The Schmersal Group is presenting a new Industry 4.0-compliant solution at SPS IPC Drives 2018: the PROTECT PSC1 safety controller with integrated OPC UA server. The connection from the PSC1 to the industrial machine-to-machine communication protocol will, in future, allow extensive information from Schmersal products to be included in manufacturer-neutral data exchange. In addition, this solution allows Schmersal products to deliver maintenance information, meaning that – in the sense of predictive maintenance – components can be replaced in good time before before they reach end of life or lose the performance level.
The PROTECT PSC1 from Schmersal is a programmable, modular safety controller. It is fitted with a universal communications interface in order to allow data exchange across different fieldbus systems with higher-level controllers. The various fieldbus protocols can be easily selected by software so that the PROTECT PSC1 can handle different fieldbus systems with just one hardware. Schmersal has now integrated an OPC UA server into this communications interface. This primarily allows safety sensors from the Schmersal range to provide comprehensive data in a machine-readable format, with semantic descriptions from the M2M communications protocol. This includes, for example, status data of safety outputs, safety parameters, information on sensor lifecycle, order information, datasheets, drawings and images. Safety sensors with a Schmersal SD bus can also display information on the target, the temperature in the sensor, the device serial number and error messages (e.g. cross-circuit, excess temperature, internal device error, communication error, output Y1/Y2).
“Thanks to the integration of OPC UA into the PSC1, the data of our products can be made available for a manufacturer-independent exchange, be it from one machine to another or for cross-company communication,” explains Ulrich Bernhardt, Head of Controller Sales at the Schmersal Group. “We consider OPC UA as a pioneer for Industry 4.0 as it standardises industrial communication and ensures interoperability between products from different manufacturers. We are pleased to be able to offer our customers an innovative solution in conjunction with this future-oriented standard. An abstract future concept becomes a tangible added value for our customers”.
