Factory Automation

EtherNet/ IP lowers networking cost

Last year representatives from the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA; www.ethernet-ip.org) and the Interface for Distributed Automation (IDA; www.ida-group.org) Group agreed to copromote with the Industrial Automation Open Networking Alliance (IAONA; www.iaona.com) the EtherNet/IP (Industrial Protocol) networking protocol for industrial automation applications.
Oct. 1, 2001
3 min read

Last year representatives from the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA; www.ethernet-ip.org) and the Interface for Distributed Automation (IDA; www.ida-group.org) Group agreed to copromote with the Industrial Automation Open Networking Alliance (IAONA; www.iaona.com) the EtherNet/IP (Industrial Protocol) networking protocol for industrial automation applications.

As an open industrial networking standard, Ethernet/IP supports implicit messaging (real-time I/O messaging), explicit messaging (message exchange), or both and uses commercial off-the-shelf Ethernet communication chips and physical media. Because Ethernet technology has been used since the mid-1970s, Ethernet products are available at low cost from a number of vendors.

EtherNet/IP is an open network that uses the IEEE 802.3 Physical and Data Link standard, Ethernet TCP/IP protocol suite, and a UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol) to provide data transport needed for real-time data exchange. In addition, the Control and Information Protocol (CIP) uses the ControlNet and DeviceNet standards to provide a common application layer for real-time I/O and peer-to-peer messaging.

Typical devices communicating across an EtherNet/IP network include ma-chine-vision systems, PLC processors, robots, and I/O and I/O adapters in applications such as plant management and material-handling systems. Now, a number of companies are introducing products based on the EtherNet/IP standard.

Allen Bradley/Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee, WI), for example, has expanded its PanelView family to include EtherNet/IP operator interface terminals. With the addition of EtherNet/IP, the PanelView 550T and PanelView 1400 EtherNet/IP terminals can communicate to multiple PLC-5E, SLC 5/05, and ControlLogix processors, and other EtherNet/IP devices using the CIP protocol.

For factory applications that demand machine vision, Cognex Corp. (Natick, MA) has also added EtherNet/IP to its In-Sight family of networkable vision sensors. This enables direct, real-time communications between In-Sight vision sensors and other factory-automation devices over Ethernet. EtherNet/IP-compatible products include the In-Sight 1000 and 3000, the In-Sight 1010 barcode reader, and the In-Sight 1700 wafer-reading sensor.

Joe Crompton, vision project manager at ABB Robotics (Norwalk, CT), also plans EtherNet/IP support for the company's FlexPicker and other robots. According to Crompton, the company sees a tremendous need for the standard and is moving in that direction, although any implementation will not occur for at least the next six months.

While EtherNet/IP provides ControlNet/DeviceNet objects on TCP/IP, other Fieldbus organizations have already produced Ethernet TCP/IP application layers of their protocols. These include Modbus/TCP, the Modbus protocol on TCP/IP and Profibus on Ethernet. And, even though standards such as DeviceNet can supply power and communications through the same cable, EtherNet/IP remains an opportunity for the ODVA to leverage their common application layer and meet the demand for a low-cost, high-speed industrial Ethernet standard.

Sign up for Vision Systems Design Newsletters

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Vision Systems Design, create an account today!