With the popularization of the concept of Industry 4.0, the requirements for smart manufacturing environment are getting higher and higher. The appearance of IO-Link communication network (IEC 61131-9) paves the way for the development of smart factories. IO-Link can be used for bidirectional point-to-point data connection up to the level of actuators and sensors, thus realizing data preprocessing, sensor parameter adjustment and advanced diagnosis. This article will show you the development of IO-Link technology and the solutions related to IO-Link introduced by Arrow and ST.
Simplify the connection and management problems of industrial automation
IO-Link is a communication protocol in the field of industrial automation, which is used to connect and manage sensors, actuators and controllers in factory equipment. IO-Link allows high-speed data transmission between sensors and controllers, and at the same time, the parameters of sensors and actuators can be configured through IO-Link, which makes the setting and changing of equipment very simple and flexible.
IO-Link also supports the transmission of digital and analog data, which means that it can transmit not only digital data such as switch status, but also analog data such as temperature and pressure, making it suitable for various sensors and actuators.
IO-Link can also monitor the status of sensors and actuators in real time and provide detailed diagnostic information. This helps to improve the availability of equipment and reduce downtime. An IO-Link Master can connect multiple devices at the same time, thus saving the connection cost and simplifying the system architecture. IO-Link is an open standard that supports multiple devices for suppliers, which means that you can choose between different suppliers without worrying about compatibility.
IO-Link can be widely used in an automatic production line, which is used to connect and control various sensors, such as photoelectric sensors, pressure sensors, flowmeters, etc. It makes the production line more flexible and easier to configure. The diagnostic feature of IO-Link allows remote monitoring and diagnosis of equipment, which is very useful in factories or equipment in remote locations and can reduce maintenance time and cost. IO-Link can also be used to integrate sensor data into Internet of Things (IoT) applications, which is helpful to achieve predictive maintenance and real-time production optimization.
IO-Link technology is suitable for all sensor-based factory applications, in which endpoints (such as sensors or valves, motor starters or RFID readers) are required to be part of the lowest layer network. Information is collected and provided to a higher-level field bus, thus allowing this basic point-to-point communication to be collected from the field into a smart industrial environment.
IO-Link has all the above features, including reliability, hot plug and reverse polarity functions, and comes at a reasonable cost (standard interface and alternative parallel wiring). In addition, industrial sensors are high-value and high-cost equipment. Therefore, manufacturers of industrial sensors and actuators are enhancing measuring points through IO-Link functions, providing significant additional value for equipment in the production line.
A complete solution for IO-Link applications
Arrow and ST offers a range of solutions for IO-Link applications, including IO-Link transceivers, STM32 microcontrollers as well as protection devices, to help meet IEC 6100 requirements for electro-static discharge (ESD), burst and surge immunity, together with a set of hardware and software evaluation tools to help implement efficient IO-Link gateways.
First of all, in programmable logic control (PLC) and human-machine interface (HMI) applications, ST introduced a new SIL-2 compatible demonstration – STEVAL-SILPLC01, which adopted the STM32MP2 micro processing unit (MPU) to be launched in 2024. STEVAL-SILPC01 is a PLC solution with 1oo2 architecture, CLT03-2Q3 dual-channel digital input and IPS160HF single-channel digital output. The hardware design conforms to SIL level. The previous generation adopted STM32H723VG as the core, which has passed the formal evaluation of TÜV Italia (TÜV SUD Group), and meets the requirements of SIL 2/PL d. Its random failure rate and system capability (for hardware) conform to the architectural constraints of IEC 61508, EN 62061, EN ISO 13849-1 and EN ISO 13849-2 standards.
The new version adopted STM32MP2 MPU, which is an industrial-grade 64-bit MPU with neural processing unit, suitable for secure industry 4.0 and advanced edge computing applications that need high-end multimedia functions. STM32MP25 is the first series in the STM32MP2 family. These MPUs are built around single or dual Arm® Cortex®-A35 cores running at 1.5 GHz and single Arm® Cortex®-M33 cores running at 400 MHz.
STM32MP25 MPU provides long-term and cost-optimized DRAM support (DDR4 and LPDDR4) through a 1.2 GHz 32-bit interface. STM32MP25 realizes the edge AI solution in industrial environment with a neural processing unit (NPU) up to 1.35 TOPS and 3D graphics processing unit (GPU) for advanced HMI.
STM32MP25 has strong robustness, supports 100% operating time for 10 years and extended temperature up to +125°C, has complete connectivity, supports time-sensitive networking (TSN), and can provide up to 3 gigabit Ethernet ports (with 2-port switch), PCIe Gen2, USB 3.0 and 3 CAN-FD interfaces. In addition, STM32MP25 also supports high-end graphics capabilities, with 1080p graphics functions (3D GPU, H.264 hardware video codec); supports RGB, MIPI DSI and LVDS displays; has an MIPI CSI-2 camera interface and Lite-ISP; has strong security; achieves SESIP level 3 certification; supports TrustZone® on Cortex®-A and Cortex®-M and robust hardware encryption and secure provisioning ecosystem; and samples will be available by the end of 2023.
8-port IO-Link master supporting multi-protocol
Through ST Joint-lab with Arrow, Arrow’s ARW-IOLM4P-STM32L4, IO-Link 4-port master controller, support up to 16 different master transceiver PHYs, IO-Link V1.1.3 and IEC 61131-9 compliant, SPI interface, based on STM32L4 MCU ARM low-power family. Advantages are easy to use, and save Customers’ development time, to decrease the Time-to-Market.
Through Arrow- ST Joint-lab, ST also introduced solutions based on STM32L431, AX58100 and L6360 (IO-Link Master PHY), which is an 8-port IO-Link Master and supports multi-protocol industrial field bus.
STM32L431xx device is an ultra-low power microcontroller based on high-performance Arm® Cortex®-M4 32-bit RISC core, and its working frequency is as high as 80 MHz. The Cortex-M4 core has a single-precision floating-point unit (FPU), which supports all Arm® single-precision data processing instructions and data types. It also implements a full set of DSP instructions and memory protection unit (MPU), thus enhancing the security of application.
Through the ST Partner Program, this solution is matched with AX58100 introduced by ASIX, which is a 2/3-port EtherCAT slave controller (ESC) and integrates two high-speed Ethernet PHYs supporting 100Mbps full-duplex operation and HP Auto-MDIX function. The AX58100 supports standard EtherCAT protocols such as CANopen over EtherCAT (CoE), File Access over EtherCAT (FoE), Vendor Specific-protocol over EtherCAT (VoE), etc., and provides a cost-effective solution for industrial automation, motion/motor/digital I/O control, Digital to Analog (DAC)/Analog to Digital (ADC) converter control, sensor data acquisition, robotics, etc., and other industrial fieldbus applications.
L6360 IO-Link communication master transceiver IC is a monolithic IO-Link master port conforming to PHY2 (3-wire) standard, which supports COM1(4.8 kbaud), COM2(38.4 kbaud) and COM3(230.4 kbaud) modes. The L6360 supports a power supply voltage of 18V to 32.5V, a programmable C/Qo output stage with high side, low side or push-pull (< 2Ω), a high-side driver with L+ protection up to 500mA, an additional IEC61131-2 Type 1 input, short-circuit and overcurrent output protection through current limiting and programmable cut-off current, and a 3.3V/5V, 50mA linear regulator, and 5 mA IO-Link digital input, with fast mode I2C for IC control, configuration and diagnosis, and diagnostic dual LED sequence generator and driver, with 5 V and 3.3 V compatible I/O, supporting overvoltage protection (> 36 V), over-temperature protection and electrostatic discharge protection, and adopting miniaturized VFQPn26L (3.5x1x1mm) package.
A variety of IO-Link devices supporting industrial applications
ST also introduced a variety of IO-Link devices, such as STSYS-ACCFA002 that supports IO-Link to 8-channel digital input without additional power source, and input ports are protected by SCLT3-8B. STSYS-ACCFA003 supports IO-Link to 8-channel digital output, has an isolated high-side digital output, and the output current is limited to 0.7A.
In the sensor part of IO-Link device, there is STSYS-ACCFA006, which is an IO-Link sensor RFID reader, supporting the frequency of 13.56MHz without additional power source. In addition, STSYS-ACCFA007, an IO-Link time-of-flight (ToF) distance measure sensor, has the characteristics of high precision and wide range, and supports the precision range from centimeters to meters.
In addition, ST also introduced a new type of vibration sensor with IO-Link interface, which adopted IIS3DWB 3-axis digital vibration sensor, ISM330IS 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope, matched with STM32G071CB microcontroller and L6364Q, a dual-channel transceiver suitable for industrial sensor applications. L6364 is a dual-channel transceiver suitable for industrial sensor applications in SIO and IO-Link, and can act as a bridge between the microcontroller with sensor or actuator function and 24 V power supply and signaling cable.
In the actuator part of IO-Link device, there is a tower light indicator of STSYS-ACCFA 005 IO-Link actuator, which has low-side output drive and push buttons as input, and can be easily extended to any PD input/output size. In addition, STSYS-ACCFA008, an IO-Link 32-channel air solenoid valve driver, supports 32-channel high-side drive, provides isolated 24V power supply for loads, and supports IO-LINK Class-B interface.
Besides this, ST also has an IO-Link actuator supporting 32-channel solenoid valve drivers. This expandable and configurable industrial actuator adopts STM32G071 and L6364Q core devices, and introduces a 32-channel solenoid valve drive demonstration system, which is an industrial actuator demonstration system that can be driven by air valves.
Conclusion
IO-Link is a versatile industrial communication protocol that provides many excellent features, which can improve the performance and flexibility of factory automation systems, and has broad potential in various applications. Many IO-Link solutions introduced by Arrow and ST will help customers to develop IO-Link related products quickly. For more information about products, please contact Arrow Electronics for more complete technical support.