It is not for nothing that the food industry has the largest range of AS-i integrated actuators. Among other things, many process valve manufacturers have recognized the advantages of AS-i and integrated them into their products. But what would these excellent solutions be without a reliable infrastructure? In an environment where cleaning is carried out several times a day, even simple flat cable taps and distribution boxes bear a great responsibility.

Normandy is known for its excellent Camembert. And when it comes to their regional cheese specialties, the producers naturally face very special pitfalls: for the Norman Camembert to taste the way connoisseurs all over the world love it, it must be made from raw milk – especially from a hygiene point of view, not an uncritical undertaking. In automated process technology, the components installed in the field should be robust enough to withstand the aggressive cleaning agents used in the production area.

Flat cable taps, distribution modules and stainless-steel input-/output- modules have proven their suitability for more than 15 years.

The further development of plastics and the unique overmoulding technology of ifm now allow the completion of this product family. These modules also use the patented M12 ecolink technology, which reliably prevents user errors during installation. Thus, the highest protection class IP 69K is fulfilled even after many years in the toughest use. Incidentally, this design has proven itself for years with the ifm IO-Link Masters.

In addition to the durability, the cheese producers in Normandy also appreciate the clean design of the appliances, which makes the trouble-free cleaning process possible.

By selecting the right components, AS-i can play to its strengths as a wiring system even in an environment under really harsh cleaning conditions: Data and energy on a line reduce wiring harnesses and thus also dirt deposits between lines to a minimum.

The requirements for quality and process reliability require the use of many sensors. Because in a typical plant in the dairy industry, it is important to collect data from many thousands of sensors and to control as many valves and drives.

The extremely low cost per decentralized I/O point prevents this from becoming an economic nightmare.

The planner and plant manufacturer keep an overview when they break down automation into many subtasks. The dependencies of the plant parts are thus easier to dissolve. It is also conclusive for the programmer when AS-i gateways filter, process and meaningfully structure the flood of data. The operator receives a maintainable, well-structured system with high availability.

With their fieldbus interfaces, modern AS-i gateways form a simple interface for control technology as well as with local display and web server a powerful interface to the commissioning and maintenance personnel. And the most beautiful thing is that this highly efficient method can be applied to any major plant in other industrial sectors.