Plug and play the fieldbus way
12 Jun 2000
Still can't decide on which fieldbus? After the recent events outlined above, that's hardly surprising. But help is now at hand, thanks to a new control system from ABB Instrumentation. The ABB FieldController is said to be the first of its type to cater for the most common fieldbuses as an integral part of the system.
The latest in ABB's Freelance 2000 family of control systems, the FieldController allows `plug-in' high speed Ethernet (HSE) communication links to Profibus, Hart and Modbus devices, with Fieldbus Foundation coming soon.
According to ABB, there is now no need to be tied down to a single communication protocol - users can simply mix and match plug-in protocol modules to suit their applications.
The rail-mounted FieldController is basically a hybrid system, combining key elements of distributed control systems with PLC functionality. It is modular, with a single controller capable of handling three or four loops and up to 1000 I/O, while further nodes can take it up to a system of several thousand loops.
Industry standards such as Ethernet TCP/ICP networking and Windows NT effectively future-proof the system while, at the same time, keeping costs down by the use of off-the-shelf industry standard hardware.
Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd and licensors
