Industrial Ethernet for the plant floor

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 7, 2008

Newly published book provides guidance on how to select components, layout, install, test, certify and troubleshoot a network system.

Available now from ISA, "Industrial Ethernet for the plant floor: a planning and installation guide" by Robert Lounsbury provides guidance on how to select components, layout, install, test, certify and troubleshoot a network system.

It discusses designing industrial physical layers, network architectures, and components.

The book educates the reader on the basics of noise, how to mitigate and abate it through installation techniques and the selection of components that would provide a level of performance needed in a hostile industrial environment.

According to Lounsbury, Ethernet emerged primarily to provide office connectivity to desktop computers and printers.

Office environments are relatively benign with respect to electrical noises and applying the same network in an industrial environment presents the designer and installer with challenges in obtaining an equal or better performance.

Machine control demands reliable data transport to ensure maximum network availability and uptime.

A well-planned and installed network guarantees that the network meets the design objectives, applicable standards, and assures that the network will support the applications for which it was designed.