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Husky standardizes on Softing's Electrical Tester for PROFIBUS

  • October 23, 2008
  • Softing Inc.
  • Case Study

Summary

October 23, 2008 - Most end-users and manufacturers that employ PROFIBUS diagnostic tools have standardized on Softing's diagnostic toolset. One recent example is Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., one of the world's leading suppliers of injection molding equipment and services to the global plastics industry. Husky is employing PROFIBUS technology in most of its high-tech injection molding machines. Typically, PROFIBUS is a very robust communications protocol. However, at times Husky's engineering team was plagued with unidentified intermittent communication issues based on poor electrical signal quality levels. In the past, it was difficult and time-consuming for the engineering team to pin-point the exact location causing the problem. Consequently, Husky was looking for a diagnostic tool that was able to
  • quickly pin-point the location of the problem with minimal effort
  • evaluate the overall signal quality of the PROFIBUS network and, most importantly,
  • provide information about the signal quality that Husky could depend on Husky, identified Softing's PROFIBUS Electrical Tester as the best-in-class tool that more than satisfied their requirements. Today, Husky has standardized on this tool and is using it to verify the signal quality of every machine before it is shipped to a customer. Problems based on signal issues are quickly identified and resolved. "We use the PB-T3 to check the Profibus signal strength on each and every machine before it ships to the customer. This ensures the integrity of the Profibus network before it ships. We also keep a PB-T3 signal strength screen capture in the machine file for future reference.We have at least one PB-T3 in each region world-wide for quick resolution of any field issues with the Profibus network. In the field if we have intermittent Profibus problem due to signal strength issues, using the PB-T3 we can pinpoint a problem area within minutes. Without the PB-T3 finding the location of an intermittent problem is difficult and we would have to change components unnecessarily to help locate the problem.While using the PB-T3 on the initial design of one particularly large machine model we found the overall signal strength could be greatly improved by changing Profibus network layout. The end result was that the signal quality was doubled and by catching this early it allowed us to prevent issues with the circuit in the field."Softing’s Electrical Tester for PROFIBUS is designed to automatically analyze communication problems based on electrical issues without the need for an oscilloscope or expertise in electrical engineering. The user-friendly interface of the cable tester software enables any maintenance engineer to quickly locate trouble spots. The tool automatically analyzes the signal quality of each connected device (at the test point) and displays the result in a bar chart. Devices with insufficient signal strength are highlighted in color for easy identification.About Softing In industrial automation, Softing is a specialist for fieldbus technology and has established itself as a world-leading partner for networking automation systems and control solutions. Softing provides customers the key technology to connect devices, controls, and systems with the leading communication technologies. In fieldbus technology, Softing is a world-class expert for FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS, and CAN/CANopen/DeviceNet. The company’s wide range of expertise includes solutions for OPC, FDT, and Real-Time-Ethernet protocols such as, PROFINET IO, EtherNet/IP, and Modbus/TCP. Many of the products and services developed by Softing since the company was founded in 1979 have become reference standards throughout the world. In addition, Softing has established itself as a provider of sophisticated diagnostic tools for fieldbus systems. Learn More

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