R
Hello list,
When we talk about the advantages of industrial networks, it is always done from the supplier side: savings on cabling, conduits, installation,
increase of flexibility, decrease of PLC rack size, etc. etc. etc.
Less is known about experiences once a system is installed and running.
Is maintenance going to be easier? Are problems less? Are new sorts of errors occuring? How quickly is the maintenance-staff 'upgraded' to
work with network-analyzers instead of voltmeters? Is the system more vulnerable to hw or sw problems? Is the complete system then 'down', or only a part of it? How easy is it to upgrade? Is the MTBF different? The MTTR?
etc. etc.
I'd like to hear of any "real-life" experiences with completed fieldbus-installations, either in the process or discrete manufacturing world. I'd also be very interested to hear about any reports written about this and available for the public.
To start with, here's one of my experiences: a user in a factory who had accidentally connected the 220V to the wires of a remote I/O network had
of course all (30) of his remote I/O modules burned out, and the PLC was thus in effect deaf and mute. That's the disadvantage of using with a network; had he used standard I/O modules with his PLC, only one I/O channel or perhaps one I/O board would have been damaged and his factory could perhaps been kept running in a degraded mode.
Greetings,
Rob Hulsebos
When we talk about the advantages of industrial networks, it is always done from the supplier side: savings on cabling, conduits, installation,
increase of flexibility, decrease of PLC rack size, etc. etc. etc.
Less is known about experiences once a system is installed and running.
Is maintenance going to be easier? Are problems less? Are new sorts of errors occuring? How quickly is the maintenance-staff 'upgraded' to
work with network-analyzers instead of voltmeters? Is the system more vulnerable to hw or sw problems? Is the complete system then 'down', or only a part of it? How easy is it to upgrade? Is the MTBF different? The MTTR?
etc. etc.
I'd like to hear of any "real-life" experiences with completed fieldbus-installations, either in the process or discrete manufacturing world. I'd also be very interested to hear about any reports written about this and available for the public.
To start with, here's one of my experiences: a user in a factory who had accidentally connected the 220V to the wires of a remote I/O network had
of course all (30) of his remote I/O modules burned out, and the PLC was thus in effect deaf and mute. That's the disadvantage of using with a network; had he used standard I/O modules with his PLC, only one I/O channel or perhaps one I/O board would have been damaged and his factory could perhaps been kept running in a degraded mode.
Greetings,
Rob Hulsebos