PLCs and I/O get Profinet links

At last month`s Hannover Fair, Siemens unveilled a family of products that implement Ethernet at the field level. The range includes Profinet communications processors for the company`s S7-300 and S7-400 controllers, and a Profinet interface for its ET 200S distributed I/O system.

The IP20 interface for the ET 200S will allow devices such as motor starters, drives, pneumatic cylinders, counters, and serial devices, to be controlled via Ethernet. The interface includes a plug-in memory card, enabling ET 200S devices to be replaced quickly for maintenance without needing a programming device. A rapid-connect technology allows bus connections to be made to the interface in less than 30s, according to Siemens.

The Profinet distributed I/O is configured and any faults diagnosed using the same Simatic Step 7 software as is used for Profibus and central distributed I/O modules. The ET 200S Profinet interface is due in July, and the S7 processors will follow in August.