Providing hardware which will be pivotal in making factories smarter
LONDON, UK, 29 September 2020 – RS Components (RS), a trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE: ECM), a global omni-channel solutions partner for industrial customers and suppliers, has added new industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) gateways from Siemens to its expansive inventory. Maximising operational efficiency, these UL-approved units have been designed to deal with the capture and pre-processing of data, before subsequently forwarding it on (either back to the cloud for detailed analysis, or to the relevant edge-based nodes).
The Siemens SIMATIC IOT2050 Basic gateways each support an array of different connectivity protocols. They have 2x Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports and an additional serial port which is switchable between RS-232, RS-485 and RS-422. Arduino shield slots allow connection with sensor devices, as well as enabling IO expansion. Each unit possesses 1GB of built-in DDR4 memory capacity, along with an SD card slot for additional data storage.
Complementing them are Siemens’ SIMATIC IOT2050 Advance gateway units. These accommodate 2GB of DDR4 memory, with 16GB eMMC plus SD card slots. All of the various wireline connectivity options featured in the SIMATIC IOT2050 Basic models are included here too.
The Basic and Advance models respectively leverage dual- and quad-core ARM Cortex processor technology. Running off 12/24VDC supplies, these IIoT gateways can be connected up to legacy network infrastructure that is already installed, as well as brand new implementations. Numerous sophisticated monitoring mechanisms are incorporated to ensure ongoing operation, including temperature and watchdog.
“Through innovative and highly flexible solutions like the Siemens IIoT gateways, we are playing a vital role in the ongoing digitisation of manufacturing facilities. It means that our industrial customers can source the programmable networking technology they need to link their equipment to the cloud in a highly effective and ultra-responsive manner. The benefits derived from this will be improved product quality, greater throughput and less risk of downtime,” said Kristian Olsson, Vice President of Automation & Control at RS Components.
