Leuze Dual Channel and Industry 4.0 / IIoT sensors

However, if the data needs to be available location-independent and worldwide, the sensor provides this via its industrial Ethernet interface with the OPC-UA communication protocol. It can be transported all the way to a cloud application via an integrated cloud connector or an IoT Edge Gateway.

Issues such as condition monitoring or predictive maintenance, which are a big part of Industry 4.0 and IIoT, require sensors that are capable of making data available worldwide and in a standardized format. The dual channel principle makes it possible for the first time to make data available separately and according to customer requirements. Real-time data is transferred via channel 1, and data for process monitoring and configuration via channel 2. Traditional IO-Link interfaces for binary-switching sensors that allow either the switching signal or point-to-point communi­cation with the sensor on request in SIO mode (standard IO mode), are not capable of this. This is because both pieces of information are required in parallel for process control. For the customer it must be possible, e.g., to continuously evaluate the process values of a contrast sensor, switching reserves to the threshold values, or the state of contamination in the packing process of a packaging machine online, in order to detect deviations from the target state early on. This is exactly what the dual channel principle helps with.

For sensors with fieldbuses, real-time capability and data for monitoring and configuration is provided, at least for real-time Ethernet interfaces, but only locally and not location-independent and worldwide. And most of the time, the information provided by the sensor for condition monitoring or predictive mainte­nance is not evaluated. The Leuze electronic dual channel principle also offers the right solution for this.

Contact Leuze today for more details. http://www.leuze.co.uk/en/deutschland/produkte/ide...