PROFIBUS networks feature high robustness. Even when minor problems are accumulating on the network, the communication continues undisturbed, without exhibiting any visible symptoms.
This could be tricky – when, eventually, the production line fails, you may address only one of the causes of the failure, while the others may go unnoticed. It is thus essential that your networks receive regular maintenance and problems detected get solved before they take their toll.
PROFIBUS networks are becoming obsolete but not extinct. If you regularly analyse, repair and modernise them, they will prove reliable for many years to come.
When to Analyse Industrial Networks
Checks on your industrial communication should be part and parcel of your regular preventive maintenance. You should, nevertheless, also have your networks analysed or permanently monitored if you:
We have been researching and monitoring PROFIBUS networks since 2010. Our experienced professionals have received training in many parts of the world. Today, we are proud that we can share our knowledge with our customers and provide first-class PROFIBUS training for them.
We have analysed thousands of PROFIBUS networks and tens of thousands of PROFIBUS stations, so we know how to monitor them as effectively as possible.
When analysing PROFIBUS (or CANbus or DeviceNET), we mainly check the quality/health of cabling, wiring and connectors, active termination settings, the impact of electromagnetic interference, network topology, node power supply and more. For that, we use special tools that identify and localise network problems, as standard programs, such as the STEP7 and the TIA Portal, are not designed for this purpose.
Is unplanned downtime unacceptable to you? If you want to be warned of any problem immediately and have your networks under control 24/7, you should use continuous monitoring tools. You will have access to online data through user-friendly visualisations. And, if something out of the ordinary is about to happen, you will get an alert notification, for example via email. Your maintenance personnel will solve the problem in time, preventing a communication failure.
Do you still use PROFIBUS communications on your factory floor? Then you need your networks to be reliable and failure-free. Their health does not only depend on the condition of individual components, but also on network topology and the way in which the components are connected and interconnected.
Network modernisation is not limited to repairs – it includes making networks more robust and well-organised. Fault finding and troubleshooting then become much more efficient.
Related Products
Blog Articles
Our quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2015