With the code reader into the factory of the future
Balluff, a specialist in sensors and automation, merges traditional process communication with information technology through its BVS ID identification sensor. This integration not only facilitates classic communication but also offers customers valuable insights into their system’s real-time status, courtesy of smart additional features.
From procurement to production to recycling, a product's journey is a long one. If you want to track it, you need reliable information, such as details about the manufacturer, production stages or expiration dates. Traceability is playing an increasingly important role in the industry, encompassing both end products and individual components. Factors like new regulations, heightened safety expectations, and increasing ecological awareness are driving this development.
Additional modern functionalities
By reading information and identifying components using optically standardized barcodes or 2D codes, code readers shed light on a product’s history. But what if the sensor could offer further helpful information about the product and its environment? This question led Balluff to develop the BVS ID, a stationary and user-friendly code reader. Based in Neuhausen auf den Fildern, Balluff guarantees high reading quality and robustness and enhances conventional data transmission with modern functionalities. The new IdentSensor will be available this November.
“Digitalization and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) represent the next level of industrial automation,” says Rainer Schönhaar, product manager smart vision at Balluff. Customer needs and requirements in the industrial sector are also increasing. “The desire for more productivity, efficiency and transparency in production is growing.”
Merging OT and IT
The easy-to-integrate BVS ID with auto-setup finds application in intralogistics and production, where it is used for feeding new parts into existing systems, whether in the automotive industry for components or in the packaging industry for filling tubular bags.
For greater flexibility, the IdentSensor combines classic automation technology (operational technology, OT) with information technology (IT). It is the first code reader to use different communication channels for data transmission, for use alone or in parallel.
‘In the simplest case, the determined value is compared with a reference value from the control system,” explains Schönhaar. “If further information, such as the type or quality of the code, is required, it is transmitted via appropriate communication interfaces.”
Information on the current production process
The code reader uses IO-Link as a digital industrial interface for the first time. The communication standard enables seamless communication between the intelligent sensor and the automation system. The advantages? A simple system connection and a standardized communication protocol. Starting from the IdentSensor, the digital signals are transmitted at a data rate of 230 kbit/s via the IO-Link master. Parameterization with the SensorApp is possible as an option. This can be called up as a client via the network connection, facilitates configuration and provides information about the production process.
“Alternatively, a high-speed connection via Gigabit Ethernet can also be used via the TCP or UDP protocol,” says Schönhaar.
Parallel communication is possible
In addition to the ‘classic’ data channels, the BVS ID from Balluff offers Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT). The integrated open network protocol for IoT communication enables automatic data exchange between the sensor and the MQTT broker.
“The advantage is that the information in the broker is always updated, allowing users to selectively access it in the cloud,” says Schönhaar. Here too, the REST API interface offers users an alternative IT communication path, with the distinction that the information is retrieved directly from the sensor.
What is particularly important to the product manager given the large number of communication paths? “IT communication can run in parallel with process communication without affecting the functional performance of the IdentSensor. So it's a true fusion of both worlds.”
Avoid machine downtimes
The fact that the IdentSensor from Balluff can do even more is demonstrated by its capability for condition monitoring. Questions like “How is my industrial plant doing?” and “Can production be optimized for efficiency?” arise, along with considerations for implementing predictive maintenance, which involves preemptive maintenance actions before the plant halts operations.
“These are questions that concern our customers,” says Schönhaar. To answer them, the sensor with smart additional functions not only records process data for intelligent production but also gathers extensive additional details about the system’s current status, such as vibration, temperature, and humidity, as well as the sensor's operating time. Thanks to Balluff's Smart Features (see info box), the effectiveness of the entire system can be optimized. “As a quality controller, the IdentSensor helps to avoid unplanned downtimes and associated costs,” says Schönhaar. “We are thus taking another important step towards the factory of the future.”
Info box
The new IdentSensor BVS ID, with its condition monitoring functionality, is part of Balluff's Smart Automation and Monitoring System (SAMS). This stands for the company's comprehensive automation philosophy and guarantees short commissioning times, high machine and system efficiency, and machine status data, thanks to a uniform and standardized operating and configuration concept.
About the company Balluff
Founded in 1921 in Neuhausen a. d. F., Balluff with its 3900 employees worldwide stands for innovative technology, quality and cross-industry experience in industrial automation. As a leading sensor and automation specialist, the fourth-generation family-owned company offers a comprehensive portfolio of high-quality sensor, identification, network and software solutions. In 2022, the Balluff Group recorded sales of around 567 million euros. In addition to its central headquarters in Neuhausen a. d. F., Balluff has sales, production and development locations around the globe and is represented by 38 subsidiaries and other agencies in 61 countries. This guarantees customers fast worldwide availability of products and a high quality of advice and service directly on site.
Find out more: Smart vision | Balluff