Robot welding cells networked with Ethernet

IP67 switches reduce wiring and cycle times in tool change applications

Typical challenges in the networking of robot cells in car body construction are achieving short cycle times despite tool changes or transferring data from cameras so quickly that robots can be aligned and corrected during the running process. In addition, data traffic must be secure and the entire application must be maximally available.

Cut-through forwarding and GBit backbone for fast data throughput

The manageable Ethernet switch TBEN-L-SE-M2 transmits its data frames via cut-through forwarding. Thus it minimizes latency times, because the data transmission begins directly as soon as it is known where the frame is to be transmitted. IP cameras can also be used for robot guidance in the process - instead of checking the product quality afterwards. In addition, the switch with two GBit ports establishes a high-speed backbone as a fast data link to the controller.

Your Benefits

  • Fastest tool changes in less than 150 ms through high-speed link-up
  • Maximum security through firewall, NAT routing and VLAN
  • Fast data throughput thanks to GBit high-speed backbone and cut-through forwarding
  • High availability through network load monitoring and broadcast barrier
  • Minimal wiring required, as IP67 protection allows field mounting
     

    The high-speed backbone secures the data transfer between switches and controller

    Port-based IP address allocation facilitates the setup of subscribers in Ethernet networks

    Mounting the switches directly in the field minimizes the wiring effort

     

    Thanks to multicast, several participants can access the stream of an IP camera

     

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Typical challenges in the networking of robot cells in car body construction are achieving short cycle times despite tool changes or transferring data from cameras so quickly that robots can be aligned and corrected during the running process. In addition, data traffic must be secure and the entire application must be maximally available.

Cut-through forwarding and GBit backbone for fast data throughput

The manageable Ethernet switch TBEN-L-SE-M2 transmits its data frames via cut-through forwarding. Thus it minimizes latency times, because the data transmission begins directly as soon as it is known where the frame is to be transmitted. IP cameras can also be used for robot guidance in the process - instead of checking the product quality afterwards. In addition, the switch with two GBit ports establishes a high-speed backbone as a fast data link to the controller.

The switch speeds up tool changes with the fastest link-up times. Ethernet/IP devices with Quick-Connect and Profinet devices with fast start-up are online in less than 150 milliseconds. Fast tool changes make it possible to use robots efficiently even with high product diversity.

High availability thanks to network load monitoring and broadcast storm protection

If the switches are running at the limit of their performance, this is usually not noticed or noticed too late. Nevertheless, this condition is critical for the availability of the system, as it can easily lead to memory overload and thus to network device failure. The integrated network load monitoring allows a port-based overview of how much bandwidth is still available as a reserve. In order to ensure that uncontrolled broadcast requests do not temporarily occupy the entire bandwidth of the network, the switch has integrated "Broadcast Storm Protection".

VLAN, firewall and NAT routing guarantee maximum network security 

Production and management networks can be separated via virtual networks (VLAN). This enables better control of access rights. In addition to the integrated firewall, the NAT routing function of the switch also provides increased security. NAT routing avoids conflicting IP addresses. Devices are then addressed via an alias IP, which also prevents manipulation and unauthorized access to devices.

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