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Industrial Communication

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Industrial Communication

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Tools and Software
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Industrial communication networks drive smart manufacturing scenarios thanks to real-time communication among machines and control centers. They ensure processes and operations can be monitored for supply chain anomalies to evaluate and avert their impact. Predictive maintenance is a prime example of Industrial Internet of Things improving efficiency and cost optimization through connectivity and data analytics. Any machine equipped with sensors can collect critical information regarding its status and interactions with other machines and operators. The network conveys this information to processing centers for comparison with historical and statistical data to identify patterns, recurrences, and exceptions. They can also establish correlations between certain inputs and any breakdowns or inefficiencies. Intelligent gateways allow seamless interaction between different communication protocols organized in separate subnetworks. They can also act as Edge processing nodes to refine raw sensor data before sending them on for further elaboration.

Fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet
Widely used in Industry 4.0 and Industrial IoT applications, wired communication technology is continuously growing and is evolving from traditional fieldbus to ethernet-based bus in order to connect Human Machine Interfaces, programmable logic contr
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Industrial Gateway
With the Industry 4.0 digitalization, the industrial gateway play a key role, collecting data from multiple wired or wireless sensor nodes, and transmitting them to cloud applications or a central condition monitoring systems, to enable process data
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IO-Link
Paving the way to Industry 4.0, IO-Link communication networks (IEC 61131-9) can be used for bi-directional, point-to-point data connectivity down to the actuator and sensor level, enabling data pre-processing, sensor parameter tuning and advanced di
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Wireless and Contactless Sub-System
Factory automation, especially in the framework of Industry 4.0, increasingly demands more connectivity, flexibility, configurability and serviceability – all areas where NFC technology can help provide significant enhancements. ST offers a comprehen
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Operation Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) networks

Operation Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) networks

OT networks are associated with automation and are characterized by horizontal data flows. These networks must ensure reliable, uninterrupted data transmission, even in hostile environments with heavy interference. IT networks are usually oriented vertically and are designed to service end users with high transmission rates.

Industrial communication was initially developed along wired protocols with the definition of proprietary fieldbus and industrial Ethernet solutions such as EtherCAT and PROFINET. The current trend is to aggregate these protocols, along with wireless connectivity, under a single standard. The need to access to sensor data with the highest reliability is another requirement, which IO-Link addresses particularly well.

ST solutions (wired transceivers, wireless, MCU Edge processing, security, etc.)

ST develops and manufactures versatile MCUs, power management ICs, and transceivers to meet evolving industry 4.0 directions. They are designed to satisfy the many wired and wireless options for communication from the sensor through to the Cloud. ST has also developed strategic partnerships to ensure broad coverage of proprietary Ethernet protocols and to promote rapid design of industrial gateway solutions. Developers can choose from STM32 microcontrollers and STM32MP microprocessors associated with various wired and wireless interfaces such as RS232, RS485, Ethernet, Sub-1GHz, and 2.4GHz.

ST is also heavily committed to developing dedicated libraries and chipsets to address critical safety and security aspects. This extends to robust protection for hardware interfaces against surge and overvoltage events prevalent in hostile production environments.

On-Demand Webinar: Bringing BLE 5.2 to wireless industrial devices with new STM32WB MCU