UNITI INTRODUCTION

Introduction to Industrial automation system

What is Industrial Automation?

Industrial Automation is a process of operating machines and other industrial
equipment with the help of digital logical programming and reducing human
intervention in decision making and manual command process with the help of
mechanized equipment.

The above definition is definitely not a simple one to understand but let us try to
understand what an industrial automation is with the help of a small example.

Example to Understand Industrial Automation

Consider a manual industrial production process, where an operator is observing
the temperature of an oven. Assume the task is to reach a certain temperature
and maintain that temperature for about 30 minutes.

So, the operator has to first adjust the amount of fuel to the oven by controlling a
valve to rise the temperature to the desired amount. Once the necessary
temperature is achieved, it has to be maintained by constantly adjusting the valve
i.e. either increase or decrease the fuel depending on the temperature for the
next 30 minutes.

Now, with industrial automation, the whole process is taken care of without the
help of an operator. First, there is a temperature sensor placed near the oven
which reports the temperature to a computer.

Now, there is motorized valve, which is also controlled by the computer, for the
fuel to be supplied to the oven. Based on the temperature readings from the
sensor, the computer will open the valve to allow more fuel in the beginning.
Once the desired temperature is achieved, the valve is shutoff.
But the computer can open or close the valve, even to allow a tiniest amount of
fuel to flow, based on the temperature readings. The timer in the computer will
indicate once 30 minutes is up and the computer can completely shut off the
system.

Communication is an essential part of human life. We communicate

every day to inquire about the well being of others, discuss important
events, and exchange useful information. The daily life will certainly
feel uneventful if communication is ceased.

Similarly, communication plays an important role in the automation

world. The different Programmable Logic Controllers(PLCs) and field
devices communicate with one another or execute commands based
on a certain set of instructions called protocols.

Some of the most fundamental and perhaps widely used

communication protocols are the "MODBUS" and "PROFIBUS" which
are discussed in the article.

MODBUS
Modbus is perhaps the oldest and the most popular industrial
communication protocol which was introduced in the mid 1970's by
"Modicon" now "Schneider Electric" for use with its PLCs. The
characteristics of MODBUS are given below:

1. MODBUS can operate on only 1 Master device per network.

2. MODBUS can be used on RS232, RS422, and RS485. The

maximum limit for RS232 and RS422 is 1 master and 1 slave.
The maximum limit for RS485 in MODBUS is one master and
31 slaves.

3. The MODBUS communication protocol is simpler in terms of

implementation and ease of use.

4. Due to its simplicity, MODBUS can operate on

"Ethernet"(keeping in mind that using MODBUS with
Ethernet, we can have multi-master topology which serves as
an added advantage).

5. When first introduced, MODBUS was a proprietary protocol

that only Modicon could use. However today it is an open
protocol and more information on it is accessible
on https://modbus.org/.

PROFIBUS

Released in 1993, PROcess FIeld BUS was first promoted in 1989 by

BMBF (German department of education and research) and then used
by Siemens. It is a well-established protocol being used widely in the
automation world. The characteristics of PROFIBUS are:
1. PROFIBUS can operate on multiple Master devices per
network.

2. PROFIBUS only operates on RS 485 which supports 32 nodes

and unlike MODBUS each node has the capability of being a
master or a slave.

3. The construction of PROFIBUS protocol ties it to only RS 485

which limits its usage.

4. PROFIBUS can not operate on Ethernet.

5. For PROFIBUS, the standard is controlled by Profibus

International organization. The details of the protocol are not
freely available. You can only get the protocol specification if
you become a member of the Profibus International
organization, which is subject to an annual fee.