This summer, Indu-Sol released a new weapon in the fight to keep the commissioning phases of automation networks on time and under budget. The PROFINET Agent is a monitoring device for PROFINET networks that tracks key parameters for network health. It was specifically designed to help automation engineers and machine builders quickly root out underlying issues during the commissioning phase of a PROFINET system.
Although it hasn’t been on the market long, the PROFINET Agent has proven to be a potential game-changer in the world of automation. Sometimes also referred to as “Agent Blond” (due to the addition of a third yellow indicator to the standard dual colors of green and red), it’s a product we’re excited about. And we think many others will feel the same when they understand the PROFINET Agent helps solve typical industrial networking and automation problems — especially during the commissioning — than the traditional trial-and-error approach.
Scenario 1: Solving a common PROFINET mystery with trial-and-error
Imagine, for a moment, the on-site installation and commissioning of a new PROFINET production line. There’s a standard programmable logic controller (PLC), maybe a switch somewhere, and a series of seven IO devices set up using line topology. The devices have digital input and output, like sensors, valves, or motor controls, and are equipped with integrated switches enabling them to be in line. It’s all being set up by a standard team of commissioning engineers that includes a PLC programmer and an electrician.
Troubleshooting issues while commissioning a PROFINET system can take any length of time, but let’s consider a single week in our hypothetical.
On Monday, the electrician notices that device 7 at the end of the line is having problems. They go to the PLC programmer to report the issue. The PLC programmer looks up the device in the software that’s configuring the automation system, like TIA Portal, and sees that yes, the connection to the device was lost at one point, but it’s coming back.
The PLC programmer and electrician discuss the issue. All the devices are new, so it’s extremely unlikely that the machine is causing the failure inside. “I think the problem is the cable connecting device 7 to device 6,” says the PLC programmer, so the electrician replaces the cable with a new one.
The next day, Tuesday, the same thing happens, but this time with device 4. The electrician once again reports it to the PLC programmer, who says, “Ah, maybe it’s a bad installation. We have to change the cable between devices 4 and 3.” So they change that cable, too.
Then on Wednesday, the same thing happens with device 2, and the electrician changes the cable connecting to it as well. And on Thursday, it’s the same story with device 6, and a total of four cables have now been replaced. But on Friday, all the devices in the line are affected at the same time. The team realizes that the issue has really been a faulty main cable connecting the line to the master switch, and that’s what needs to be replaced.
Scenario 2: Solving the same mystery with the PROFINET Agent
How would the same situation play out with the PROFINET Agent connected between the master and the first switch?
On the Monday the electrician reports the issue with device 7, the PLC programmer sees the additional data forwarded from the PROFINET Agent to the TIA portal. It shows frame gaps for all the devices. This adds critical context since the control system allows resends and only notes an issue when a device’s resends fail three times in a row. So the PLC programmer is able to tell the electrician the correct cable that needs to be changed right away.
Technical specs and support
The above hypothetical illustrates just how the PROFINET Agent helps pinpoint exactly where problems are in a network. It uses advanced sensor technology to continuously monitor frame gaps and jitter, then reports that data to the PLC – which can be analyzed on a platform like TIA Portal or displayed right on the production floor with an HMI-connected screen. And with its additional port, the PROFINET Agent can also be set up to create a permanent measuring point for connecting more detailed diagnostic devices like the PROFINET-INspektor.
You can get all the technical details for the PROFINET Agent on Indu-Sol’s website. Download tech specifications, the manual, a quickstart guide, and more. As Indu-Sol’s official distributor in Sweden and Denmark, Lindh Automation can also answer any of your questions.
.
Want to learn more about how the PROFINET Agent can help you troubleshoot the next PROFINET system you’re commissioning faster than ever? Contact either Mattias Lindh or Brian Nolen today.