Companies need to anticipate and make sure their machines are ready for performance increases and consider flexibility in terms of interchangeability and interoperability. Ethernet technology that’s proven in an office environment just isn’t adequate for industrial usage — where the cable has to cope with many more frequency interferences, as well as chemical and mechanical stressors.
The right tools
Today, many companies seem to approach the IIOT the wrong way — they see the technology that is becoming available and try to find a way to use that technology — instead of first thinking about the benefit they want to create for their customer, and then finding or developing the technology they need to create that benefit.
- Laurence Durack, (Electro Impact) “In the Aerospace sector margins continue to fall, forcing changes in execution to reduce costs and improve quality. Those who don’t choose to embrace technology and a digital future will not survive. Our mission is to always choose the best technology and innovate on both the functional side and execution side. Today, we don’t need to touch the physical product we just rely on the data provided.”
- Georg Stawowy, (LAPP) “A counter trend of downsizing is inevitable, and with the number of sensors exploding, connecting and not over-engineering those connections is key. Sensors will pre-process information, so vast volumes of raw data won’t have to be transmitted, but rather only smaller volumes of aggregated, higher-level information. LAPP is developing a new generation of single-pair Ethernet cables with only one pair of conductors instead of four, so they are easier, faster and more cost-effective to connect. Although they transfer only 1 Gbit/s for most sensors that send aggregated data, or a simple signal, it’s enough. Sensors processing data and sending small volumes is one driver of downsizing. Another is that many sensors will be quite simple and send only simple signals like on/off.”
- David Greenfield, (Automation World) sees U.S. manufacturing as split in terms of IIOT. “Larger companies are ready.” He says, “Smaller companies by and large still have a long way to go, but if they want to remain in the supply chain they will sooner or later have to supply that data.”
To hear more from industry experts Georg Stawowy, David Greenfield and Laurence Durack about what your company will need to be IIOT-ready, visit lappusa.lappgroup.com.