Control Design-Engineer's Guide To As-Interface
Control Design-Engineer's Guide To As-Interface
Control Design-Engineer's Guide To As-Interface
Engineers’
Guide to
AS-Interface
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is AS-Interface? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ASi-5: automation reinvented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The next generation of AS-Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Cyclic data and sensor integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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What is AS-Interface?
By Bihl+Wiedemann
Slave Slave
AS-INTERFACE:
MARKET AND FACTS
• There are more than 40 million active ASi
devices worldwide
COMPATIBILITY—SO OPEN • 7 million of these are safety devices
Operate with virtually any bus system: • Over 2.000 certified products
PROFIBUS, PROFINET, CC-Link, EtherNet/ • Safety relevant units with around 70%
IP and others. growth rate
COMPONENTS OF THE
ASI NETWORK
AS-Interface
Master
The AS-Interface
Master connects
sensors and actua-
tors through the ASi
slaves to the higher-
level controller.
The Cable
The cable
sends data
and power
over two
conductors. BUILDING AUTOMATION
AS-INTERFACE—SIMPLE,
EFFICIENT, INNOVATIVE
AS-Interface is a system and manufacturer-
neutral technology. As a worldwide stan-
dardized bus system it connects sensors
USE CASE OF ASI USING PROD- and actuators to a host controller over a
UCTS FROM BIHL+WIEDEMANN common data transmission path.
The brewery, which recently opened in
April 2019, was designed and built by the AS-Interface is a standard for fieldbus
brewery experts GEA Process Engineering communication which replaces parallel
A/S. All the brewery’s processes including wiring and is based on the master-slave
ASi Masters and motors are controlled via principle. The master exchanges data cycli-
PROFINET by two Siemens PLCs. All the cally with the (up to) 62 connected slaves.
tanks, kettles and plant components can be Typically each slave can have four inputs
mutually connected by means of a system for reading sensors, and four outputs for
of 744 pneumatically activated process controlling actuators.
Bus
Termination
Repeater Repeater
Bus Bus
Termination Termination
1000 m
High productivity, efficiency and allow for simple integration of new slaves
safety—advantages of AS-Interface and compared with parallel wiring, AS-
The ASi technology is compatible with Interface saves you an enormous amount of
virtually any common fieldbus system. It time in planning, installation, expansion and
features not only fast and flexible installa- service. Certified products ensure manufac-
tion that allows new nodes to be connected turer-neutral compatibility.
without cumbersome cable assembly, but is
also simple to expand. The user friendliness FUNCTIONAL SAFETY
of AS-Interface ensures that the system can Safety aspects are playing an increasingly
be operated and maintained without addi- important role in automation solutions
tional training or specialized service person- – especially where the safety of person-
nel and because it is compatible with any nel is impacted by hazardous movements.
topology, you can implement cable struc- Development in Safety at Work are there-
tures that correspond to the mechanical fore always state-of-the-art. This pertains
layout of your system. Standardized profiles to the various safety monitors and their
2 wires
2 wires AS-i 1 AS-i 2
AS-i
Safe Coupling
SWITCH
Modules/Slaves Software
The proven main benefits of ASi are, among others, dramatically less wiring, free choice of
topology and cost-efficient integration of safety on the same infrastructure. In addition, com-
pared to other fieldbus systems, ASi needs no connectors for data and power integration.
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ince the 1990s, AS-Interface (ASi) has become an integral part of modern industry,
with more than 40 million installed notes worldwide. Customers can benefit from
the economically reasonable fieldbus/wiring system for the first automation level,
used to easily, reliably and economically connect sensors and actuators and attach them to
the higher control level.
The yellow ASi cable transmits power and data at the same time. The easy wiring process is
doable even without training. Now a new generation of the ASi standard has been present-
ed for the new requirements in times of Industry 4.0. ASi-5 easily enables faster transmis-
sion of larger data volumes and effortless integration of intelligent IO-Link sensors.
Q: Why is it time for the next gen- power and data, the ability to connect
eration of AS-Interface? slaves to any desired location of the yellow
A: The main reason for evolving ASi was the profile cable and the high flexibility due to
changed situation for our customers. With the use of application-specific slaves.
the rise of a connected digital industry, more
data needs to be transmitted. ASi-5 now al- ASi-5 offers both a high bandwidth—pro-
lows us to transfer larger quantities of data cess data size from 16 bits to 32 bytes per
at higher speed, while making integration of slave—and short cycle times—up to 384
intelligent IO-Link sensors easier than ever. digital inputs and 384 digital outputs in just
1.27 ms—making it possible to transport
Intelligent sensors and actuators are re- more and more data, without restrictions, to
sponsible for an increasing number of con- where they can yield valuable information.
trol functions in distributed systems. ASi-5
was developed by seven renowned automa- Q: In what way does the higher
tion companies, including Bihl+Wiedemann. data bandwidth influence the
usability of ASi-5? Is it more
The complete project took more than complex now for the users?
200,000 developer hours. Bernhard Wi- A: The main advantages of AS-Interface are
edemann, CEO of Bihl+Wiedemann, was incorporated in the new generation. Long sto-
the technical leader of this cross-company ry short, our products are still as easy to use
development group. as before. Each network is controlled by one
ASi-5 master that transmits data via fieldbus-
Q: Is ASi-5 a completely new es such as EtherNet/IP or Profinet to a central
technology? control system or via OPC UA to the cloud.
A: No, ASi-5 is the evolution of the well-
proven AS-Interface standard. ASi-5 offers The connection technology, such as con-
all the advantages that have already made nectors and wires, stays the same. Addition-
ASi so special in the past. ally, to the same usability, the user benefits
from increased diagnostics; for example, a
The greatest challenge during the develop- channel diagnostics is possible now.
ment of ASi-5 was to keep all the known
advantages of ASi. AS-i 5 had to be at least This is a new generation of AS-Interface,
as good as ASi-3 in every aspect. which means that the technology still needs
to prove its usefulness. When are the first
Customers still benefit from the simple ASi-5 products available?
wiring scheme with just one cable for both
IO-LINK
ASi-5 now allows us to transfer larger quantities of data at higher speed, while making integration of
intelligent IO-Link sensors easier than ever.
Bihl+Wiedemann is already offering the the AS-Interface, which was worth all the in-
first ASi-5 gateways and modules. Our vested effort. Many of the new features will
goal is to develop quickly a wide product be playing an increasingly important role
range to meet all of our customers’ needs. as digitalization continues. This is an itera-
The all-rounders in our portfolio are three tive process, which I am very much looking
new gateways that run on ASi-5 and ASi-3 forward to see what will come out of it.
and thus are able to communicate on both
networks. If you want to read more on the Q: Can customers use their existing
technical specifics you can find the informa- AS-Interface devices together with
tion on our website. ASi-5 products?
A: The greatest advantage of ASi‑5 is that
As with all new technologies, it will take it’s completely compatible with all earlier ASi
some time to develop all products that are devices and components. ASi-5 slaves can be
available on ASi-3. ASi-5 enables a more ef- combined with ASi slaves of any generation
ficient incorporation of intelligent sensors in in existing as well as in new ASi networks.
the others in a common network and com- interface (ASi) devices for automation
municate seamlessly. Thus, for each problem and safety equipment, visit
“T
he bus system AS-Interface (ASi) and IO-Link with its point-to-point wiring
are ideal partners on the field level,” says Jan Melter, head of marketing at
Bihl+Wiedemann. “ASi is a simple, robust and cost-efficient way to connect
sensors and actuators in the field with just a single profile cable. With the ASi-5 Slave/IO-
Link Master with four ports, intelligent IO-Link sensors and actuators can now also be inte-
grated into ASi networks, right where they are required.”
The yellow ASi cable transmits power and data at the same time. Important benefits of ASi
are drastically reduced wiring effort, free choice of topology and cost-efficient integration
of safety on the same infrastructure, as well as other things. In addition, ASi doesn’t need
any plugs for the connection of data and power.
ASi-5 is the latest generation of the globally standardized fieldbus system for the first level
of automation. “It replaces centralized solutions with complex parallel wiring, as well as field
devices with expensive Ethernet-based fieldbus interfaces,” explains Melter.
As former generations, ASi-5 was again jointly developed by multiple manufacturers. The
result is an extension to the sophisticated ASi technique with high data bandwidth and the
short cycle times. This opens up new options, such as transmitting analog values faster and
making it easier to integrate IO-Link sensors with up to 32 bytes.
E-STOP
AS-5/ASi-3 Gateway
ASi IP67 ASi-5
Counter Module
ASi network 1 ASi network 2
Passive
Distributor
“IO-Link is a perfect way to give sensors gives the ASi-5 Slave/IO-Link Master power
and actuators some kind of intelligence, as to transmit the rising amount of cyclic data,
it provides the interface for giving addition- as well as acyclic diagnostic data,” explains
al diagnostic data,” says Melter. “In order Melter. “We are talking about up to 16-bit
to connect the sensors and actuators in a cyclic data per port in 1.27ms.”
simple, robust and cost-efficient way, ASi is
the perfect match.” ASi-5 also is backward- The ASi-5 Slave/IO-Link Master is available
compatible, so slaves of multiple genera- rated IP67 with M12 connectors and IP20
tions can be combined in existing or new with terminals. Both offer two Class A and
ASi networks by using the Bihl+Wiedemann two Class B IO-Link ports in one housing,
ASi-5/ASi-3 Gateways. including power supply of IO-Link ports out
of the auxiliary, as well as passive-safety
The ASi-5 Slave/IO-Link Master with four with a performance level up to PLe.
ports allows intelligent IO-Link sensors
to be integrated in the ASi network, right Configuration of IO-Link sensors and ac-
where they’re needed. The ASi-5 slave can tuators is easy and convenient using the
cyclically transmit up to 32 bytes of I/O ASi Control Tools360/ASIMON360. With
data. In default mode, the Bihl+Wiedemann the live view the parameters can be set
ASi-5 Slave/IO-Link Master transmits 8 and changes observed directly over the
bytes—2 bytes/port—in 1.27 ms. network. Even in case of a sensor fault the
system is easy to use, as a new sensor will
“The all-new ASi-5 as the latest generation be parametrized automatically exactly like
of the globally standardized cabling system the replaced one.
“With the extended diagnostic informa- In 1995, the first ASi Master certified by the
tion coming with most IO-Link modules, the AS-International Association was introduced
industry has the base of data available for by Bihl+Wiedeman. ASi-5 products were
what one could call Industry 4.0 or digitaliza- introduced by Bihl+Wiedemann in 2018.
tion,” says Melter. “Most of the Industry 4.0
applications rely on these data, for example, FOR MORE INFORMATION
big-data analysis and predictive mainte- Call 616/345-0680, email [email protected] or