What is PROFIBUS?
The PROFIBUS standard, which has been in use for more than 20 years, is an established digital fieldbus technology that is applied in several industrial and process automation applications as well as in hybrid industries including the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Almost 50 million PROFIBUS devices were shipped in 2015, according to the PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PI) organization, and this figure is still rising. Let’s explore PROFIBUS in more detail, including its definition and operation.
Process Field Bus, often known as PROFIBUS, is an automation technology fieldbus communication standard that facilitates digital data transmission inside a network utilising a single bus connection.
There are now two versions of PROFIBUS, with PROFIBUS DP (Decentralized Peripherals) being the most often used version for controlling sensors and actuators through a centralized controller.
EIA-485 transmission technology is often used by PROFIBUS as its physical layer. Up to 126 stations can be connected to a single PROFIBUS DP network using EIA-485, which is based on a shielded copper cable with two twisted wires that have an impedance of 150 ohms and support a linear bus architecture. The Fieldbus Data Link (FDL) protocol establishes the PROFIBUS data connection layer. FDL establishes the network access and distinguishes between master stations and slave stations through token passing. Moreover, it manages the timeslots for each master.
Types of PROFIBUS DP Device:
The PROFIBUS DP specifies three different types of devices:
PROFIBUS DP Master Class 1.
The communication method for transferring process values is controlled by this class, with each slave utilizing the specified cycle instructions during the specified timeslots. Computers and controllers are examples of devices.
PROFIBUS DP Master Class 2.
This class uses acyclic services to connect to the fieldbus, allowing the configuration and parameterization of smart field devices. Engineering and operator panels are among the devices.
PROFIBUS DP Slave.
These peripheral devices provide information to the periphery and receive input data. A maximum of 246 bytes of input data and 244 bytes of output data can be processed by a device.
What Are the Network Architectures PROFIBUS Supports?
PROFIBUS may support a variety of network designs based on the device types mentioned above, including the following:
Single Master Network. Here, only one master station —
While in use, PROFIBUS DP Master Class 1 is linked to the PROFIBUS DP network. Slaves are linked to the fieldbus at distant places, with a controller serving as the central control unit. The quickest fieldbus cycle time is provided by the single master network.
Multi Master Network. Here, several master stations —
The PROFIBUS DP network is connected to PROFIBUS DP Master Class 1 and PROFIBUS DP Master Class 2 to create separate subnetworks. One Master Class 1 device and the necessary slaves make up each subnetwork, however extra stations for development and diagnostics can be added. All masters can read the input and output values from slaves, but only the Master Class 1 station set up for the slave is able to write the output values from slaves.
How Can a PROFIBUS Network Be Diagnosed??
The reason for any failures is typically not a complex technical problem because PROFIBUS is an established, reliable technology. Rather, a defective connection or an improper bus termination is at the root of the issue. Finding the cause of undesirable conduct, however, is not always simple. For instance, PROFIBUS communication issues may come up from time to time. Moreover, mistakes might be found in seemingly unconnected areas of the whole network.
There are instruments that offer a wide range of functionality for doing cable checks, electrical signal analysis, and logical network analysis to assist you in finding PROFIBUS problems.
Also, Asteam Techno Solutions Pvt Ltd look at some PROFIBUS best practices so you can keep your fieldbus up and running smoothly.
This article in the optivaltech must have given you a clear idea about what is VIPA PROFIBUS Connectors. How it can help industrial automation industry to achieve their goals faster and more efficiently.
