Things to Avoid and Pursue
There is a long list of activities Control Engineers and Plant Managers avoid like the plague…
- Modifying PLC code
- Adding an HMI
- Modifying HMI screens
- Adding additional Indicators
On the other side, there is a list of activities they need to do to keep their plant on the forefront of lean manufacturing…
- Providing real-time operational visibility
- Adding new manufacturing/process functions
- Adding/updating Error Proofing devices
- Providing preventative and predictive maintenance information
Fortunately, the IIoT can help you avoid what you want to avoid and do more of what you need to do. The promise of IIoT can be realized with an IO-Link Architecture featuring Balluff’s Virtual IP address concept. This scalable architecture allows the PLC to do its thing while an independent PC (the one on your desk for example) can access the IO devices directly to get at operational and process data not always available in the PLC.
Learn more at www.balluff.us/io-link.
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