Smart manufacturing is pushing efficiencies in automation as digital networks increasingly connect machines, production line equipment and robotics. OT and IT networks that are crucial to the IIoT rely on Ethernet for interoperability and to expedite data transmission and assure security. The LAN867x family of 10BASE-T1S PHYs, a new solution available today from Microchip Technology, expands Ethernet connectivity right to the edges of industrial networks, simplifying architectures and decreasing risk for designers.
The company’s Ethernet PHY transceivers are high-performance, small-footprint devices facilitating connections to standard system devices, including actuators and sensors that earlier needed their own communication systems.
With the devices, all-Ethernet infrastructures in OT and IT systems can be extended to the network’s edges. The devices remove the requirement for gateways that in the past were necessitated to interconnect incompatible communication systems. The single pair of wires lessen cost, while the multidrop bus architecture decreases the requirement for expensive switches and improves scalability. Several nodes can work on the same bus line with high data throughput.
The LAN8670, LAN8671 and LAN8672 Ethernet PHYs are the industry’s first created and validated to the new 10BASE-T1S standard for single-pair Ethernet released by IEEE. 10BASE-T1S meets the challenges of producing all-Ethernet architectures for industrial applications that include process controls, building automation and consolidation of systems with multiple interconnection technologies. The configuration facilitates a multidrop (bus line) topology, fewer cables, development on PCBs, with up to at least eight nodes and at least a 25m range.
“Microchip’s 10Base-T1S technology provides an advantage for our endpoint-to-cloud integration, connecting products, controls, software and services in a simpler and more cost-effective way,” said Julien Michel, Connected Systems project leader at Schneider Electric. “The technology will help to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all.”
“For industrial system architects and designers, interconnection of many different communication devices and technologies often is difficult and error-prone,” said Matthias Kaestner, vice president, Automotive. “Using 10BASE-T1S Ethernet simplifies these interconnections, enhancing interoperability and speed, which is critical in the industrial environment.”