December 17, 2008 - TURCK released a DeviceNet gateway to augment its PROFIBUS-DP and CANopen gateways for the BL20 economy system. BL20 economy gateways provide a cost-effective solution for expanding fieldbus I/O. Up to 32 I/O modules—including digital and analog—can be connected to each gateway, resulting in a system that can handle up to 512 digital I/O points or 128 analog I/O points on a single gateway. Users can optionally select digital and analog I/O combined on a single node. BL20 gateways utilize TURCK’s I/Oassistant software package for configuration, parameter setup, documentation, commissioning and diagnostic functions.
The BL20 economy gateways are compatible with TURCK’s standard BL20 slices, including new motor starter modules with the SWIRE communication technology. A SWIRE connection consists of a single I/O slice within the BL20 node and uses ribbon cable media to daisy-chain to the motor starters. The BL20 economy gateways can accommodate up to three SWIRE slices for a total of 48 non-reversing motor starters (16 per slice) or 24 reversing motor starters (8 per slice). Motor starters range in size from .08 to 20 horsepower.
The BL20 economy gateways are also compatible with TURCK’s RFID system, BL ident, which can read and write data on-the-fly using 13.56MHZ technology—even with speeds up to 22mph (10 m/s). TURCK is an industry leader providing superior quality sensing, connectivity and network products to help manufacturers improve their automated processes.
