A significant proportion of industrial equipment will be deployed in what are described as hazardous areas, or possibly applications that require a functional safety assessment. Hazardous areas include locations where there is the risk of exposure to flammable or even explosive substances. In such circumstances, ensuring ongoing operation can prove to be challenging. It is therefore critical that the component parts which make up such items of equipment are suitably constructed to function in these uncompromising environments.
The prevalence of Industrial Ethernet technology is expanding all the time. Companies serving a wide range of industry sectors are migrating away from the slow and inflexible interfaces that were previously used and seeking out higher speed alternatives. Market analyst firm Technavio has predicted that the global industrial Ethernet business will experience a compound annual growth of 9.5% between now and 2019.
Companies serving a wide range of industry sectors (manufacturing, petrochemical and avionics to name just a few) are migrating away from the slow and inflexible interfaces that were previously used and seeking out higher speed alternatives. Industrial Ethernet is far more versatile than the serial interfaces, like RS232, RS422 and RS485, which were employed in industrial automation systems in the past. Through its deployment major improvements can be made to the efficiency of communication infrastructure and marked reductions in day-to-day running costs witnessed.
When it comes to linear position feedback for motion control applications, in many respects it has historically been hard to beat tried and true analog sensors. With a variety of output options and user adjustability, these were essentially the “plug-and-play” devices of their day.
