Plugging into ProfiBus!

ProfiBus is growing each year with millions of newly installed devices, that are becoming more and more intelligent. For that reason, like the devices, ProfiBus plugs keep evolving to comply with the future demands of industrial automation. What usually looks like a simple passive component, is actually responsible to prevent many installation and wear-and-tear issues that can arise. The plug is the first component that connects the devices to an often companywide bus system. Reliability a key ingredient for the selection of proper plugs.

With its many years of acquired ProfiBus experience, the crew of Procentec developed a unique series of innovative ProfiBus Plugs that cover the common installation issues.

Looking at the plugs, the first thing to notice is that the series consists out of multiple colored plugs. Especially with large networks, that are also equipped with repeaters and hubs, proper administration is an important topic. The colours of the plugs help the user to distinguish sections of the installation. For example; the backbone is “green”, the high speed bus is “red” and the segments are “orange”. Any combination can be defined by the end-user. This handy add-on will save a lot of time and makes working with ProfiBus a more enjoyable experience.  (Contact them on availability of other colours!)

The plugs are equipped with a terminating resistor and high frequency inductors to filter out the first level of reflections. In our testlab the plugs have been tested under a variety of conditions to see how the inductors behave and support the user to keep-up the reliability of the installation. Under the highest baudrates and maximum allowed cable lengths, the plugs have had no issues transmitting information from point A to B.

The shielding was also an important design topic. Procentec designers were successful keeping the resistance from the connector to the shield clamp as low as possible to create the best EMC behavior and conduct ground loops smoothly.

Besides the standard plug with one 9-pin connector, a PG (piggy back) version is also available to allow easy connection of diagnostic tools like ProfiTrace.

#ProfiBus @procentec #PAuto