• • • CABLES & CONNECTORS • • •
• 10BASE-T1L is a long-range variant that enables the use of existing two-wire infrastructure over up to 1000m at data rates of up to 10Mbit/s. 10BASE-T1L works with a balanced pair of conductors but may need a shielded cable in electrically noisy environments.
The advantages of SPE One of the principal advantages of using SPE in IIoT is that it can do away with the ‘Tower of Babel’ of competing connectivity approaches and networking standards often found in current industrial implementations. Instead, TCP/IP connectivity can be achieved across the whole estate, giving even the furthest sensor node its own IP address and managing data as IP packets from that node to the cloud and back in a consistent network environment. SPE also offers high enough data-rates and low enough latencies to enable the implementation of time sensitive networking strategies that are important for factory automation and similar applications. Implementation is simpler with SPE than with standard four- or eight-conductor Ethernet cables, due to the combination of smaller cables, smaller connectors and PoDL power delivery. Lighter cables will be easier to install over long runs than standard Ethernet, while the thinness of SPE cables is an advantage when routing it through narrow channels within machinery. SPE is also a
more sustainable networking approach than alternatives because it uses less material and simplifies power provision to remote nodes.
Examining SPE for IIoT applications
SPE has specific advantages in a variety of IIoT applications. In the automotive industry, for example, the short-range version of SPE is being evaluated for use in wiring harnesses as an alternative to CAN, FlexRay and other bus systems, to carry safety functions, control and communications data over a single Ethernet network.
In industrial applications, SPE can integrate remote sensors, actuators and field devices into an existing Ethernet environment, without the need for gateways or interfaces to other field network implementations.
In building automation, SPE enables a similar integration of nodes such as sensors, switches and thermostats, into an end-to-end IP network that can be connected to the building management system over the building’s local area network. SPE’s form factor (thin, flexible cables and small connectors) makes it easier to install and maintain than competing field networks. It may be possible to reuse two-wire cable runs that already exist in a building to carry SPE network traffic.
SPE can also be applied to the process industry where safety needs careful management. A variant of the standard, known as Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer or Ethernet APL, combines the two-wire operation of SPE with existing standards for intrinsically safe Ethernet connectivity to enable its use in potentially hazardous environments. The future of industrial network connectivity lies with SPE. IIoT design engineers fully understand the struggle of balancing space limitations with increasing data demands. SPE is a compact, efficient technology that delivers full Ethernet performance with a single, twisted-pair cable. Simplifying connectivity for IIoT applications with SPE technology is not an emerging solution. It is available, and the best practice approach to networking, now and for the foreseeable future. SPE is truly the next generation of Ethernet, with features ideally suited for communication in the industrial, manufacturing and automotive environments. And as new standards were introduced in recent years, a number of suppliers, including Amphenol, ADI, Harting, Microchip, Molex, Phoenix, TE Connectivity, Weidmuller and Wurth Electronik began to launch next generation SPE products, all of which are now carried by Farnell. To find out how SPE can ease your current and future design challenges, visit Farnell’s dedicated landing page:
https://uk.farnell.com/
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • APRIL 2025 41
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