Industrial Communications: from 0 to Hero (F02h)
Logitek and ER-Soft offer all their experience and knowledge through the webinar series “From 0 to Hero.”
The entire Spanish industry is carrying out digitalization projects to a greater or lesser extent. The reason is logical; many of the initiatives in that direction have a clear and direct return.
However, regardless of the size of the company, its production process, or its level of technological maturity, all projects have a common characteristic: it is necessary to integrate different devices with different systems. This integration implies a great challenge.
It is a great challenge for several reasons, mainly because there are many manufacturers that use different or proprietary protocols and communication media. However, it is also happening that we are using equipment and systems in the industry that were not originally designed for this environment, but have evolved to adapt to it – think of BI solutions (Business Intelligence), non-relational databases, many IoT products, or any industrial cloud solution, among others -. These use methods more typical of computer science than classical automation.
To simplify, we find that the different pieces that control, manage, and exploit our installation have not been designed to be open with the other components that make it possible. As we said at the beginning, integrating them with each other is a great challenge.
Challenges for an Industry or Infrastructure Digitalization Project
Currently, and in summary, we find five major challenges in any industrial or infrastructure digitalization project:
Legacy Equipment
Integrating old and/or closed equipment into our current network without affecting the proper functioning of the line or machine.
The Integration of a PLC with another Controller
PLCs and controllers are designed to serve information to higher systems, but when they must communicate directly with another device, it is usually not easy or direct. Increasingly, this communication must be direct, without waiting to go through the control system or SCADA.
Wireless Communications
In a factory or infrastructure, we will always feel more comfortable and secure with a wired connection than with a wireless one. But what happens when it is not possible?
The Integration of a PLC with a System: from OT to IT
In this architecture, the so-called OPC Servers play a fundamental role; these are software programs that act as middleware between the hardware and the software.
The Integration of Different Systems with each Other
The interconnection of systems is sometimes approached in a very ‘artisanal’ way, with a lot of custom development for the specific project. This approach solves the problem today, but it is a big problem for tomorrow.
Industrial communications are a very sensitive issue. They rarely provide great tangible value by themselves, since the value lies in the use given to the data that moves from one place to another. However, if they do not work as they should, the entire project is at risk.
This is where Logitek and ER-Soft offer all their experience and knowledge through the “From 0 to Hero” webinar series. The objective of this series is none other than to address each of these challenges, to know what approach, best practices, and solutions/technologies are the most appropriate for each situation. All this without taking any concept for granted and starting from basic concepts to be able to establish a base of knowledge in industrial communications.
