IO-Link is the future of manufacturing and testing technology. Intelligent features and digital sensors that increase accuracy, reliability and efficiency are ideal for automation and test applications.
What is IO-Link technology? Is it just an interface for simple switching sensors?
The short answer to this question is: NO. IO-Link is much more than that. This technology may have originated in switching sensors, but it has now evolved into something much more sophisticated. In recent years, this communication protocol has become the industry standard for digital sensors. In fact, today you can find all sorts of measurement sensors, actuators and other types of controllers equipped with IO-Link.
So what is IO-Link technology?
IO-Link is a globally recognized industrial communication network standard that is perfectly suited for industrial applications. The solution itself consists of a master device, a sensor or actuator with this interface and an IO Device Description (IODD) file. This technology is used to connect digital sensors and actuators from the field level to control level systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
What exactly is the IO-Link protocol?
IO-Link uses point-to-point bidirectional communication from the sensor to the master controller, which acts as a hub and allows the exchange of sensor data with the control system or IT level applications. This means you can retrieve diagnostic information from your devices and set parameters efficiently, simplifying connectivity while improving data availability.
Why does it matter?
Increased data availability will ultimately help you improve system diagnostics, increase efficiency and reduce costs. As the manufacturing industry increasingly moves towards automation and decentralisation, gathering detailed information from your production processes is more important than ever, and it's this that will enable you to continuously improve your processes, increase productivity and stay competitive. IO-Link is designed to do this in a standardized and scalable way.
How does it work in practice?
Thanks to cutting-edge, high-performance microelectronics, we can now integrate our domain-specific algorithms into the sensor electronics to enable process-specific pre-processing.
This includes filters such as Butterworth, Bessel, and multistage cascade filters, tabular and polynomial linearization functions, compensation algorithms, sensor condition monitoring (i.e., tracking variables that affect sensor mechanics), and process algorithms such as fill, minimum/maximum, checkweighing, limit switches, and power calculations used in torque transducers.
These integrations provide the sensor with a wide range of process control and measurement data preprocessing options.
The IO-Link communication interface then enables the transmission of pre-calculated results, value-added data such as alarms and events, and measured value data - all using universally applicable and cost-effective interface technology.
Which HBK sensors already have this interface?
Currently, sensor configurations can be supplied with the IO-Link interface:
- C9C - miniature pressure transducers with ranges from 50N to 50kN
- U9C - tensile pressure transducers with ranges from 50N to 50kN
- U93A - new robust tensile pressure gauge with ranges from 1kN to 50kN
- LCMC - weighing measuring chain for various weighing applications