Editor’s Note This article is excerpted from the white paper, “Industrial Gateways: Bridging the Communications Gap,” from Spectrum Controls Inc. Download the full paper at https://tinyurl.com/mryt6a9s to learn how protocols have changed over time, factors for expanding an application, considerations for replacing or upgrading gateways, challenges of typical gateways, benefits of using gateways in a PLC network, and how to choose the right one for the application.
In our evolving automation landscape, the transition toward smart factories is both a goal and a challenge, fueled by an ever-growing demand for data accessibility. This is complicated by the prevalence of mixed-protocol environments, featuring both serial and Ethernet communications, each with its own set of variations and complexities.
Let’s explore some aspects of the dynamic landscape of industrial communication protocols, underscoring the indispensable role of gateways in facilitating modern automation in mixed-protocol industrial environments.
Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) play a crucial role in controlling and monitoring various processes. PLCs are specialized computers designed to control manufacturing processes, essentially serving as the brain of the automation system. They receive input data from sensors, process it using programmed logic, and then send commands to actuators, motors, valves and other output devices to control the process.
