Plant management modules implement industry 4.0 connectivity
Industrial networks can implement industry 4.0 connectivity for plant asset management with the smartLink modules for industrial networks.
Softing has released the smartLink HW-DP v1.20 and smartLink SW-HT v1.20 to enable plant asset management and industry 4.0 connectivity. The modules allow simple and scalable integration of device data into plant asset management applications.
The smartLink HW-DP integrate industry 4.0 applications in Profibus and Hart protocol systems. It enables access to process, asset and diagnostic data from Profibus devices and Hart devices connected to Profibus remote I/Os, as well as secure export to any system inside and outside the user’s own network.
The v1.20 module now adds support for providing asset and diagnostic data from field devices via MQTT. This allows easy integration into typical IoT system architectures, such as the Namur Open Architecture (NOA) or the IoT reference architectures of large cloud platforms, said Softing.
The smartLink SW-HT provides data access via Emerson AMS device manager and other HART IP-enabled plant asset management applications. According to Softing, it is the only module to support Schneider Electric M580 controllers and drop I/Os as well as Allen-Bradley controllers and remote I/Os. Version v1.20 now also connects Emerson AMS Device Manager to Hart devices connected to R.Stahl IS1+ remote I/O.
Increasingly, remote I/Os are using Ethernet as a connection to the controller. smartLink SW-HT provides an Ethernet connection for tunnelling Hart commands to remote I/Os. As a Docker container, smartLink SW-HT can be managed via Kubernetes-based management platforms or services of the major cloud platforms.
Softing will present smartLink HW-DP and smartLink SW-HT at Achema 2022, the event for sustainable connections in Frankfurt, Germany from August 22 to 26, 2022. Visit Softing in Hall 11.0, Booth E16.
