SPONSORED POST (Virtual Showroom): Predictive maintenance is a vital part of avoiding unplanned machine downtime and LAPP has introduced a state-of-the-art tool to ensure continuous productivity.

The new ETHERLINE GUARD monitors the service life of a data cable at risk of failure in ethernet-based automation technology networks. Cables usually last for many years but in highly dynamic conditions with demanding movements, high speeds, and strong torsion it is essential to monitor the connection systems in order to avoid unexpected downtime which impairs productivity.

The ETHERLINE GUARD is a stationary monitoring device that evaluates the current performance of a data cable and specifies it as a percentage. This is based on data from the physical properties and related data transmission using sensors. The real-time status display allows for the detection of the wear limit of a cable and enables planning of the optimum replacement time.

LAPP recommends ETHERLINE GUARD particularly for data cables in accordance with the transmission standard 100BASE-TX (up to 100 Mbit/s) in accordance with IEEE 802.3, but also for EtherCAT, EtherNET/IP and 2-pair PROFINET applications, such as the ETHERLINE TORSION Cat. 5 or the ETHERLINE PN Cat. 5 FD.

These cables are used in many industries in the last few meters or at the process level of an application and are often part of cable chains or torsion-proof cable routing, such as those used in robot arms. The ETHERLINE GUARD is suitable for mounting on top-hat rails and can be used for control cabinets, thanks to its protection class IP 20.

The guard has a space-saving and compact design and is slightly smaller than a standard deck of cards (49 mm wide, 76.5 mm high and 36 mm deep). The device is operated with 24 V DC, is intended for a temperature range of -40 °C to 75 °C and is resistant to vibrations and shock in accordance with DIN EN 60529.

A data cable node is connected between the critical application, or the cable to be monitored, and the controller side. For this purpose, the device has a guard or data port for the data cable to be monitored with an RJ45 connector, which is routed from the critical application to the device, as well as a data port for the data cable with a RJ45 connector, which is routed from the device to the controller.

The maintenance data can be transmitted to a higher-level controller by connecting a third data cable to the LAN socket (PM03T variant) or by using the antenna connection for WiFi (PM02TWA variant).

Both variants can be configured for cloud communication with MQTT. The external SMA antenna connection guarantees a safe transmission path when the device is in the control cabinet, for example.

In addition to the standard light-emitting diodes (LEDs) there are three centrally arranged multi-colour diagnostic LEDs on each RJ45 port. Commissioning is carried out quickly and easily using automated and self-learning parameterisation or teaching.  

The patented predictive maintenance algorithms from LAPP make it easy to detect irregularities in the analysed data. Two digital outputs enable the cable status to be output as a switch signal or as a pulse-width-modulated analogue signal, and the alarm threshold for the switch output can be specified by the user. Both the LAN and WiFi variants can output the cable status by means of MQTT. The LAN variant has the LAN-RJ45 connection, while the WiFi variant communicates wirelessly.

The ETHERLINE GUARD continuously calculates the cable state as a percentage and triggers an alarm if the performance or transmission properties of a cable deteriorate and there is a risk of failure.

LAPP’s ETHERLINE GUARD takes customers another step closer to the ‘Smart Factory’ of the future!

For more information, visit Creamer Media’s Virtual Showroom