Detecting leaks with IO-Link

At Bürkert we are equipping more and more of our products and components with IO-Link capabilities. Our automation specialists have experienced an increase in demand for this technology, and as the demand for automation and technology evolves, we understand why with the flexibility and capabilities IO-Link offers.

“IO-Link brings us and our customers many advantages, especially in terms of cabling,” said Segment Manager Michael Rausch. “Among other things, it saves on costly cabling. All we really have to take into account is that the master and the device are no more than 20 metres apart.”

Additionally, more cables mean high error potential, strands get twisted or plugs are placed incorrectly. IO-Link relies on standard plugs, so incorrect connections are ruled out.

Fewer cables and more data

IO-Link not only saves on cables. The informative value of the data from the devices is better, says Rausch: “We don’t just have the information, good or bad, but we can tap into much more diagnostic data to derive runtime errors.”

Bürkert developers plan to use this data to detect leaks, as an example.

“Detecting leaks was possible in the past, but it was associated with considerable costs. Controllers had to be reprogrammed and position feedback had to be queried. This often put customers off, because just one error in the programming caused additional work and, in the worst case, brought production to a standstill.”

Futureproofing through connectivity

Are 32 input and output bytes sufficient for the process data?

“I was sceptical at the beginning,” said Rausch. “For our valves, this is sufficient and if the user wants more data, then they can upgrade to Ethernet-capable devices and even more process data is available.”

Nevertheless, some users are still sceptical. In manufacturing, the user needs new masters, so switching to IO-Link communication is a good idea as part of a modernisation project. “Just changing everything during maintenance is not going to work,” Rausch emphasises. But he encourages his customers to use IO-Link to enable futureproofing and flexibility.

Image: Michael Rausch, Segment Manager Hygienic, Bürkert