-By the Automation & Robotics Content Team
Pepperl+Fuchs has acquired Comtrol Corporation business. Comtrol is a pioneer in the field of Ethernet-based industrial communication and a leading supplier of IO-Link masters. Hence Pepperl+Fuchs has strengthened its position as a system provider in the IO-Link sector, with an ability to offer IO-Link master with an OPC UA interface. The IO-Link master with an OPC UA interface paves end-to-end, transparent, and seamless communication from the lowest field level to the cloud.
OPC UA is an Ethernet-based communication protocol and provides an easy and flexible method of communication between machines or between a machine and the cloud. OPC UA is characterized by its independence, giving customers incredible flexibility when designing their IoT systems regardless of the platform they choose to use.
If IO-Link functions as the interface for the identification, diagnostics, and parameter data from the sensor technology, OPC UA provides the perfect solution for transmitting this data to PC- or cloud-based systems in full and in parallel with time-critical control communication. This would broaden the vision surrounding Industry 4.0 as detailed data can be collected from the lowest field level and assessed in a target-oriented manner.
