INDUSTRY FOCUS FOOD & BEVERAGE
AN APPETITE FOR MAINTAINING INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET NETWORKS
As food and drink manufacturing and packaging becomes more automated, testing and maintaining Industrial Ethernet networks correctly is critical. Tim Widdershoven, global marketing manager, IDEAL Networks, explains why...
T
he disruption of the food and drink industry by automation has
intensified in recent years. In many operations, using automated equipment has numerous benefits. Intelligent sensors, for instance, help execute better quality control removing human error and helping to avoid faulty or contaminated products – crucial for food and drink producers. That said, once automation is installed,
factories are reliant on these systems to work. They are only any good when they are working correctly, and it can prove very costly if they aren’t. Problems can lead to faulty products,
lost production, unfulfilled orders, missed deadlines and a disrupted supply chain. In the food and drink industry, perishable ingredients and finished goods may also end up as costly waste, for instance if the production line comes to a halt, or a cooling system fails to work. And all of this could lead to reputational damage and customer dissatisfaction.
ROBOTS RELY ON NETWORKS Any automated food and drink factory is likely to be using Industrial Ethernet. Many will think of Ethernet as “the cable in their office computer”. Industrial Ethernet is similar, in that it enables computers to connect with devices. However, it is designed to meet the needs of a factory floor, which are quite different. Manufacturing and packaging lines
require low levels of data transfer, but at a very high speed. Standard Ethernet is fine for office workers browsing the internet but would not be quick enough for a factory. An automated robot executing a programme to fill a bottle, for instance, requires great speed and
time-precision. A popular Industrial Ethernet protocol
used for automation applications is PROFINET, which classifies devices. IO- Controllers are the computers or nodes on the network that execute the automation programmes. IO-Devices are commonly the sensors connected to the Controller which are working to sense if something is complete and correct, or if there is a problem. Finally, IO- Supervisors are devices that can be used for monitoring or analysis, such as PCs or HMI screens. For all these devices to keep production
running, the Industrial Ethernet network needs to be performing correctly. The right Industrial Ethernet network testing practices and equipment are therefore essential. Although automated production lines in
the food and drink sector have various monitoring systems in place, these tend to focus on detecting problems when they have occurred, rather than picking up network issues that could result in downtime. So, it is good practice to conduct
periodic system health checks. These should look at how devices are performing so corrective action can be taken and network failure avoided. These tests should seek out any critical events which may prevent a device from being operational and require quick troubleshooting, such as duplicate name and IP address sets, communication failure or packet errors exceeding acceptable limits. Even if a device is still operational,
32 DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 | PROCESS & CONTROL
Manufacturing and packaging lines require low levels of data transfer, but at a very high speed
there may still be problems that need addressing for preventative maintenance. This could include instances of packet errors occurring at an acceptable limit, a link load of 10% to 50% or a device speed of 10Mb/s. If you rely on guesswork, such as
plugging in a new device or updating software and hoping for the best, this makes troubleshooting faults difficult and inefficient. Network testing can help.
FASTER TROUBLESHOOTING The right Industrial Ethernet tester, such as NaviTEK IE from IDEAL Networks, can help to quickly identify if the problem is on the network or cable. If it’s a cable issue, intelligent test equipment can also tell you where the fault is, saving troubleshooting time. NaviTEK IE, for instance, is a field tester, specifically designed to be used by front line production operators to support fast troubleshooting. Also, by using a network tester during
Industrial Ethernet installation in a factory, rather than a PC with specialist software, it is far easier to generate reports which prove performance. This same reporting can also help sub- contractors to demonstrate when the network and cable are working fine so if the problem persists, the solution can be sought elsewhere. With Europe having more robots per
*
https://ifr.org/ifr-press- releases/news/brexit-uk- falling-back-in-global-aut omation-race-robot- sales-down-3
head in manufacturing than any other region worldwide, and the UK being encouraged to adopt more*, it has never been more critical for food and drink manufacturers to correctly understand, test and maintain their Industrial Ethernet networks.
NaviTEK IE is a field tester specifically designed to be used by front line production operators to support fast troubleshooting
IDEAL Networks E:
uksales@idealnwd.com
www.idealnetworks.com
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