added to this, are the growing demands in terms of the protection rating. Whilst an RJ45 data connector was sufficient up to now in the control cabinet, dirt and moisture-resistant connectors are becoming more and more important in the field.
Lapp product portfolio is also adapting more and more to the requirements of the modern age. As a competent partner in the realisation of future-oriented networks, we have greatly extended our cabling and connection technology range for Industrial Ethernet and fibre optic cables so that we can supply the market of the future with ground-breaking solutions.
Within the framework of Industrial Ethernet applications, Lapp offers solutions such as the highly flexible ETHERLINE® FD Cat. 6A for applications where the highest data rates have to be transmitted with consistent reliability in drag chains that are under constant movement with a data rate of 10 Gbit/s. Connectors that comply with the Cat. 6A standard are required for the connection. If water-tightness and dirt resistance in accordance with IP67 are also required, we recommend the use of M12 connectors. The most important principle of all our industrial network solutions is that network technology in an industrial environment must be kept simple on the one hand, and must be rapidly connectible without special tools on the other hand.
Space-saving yet robust solutions such as the 30 per cent thinner ETHERLINE® EC are suitable for use at sensor/actuator level and allow the tightest bending radii. Drag chains can also be configured with such extremely small dimensions. Thanks to the robust PUR outer sheath, the cable can also be used with high mechanical stresses or in oily environments. The robust 4-wire Cat. 5e Ethernet cables are also available as finished products with a pointed, space-saving M8 connector that is substantially smaller than the M12 connector that is otherwise commonly used with Industrial Ethernet. In general, the trend is towards smaller and smaller yet also more and more efficient connectors and cables.
Today besides successfully meeting current demands of the automation industry, Lapp’s innovative technology is ready to shape Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution.
