Realising the Potential of Industry 4.0 with Tough IoT

The onset of Industry 4.0 has brought about countless megatrends that are impossible to ignore. One of the main trends is leveraging increased data for better decision-making, which has brought about more interconnections between machines and sensors to support production. Sensors and actuators need to be coupled during the production process to deliver data on time, right down to the microsecond. Increasing automation on the factory floor and integrating with the IT architecture in the industrial ecosystem have also resulted in Industrial Ethernet overtaking Fieldbus to become the de facto technology for communication.

Where Fieldbus was the go-to technology in use, ethernet-based connections now have a market share of more than 50 per cent in the installation of new nodes*. Designed to maintain production uptime, Ethernet meets mission-critical automated tasks in modern factories and is key in enabling the Industrial 4.0 ecosystem.

Standard Ethernet vs. Industrial Ethernet
While trends suggest that the growth of the Fieldbus technologies have been modest in the new nodes installation, Industrial Ethernet enables a reliable and faultless network infrastructure across all levels and systems. Real-time data transmission and interference-free communication ensure that networks can continue to work, even if a switch fails.

Industry 4.0 would demand data, power supply and pneumatics in one connector to significantly reduce the retrofit times of a modular production plant…Ethernet cables in a production environment must be substantially more robust than LAN cables in an office environment.

— Marc Jarrault
CTO, LAPP Asia Pacific

What does all this leave cables, which are traditionally thought of as an 'old technology'? The answer is, cables remain as relevant as ever amidst changing demands on connectivity, due in part to restrictions in wireless technology. Simply put, advances in the field can go as far as cable components can take them. To realise our Industry 4.0 ambition and take a few confident strides forward to a seamless transition, connectivity solutions that enable increasingly automated and complex factory infrastructures are now needed more than ever. In anticipation of this, LAPP has put its expertise into predictive maintenance for data cables as well as developing cables for industrial direct current applications.

To tap on the potential of Industry 4.0 means being able to analyse and act on data, harness actionable insights to boost visibility and streamline processes, drive agility and even pre-empt issues that might lead to unwanted downtime.

Standing nimble, LAPP has been focusing on achieving seamless operations in demanding production environments, putting our cables and connection solutions through their paces to ensure cable performance, flexibility and security in virtually every solution.

In harsh industrial environments, cables and connection solutions are subject to environmental stresses such as electrical noise, mechanical pressures, electromagnetic interference and extreme temperatures. LAPP's robust portfolio of cables and connectors boast high quality to drive optimisation and facilitate dynamic operations while standing up to rugged conditions.