Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Wireless Safety - App Guide - 01
Wireless Safety - App Guide - 01
With each new advance in technology, wireless communications achieve better performance, so there are likely to
be even more cases that can be enabled. There are some cultural and technical barriers that must be addressed at
companies adopting wireless communications within operational environments, such as achieving employee safety.
www.psft.com
Wireless Functional Safety Application Guide
This is done by using good design practices, applying apply those techniques to electronics in the system, while
oversized components, performing statistical analysis of IEC 13849 adds in electromechanical systems. How do
failure modes and running diagnostics regularly, among those good principles apply to something like networked
other techniques. Modern standards for safety system communications, especially wirelessly?
design, such as IEC 61508 and IEC 62061, specify how to
Foundations of EtherNet/IP
We will begin with examining how standard industrial communications work. It is helpful to review the OSI model and
the TCP/IP model for communications to understand how different parts of the communication system work together
for the EtherNet/IP industrial communication protocol.
1. Data that must be communicated between two devices
is generated in the higher, or application, layer using the
Common Industrial Protocol, or CIP™, protocol. This is the
same layer that familiar functions like HTTP and SMTP exist in.
2. In the transport layer, the CIP information is encapsulated.
In the case of EtherNet/IP, that is a TCP or UDP header.
3. In the network layer, logical addressing information is
added. In the case of EtherNet/IP, that is the Internet Protocol
(IP) information; the packet is now ready for network access.
4. In the datalink layer and the physical layer, the packets
are converted to the transmission media, sometimes with
additional measures to avoid packet collisions. Combined
these may be called network access layers.
This hierarchical organization is important because the
critical user data for CIP is completed in the first step, independent of the transport, network, datalink,
or physical layers. With that independence, different networks are possible, as well as different
transmission media.
That means you can use one protocol, EtherNet/IP, for communications over copper, fiber, and wireless,
and through Layer 2 switches and Layer 3 routers. Next, we will examine how those communications
work over wired links.
Wired EtherNet/IP
When using different network access layer implementations of EtherNet/IP, there are key differences to consider.
Different transmission speeds, packet-per-second limitations, and collision detection/prevention mechanisms may be
in place. Further, the quality of the physical media is important to consider. These differences can be demonstrated to a
small degree with fixed media like copper wiring:
Datalink and/or Max throughput Typical latency Collision detection and Quality of physical media
physical layer variant speed prevention
10BASE-T1L (APL) 10 Mbit/s 185 us ± 15 us Point-to-point only, full- 1000 m, 2 wire, Powered, 24
[1000 m] duplex AWG twisted-pair
2
www.psft.com
One advantage of fixed systems is that their reliability is highly predictable. While there are different speeds shown,
the achievable net data rate can be impacted by a limited number of factors. The primary impact for reductions in
throughput is based on lost, dropped, or damaged packets. This can be measured by packet loss and the bit error rate
(BER). With Ethernet communications, the higher levels of the OSI model are designed to detect errors in the lower
levels. The errors referenced here are primarily physical layer errors.
Packet loss can occur when cables are broken, collisions occur, or switch firmware mishandles
the packet. These are all rare events when full-duplex communications are used. However, the
lack of full-duplex communications can increase the packet collisions; this is mitigated by the
CSMA/CD protocol. This protocol allows each transmitter to listen to the shared media before
starting to transmit. When a collision is detected, the two (or more) guilty transmitters stop
transmitting and wait a random time interval before trying again.
Individual bit issues when using physical media usually arise from interference on the
transmission media. For copper, that can be electromagnetic interference. The different
grades of cables, shielding, twisting, and distance are all part of strict requirements around
the physical media to reduce the risk of electromagnetic interference. Sometimes, electromagnetic interference cannot
be avoided, or long distances must be employed; fiber-optic transmission presents an effective, but costlier solution.
The most common bit errors in fiber come from dirty connectors, crushed media, and imperfections in the fiber.
Wireless EtherNet/IP
Wireless technologies make advanced mobile automation systems more valuable in every way. They make it possible
to design more sophisticated machines, like smart conveyors and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), capable of
performing tasks that would never be possible without wireless systems. But designing and deploying a robust
wireless network that can keep up in an industrial environment requires forethought, careful design, and expert help.
When considering using wireless communications, the same metrics can be applied as wired communications.
Radio waves from the radio transmitting devices lose strength exponentially as they propagate away from the
transmitter. Even when two devices are physically close to each other, if their transmitting equipment and receiving
equipment are focused for a narrow transmission field but not aligned to each other, the communications could be
transmitted without being received. Similarly, obstacles and other materials in the environment can block the signal or
weaken it.
Ignoring the needs of the network or other aspects (like PLC programming) can also lead to communication faults.
Best-case scenario: This can result in downtime and lost productivity, which in turn results in lost profits. Worst-case
scenario: It’s a serious safety hazard. Since wireless technologies have entered the industrial sector, machines
can now move and communicate in ways that would never have been possible with hard wires. But adjusting to this
new normal requires rethinking the way we approach machine communication.
Obstructions or interferences mean that wireless networks change topology more often than wired networks. As signal
strength changes, wireless devices will hop to another access point, which can create packet timeouts. In an office
Wi-Fi environment, walking between your desk and a conference room with your laptop will likely trigger the transition
to a new access point; however, that transition does not change your productivity for the day. It happens fast enough
not to interrupt your work. Industrial communications that transition could take long enough to disrupt the process
if the devices and network are not configured properly. The amount of motion will impact how often reconfiguration
happens, so you should consider these four different movement profiles:
3
Wireless Functional Safety Application Guide
Irregular movement
More intelligence in devices is contributing to an increase in irregular movement,
such as autonomous mobile robots (AMR). Another example of irregular movement
would be humans with a wireless communication device that is part of the automation
system, such as a wireless teach pendant or emergency stop device. Keep in mind that
a tablet computer used for dashboards is likely not going to cause the process to stop
if communications are lost, so it should be considered more like an IT asset than an
OT asset. For this case and the other cases in this section, it is likely that multiple base
stations will be required to cover the space adequately.
4
www.psft.com
5
Wireless Functional Safety Application Guide
Remember: Nearly everything comes from the network, except the power. All operational steps, all diagnostics, all
sensors have to be flawless — the smallest hiccup can shut the system down. These machines are in environments with
both people and robots, moving freely. They need to be safe.
Know which setup decisions will most likely impact wireless network performance. That means looking carefully at the
PLC communications, the requested packet interval (RPI), and the time out multiplier — if you set it too short, you can
expect communication faults. That’s why many experts advise setting it higher (typically to a value of 4 on a wireless
system). Getting the RPI right is important — too fast and it’ll create unnecessary traffic on the network, overloading it
causing communication faults.
Knowing the number of connections to each carrier is important too. You have to know the total network load or how
many packets per second will be produced, because if they overwhelm the network, you’ll get communication faults
and the system will stop. It’s best to have a dedicated channel that’s not used in any other wireless systems in the
facility. That allows radios to talk without interference from other wireless networks.
Some questions to consider while engineering and deploying a wireless system:
• Do you have a line of sight?
• What are the RPI requirements of the automation system?
• CIP Safety: What is the timeout interval set to? (RPI x timeout = The safety requirement of the system)
• What is the size of the network, and how many access points are required?
• What RF channels are free, and what will the customer allow this application to access?
• What policies are in place so the customer won’t introduce interference in the future as new networks are needed?
6
www.psft.com
Commissioning
ProSoft can help commission the system so you reach the desired
level of uptime. Since missed or delayed packets can lead to the
safety function being activated, you want to make sure that packets
are making it across the wireless bridge as expected. In the Logix
Designer application, you may want to experiment with changing
the Advanced Connection Reaction Time Limit Configuration during
the commissioning process. This can help determine the cause
of nuisance faults if they are occurring during testing. The lower
these settings are, the more likely you are to see packet loss faults
generated by late or lost packets. Remember that changes to these
advanced settings directly impact the connection reaction time limit
and the overall safety function reaction time.
Application example
The typical CIP Safety over wireless Ethernet application would
use ProSoft’s RLX2 wireless Ethernet radios. These applications leverage 802.11n technology, which enables a standard
wireless Ethernet connection in both the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands, and ProSoft’s industry-leading ultra-fast roaming.
Roaming is when a client device, or something that you have connected to a wireless network, moves out of range of
one access point and into the range of a new access point. When this happens, there is a hop-over time for the client to
roam from access point to access point, and in industrial automation systems it is critical for this roam to happen as fast
as possible to avoid communication loss.
Paint Shop
Industrial
GuardLogix® Hotspot Radio
Industrial
Compact GuardLogix VFD
Hotspot Radio
General Assembly
Body Shop
Industrial
GuardLogix® Hotspot Radio
Industrial
Compact GuardLogix VFD
Hotspot Radio
Industrial
GuardLogix® Hotspot Radio
7
Wireless Functional Safety Application Guide
CIP Safety over wireless is heavily leveraged in several applications, including factory automation in production
environments like those found in automotive assembly plants. In these plants, several different types of conveyance
systems, such as AGVs, are used to move vehicles and parts throughout the production cells. In these systems, the auto
manufacturers prioritize the safety of their employees, and the flexibility of the system for future enhancements. This
creates the requirement for Functional Safety via CIP Safety, and the wireless link to enable it.
In the typical AGV application, there are several AGVs traveling hundreds of feet. Each AGV would be outfitted with
electronics including sensors for collision avoidance, location awareness, and safety, as well as drives for propulsion,
I/O, and a safety controller such as a Compact GuardLogix®. This AGV system requires a wireless communication
connection to the main safety controller, which may be a GuardLogix. This main controller also serves as the traffic
cop for the entire AGV application and thus the system requires control, safety, and diagnostic data to be transmitted
wirelessly. To establish this wireless link, an RLX2 industrial radio from ProSoft may be installed on each AGV in a
Repeater mode, and installed in the network with the main control system in Master mode.
While connected to the main controller network, Master RLX2 radios are to be installed around the AGV application
as specified by the site survey. These radios may be installed with directional antennas, omni-directional antennas or
radiating cable depending on the results of the site survey. The Repeater radio may be installed onboard the AGV in the
control cabinet, with an omnidirectional antenna installed outside of the control cabinet to ensure line of sight to the
Master throughout the application.
Field Application Engineers from ProSoft help to ensure the success of the application through:
8
Worldwide Offices
Asia Pacific Europe / M. East / Africa Latin America
Regional Office Regional Office Regional Office
Phone: +60.3.2247.1898 Phone: +33.(0)5.34.36.87.20 Phone: +52.222.264.1814
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Languages: Bahasa, Chinese, English, Languages: French, English Languages: Spanish, English
Japanese, Korean
Regional Tech Support Regional Tech Support
Regional Tech Support [email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
Middle East & Africa Brazil
North Asia (China, Hong Kong) Phone: +971.4.214.6911 Phone: +55.11.5084.5178
Phone: +86.21.5187.7337 [email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] Languages: Hindi, English Languages: Portuguese, English
Languages: Chinese, English
Regional Tech Support Regional Tech Support
Regional Tech Support [email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
North Western Europe Mexico
Southwest Asia (UK, IE, IS, DK, NO, SE) Phone: +52.222.264.1814
(India, Pakistan) Phone: +44.(0)7415.864.902 [email protected]
Phone: +91.98.1063.7873 [email protected] Languages: Spanish, English
[email protected] Language: English
Regional Tech Support
Languages: English, Hindi, Urdu [email protected]
Central & E. Europe, Finland
Australasia Phone: +48.22.250.2546 Andean Countries, Central
(Australia, N. Zealand) [email protected]
America & Caribbean
Phone: +60.0.467.023.666 Languages: Polish, English
Phone: +507.6427.48.38
[email protected] [email protected]
Language: English Russia & CIS Languages: Spanish, English
Phone: +7.499.704.53.46
Southeast Asia [email protected]
Southern Cone
(Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines) Languages: Russian, English
(Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,
Phone: +60.3.2247.1898 Paraguay & Uruguay)
[email protected] Austria, Germany, Switzerland Phone: +52.222.264.1814
Languages: English, Bahasa, Tamil Phone: +49.(0)1511.465.4200 [email protected]
[email protected] Languages: Spanish, English
Northeast & Southeast Asia Languages: German, English
(Japan, Taiwan, Thailand,
Vietnam, Malaysia) BeNeLux, France, North Africa
Phone: +60.3.2247.1898 Phone: +33.(0)5.34.36.87.20 North America
[email protected] [email protected]
Languages: English, Chinese, Japanese Languages: French, English Regional Office
Phone: +1.661.716.5100
Korea Mediterranean Countries [email protected]
Languages: English, Spanish
Phone: +60.3.2247.1898 Phone: +39.342.8651.595
[email protected] [email protected] Regional Tech Support
Languages: English, Korean Languages: Italian, English, Spanish [email protected]
Tech Support
ProSoft Technology's technical support is unparalleled in the industrial
automation industry. To continue our world-class technical support, we have
opened offices in most time zones in an effort to support our customers at
a local level. See Regional Tech Support contact information above.