With the 2019 acquisition of the business of Comtrol Corporation, a US-based pioneer in industrial Ethernet communication and IO-Link masters, Pepperl+Fuchs expanded its portfolio of Industry 4.0 offerings. Enhancements include DeviceMaster gateways, which have recently been fully integrated into the Pepperl+Fuchs’ product line.
With serial and industrial Ethernet translation capabilities, DeviceMaster makes it possible to integrate networks and systems otherwise isolated by separate protocols into the Internet of Things (IoT) world without investment in major equipment upgrades. The intelligent, rugged, and easy-to-use family of gateways ensure that the right information is available at the right time, paving the way for Industry 4.0.
One small step from serial to the IoT
IoT is everywhere. To compete in today’s high-tech world, plants and processes must be as efficient as possible. DeviceMaster industrial Ethernet gateways support the wide range of modern and legacy equipment available on the market. They can be used to easily link Ethernet-based controllers, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, and human-machine interfaces with field-level devices such as barcode scanners, RFID read heads, weigh scales, vision systems, printers, encoders, and sensors.
DeviceMaster servers and gateways are available with 1 to 32 serial ports with DB9 or terminal block connectors for DIN rail, panel, and rack mounting. They support RS-232/422/485, MODBUS RTU, and ASCII for device connectivity and MODBUS TCP, EtherNet/IP, and PROFINET for interfacing with programmable logic controllers and industrial Ethernet networks. An integrated web server makes it easy to configure network settings and port parameters for communication with TCP/IP and industrial Ethernet systems, while Windows and Linux drivers support PC-based applications.
For large-scale applications that require many DeviceMaster gateways, the free configuration and management software, PortVision DX is the perfect solution. It allows serial devices to be managed, network settings to be configured, and module configurations to be cloned or saved as backup. This speeds up system configuration and ensures productivity.
With the addition of DeviceMaster, Pepperl+Fuchs now offers all the components required for industrial communication from the sensor/actuator level to the cloud.
