Ethernet Direct Wins European Measurement & Process Control Project Application

The project was deployed in Italy in one of the famous companies doing sensor, measurement, control panel and related products. In the process control scenario, configuration error is very critical as this can cause downtime in the entire process. A process control systems can be characterized as to discrete, batch or continuous. A PLC is commonly used in the system to read a set of digital and analog inputs, apply a set of logic statements, and generate a set of analog and digital outputs. Other devices such as controllers and sensors are needed for data acquisition and process management.

A reliable solution from Ethernet Direct is the best choice for this project. To enable a smooth process with the manufacturing facility, Falcon wireless LAN is utilized to seamlessly integrate data transfer from data inputs gathered from the different workstations to the main control section. Ethernet Direct’s FWO-712 and FWO-701 products are both IEEE-compliant 802.11b/g Industrial Wireless Outdoor Access Point, and also function as Bridge, Client & Repeater. A Falcon FWO-712 with 8dB antenna is connected to several FWO-701s, and the distance between each remote station is 100 meters. The Falcon FWO and FWI products are a family of rugged, wireless LAN products that make it simple to install, operate and manage a secure enterprise & outdoor Wireless LAN. For security, the Falcon series supports the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) specifications and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with MAC address filtering. Roaming inside the plant floor can be made in less than 50 ms.

With the continuous development of industrial wireless technologies, industrial wireless solutions are being widely applied, especially in the Process & Control industries. The task of providing exact and repeatable measurement and control is critically important to any process. When the process in question is the manufacturing of a food product, it is even more important that temperature, humidity, pH, agitation, pressure and other variables be maintained and monitored at desired levels.

With innovative technology design, Falcon Series provides 54 Mbps high data rate for outdoor environment which is faster than xDSL connection speed. It links two or more separate networks to create a single expanded LAN network cost effectively and efficiently. The robust IP-68 housing protects the device from harsh outdoor environment – weatherproof, waterproof, dust proof. In addition, the built-in Power over Ethernet design reduces the cost of power cables installation, and provides future proof investment.