What you’ll learn:

What is single-pair Ethernet?
How single-pair Ethernet is changing manufacturing.
Types of connectors for SPE.

That said, the proliferation of Ethernet protocols in new application areas, including transportation (trains, self-driving cars, and airplanes), is the result of increased throughput that RJ45 can no longer handle.

The automotive industry, for example, has adopted Ethernet to replace traditional controller area network (CAN) bus systems, and its technology enables higher data rates for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and infotainment systems. In this demanding application, single-pair Ethernet (SPE) can provide that required data rate over a cable similar to CAN designs, but it also offers increased speed and reliability.

SPE features a pair of copper wires that can transmit data at speeds of up to 1 Gb/s over short distances while simultaneously delivering Power over Data Line (PoDL). SPE supports up to 52 W of dc power and can cover a wide range of devices and systems, including factory automation and building automation. SPE takes its cue from Ethernet over twisted-pair technologies, which use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network.

Two new variants of 10-Mb/s Ethernet over a single twisted pair, known as 10BASE-T1S and 10BASE-T1L, were later standardized in IEEE Std 802.3cg-2019 in 2019. 10BASE-T1S is ideal for the automotive industry and can benefit other short-distance applications where substantial electrical noise is present. 10BASE-T1L is a long-distance Ethernet that supports long-distance connections up to 1 km. Of course, both standards are quickly becoming utilized for the IoT.

SPE also is referred to in the standards as “twisted pair,” meaning a single pair consists of a balanced pair of conductors, each carrying a different signal. The technology was designed to meet the needs of industrial manufacturers tasked with connecting low-speed devices, such as sensors, actuators, and relays, along with access control and lighting applications. Coupled with connected factories and the rising trend for adopting Ethernet into Industry 4.0 means Ethernet over single twisted pair is a lead contender for the future of industrial communication applications.

SPE Technologies

Traditional 1-Gb/s Ethernet uses a Cat 5 cable with four pairs of wires and operates at frequencies up to 100 MHz. Each pair can send and receive data, enabling transmission rates up to 1 Gb/s. SPE uses just one pair of wires but operates at frequencies up to 600 MHz. In this wide frequency band, some frequencies send data, and others receive data, allowing for 1-Gb/s transmission speeds with a pair of wires.

Although traditional Ethernet has been utilized all along the automation ecosystem, devices at the lowest or field levels are still often controlled by fieldbus protocols. SPE offers an Ethernet solution that can be implemented at all levels, eliminating the need for gateways and other hardware required for various networks to “talk” to each other.

Smaller cables translate to smaller connectors, providing the added benefit of using SPE in space-constrained applications or those with numerous, small devices at the field level. The smaller bend radius of a thinner cable makes installation, routing, and management less cumbersome and more flexible.

The IEEE 802.3cg working group is pushing forward to bring the aforementioned SPE variants to fruition for industrial applications—10BASE-TIS with a range of 15 m, and 10BASE-T1L that will push the range to 1,000 m. To take advantage of that extended range, the attenuation must be lowered by operating at a lower frequency. For example, the T1L uses a 20-MHz transceiver, while the T1S is outfitted with a 200-MHz version. Both will come equipped with PoDL capabilities.

Cultivating Connectors

As with any new technology, a new ecosystem of daughterboards, power adapters, cables, and connectors (see figure) will need to be developed for implementation in an industrial setting. To that end, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has settled on two 10BASE-T1 connector designs that can handle the harsh environments often found in industrial settings. The first is based on a CommScope design suited for automation applications, while the other is taken from Harting and geared for industrial applications.

The Harting T1, for example, features a standardized mating face with two contacts that adhere to the IEC 63171-6 standard, can handle 1000 mating cycles, and offers an IP20 protection rating. It accepts Ethernet speeds between 10 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s, has a current rating of 4 A at 60°C and 1.5 A at 85°C, and operates in the −40 to +85°C temperature range. The T1 also provides standardized SPE communication networks with standardized cabling, according to ISO/IEC 11801 and TIA 42.

Manufacturers such as TE Connectivity are already producing SPE connectors that can handle the wide temperature and voltage ranges for industrial equipment as well as the shock and vibration encountered in these settings. These include barrel connectors to keep cables secure and shielded against unwanted signals and electrical noise. The internal shielding also helps to avoid the deterioration of data transmission by higher harmonics from the power transmission, like that from switch-mode power supplies.

The prospect of retrofitting existing facilities also needs to be considered, as many current manufacturers still rely on terminal block-style connections to drive actuators, valves, switches, and other mechanical devices. Utilizing SPE in these situations also is beneficial due to the reduced the number of cables, leading to greater efficiency in data transmissions, power handling, and reduced outside interference.

Conclusion

Single-pair Ethernet is on track to become the default network architecture of choice for provisioning resilient, robust, and reliable connectivity to the industrial automation endpoint. It’s also positioned to be an ideal solution for IIoT applications, as many field-level devices require power and fast, real-time communication to higher-level controls or the cloud.

Will it bring an end to the RJ45 infrastructure still found in manufacturing plants? Probably not

Saksalaisen Softing Industrial Automationin laitteistomoduuli commModule APL on suunniteltu auttamaan laitevalmistajia prosessiteollisuuden fyysisen kerroksen Ethernet-APL-kenttälaitteiden toteuttamisessa.

Softingin Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL) on prosessiteollisuuden liitäntästandardi, jota voidaan hyödyntää myös räjähdysvaarallisissa Ex-tiloissa. Softingin uusi CommModule APL on valmiiksi sertifioitu kenttälaitetoteutuksiin.

Laitteistomoduuli tarjoaa suoraan Ethernet-APL-yhteyden ja sovellusohjelmiston, joka voidaan konfiguroida toteuttamaan kyseiseltä kenttälaitteelta vaadittu toiminnallisuus.

Core Electronics for Ethernet-APL Field Devices
Rapid Integration of Ethernet-APL Communication and Application into Field Devices
https://industrial.softing.com/products/embedded-modules/commmodule-apl.html

commModule APL is a cost-effective hardware module for the implementation of Ethernet-APL field devices. It provides connectivity to Ethernet-APL as well as an application software that can be easily configured to implement the required behavior of the particular field device. Existing HART and Modbus devices can be migrated to Ethernet-APL even without the need to write a single line of code. All required mapping to the HART or Modbus commands can be defined using the commScripter tool.

Overview
Fast and cost-effective implementation

Small footprint for use in majority of process equipment
Suited for automatic assembly on motherboard
No need for a complex hardware development
No stack porting, no application programming

PROFINET protocol software according to PA profile 4.02 already onboard

Implementation follows latest APL and PI specifications
Run-time license for the software is already included

Made for intrinsically safe hardware designs

Potted and non-potted version for optimized ex design
ATEX and IECEx approval for use in explosive environments

Easy integration into HART and Modbus devices

Script-controlled mapping of function block application to device specific HART or Modbus commands
No need for C programming
commScripter tool checks script and creates mapping table
Off-the-shelf commModules are customized by downloading mapping table

Industry’s highest bandwidth switch solution enables efficient zonal and central compute platforms and accelerates adoption of software defined vehicles

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) today announced it has delivered its high bandwidth monolithic automotive Ethernet switch device, the BCM8958X, designed to address the growing bandwidth need for in-vehicle networking applications and facilitate the adoption of software defined vehicles (SDV). The BCM8958X features 16 Ethernet ports of which up to six are 10 Gbps capable, as well as integrated 1000BASE-T1 and 100BASE-T1 PHYs, providing greater flexibility and switching capacity needed to support automotive zonal electronic control unit (ECU) and central compute ECU architectures. Additionally, this switch is equipped with an advanced rule-based packet filter engine that can adapt to different vehicle operation modes to enhance driving safety.

Ethernetin eri variantit ovat yleisimpiä teollisuuslinkkien protokollia. Tähän asti ne ovat vaatineet 4 tai 8 johdinta, mutta nyt on yleistymässä SPE-linkki: kahden parikaapelin ethernet. Sillä on monia etuja aiempaan nähden, minkä takia tekniikka kiinnostaa monia.

Eilen Avnet Abacus ja EBV Elektronik ilmoittivat tukevansa teollisuusasiakkaitaan tuomaan SPE-ratkaisut markkinoille. Sen lisäksi, että SPE mahdollistaa Ethernet-pakettien saumattoman virran kenttälaitteiden ja tehtaan yritystason laitteiden välillä parantaakseen prosessinhallintaa, tekniikka tarjoaa lisäetuja, kuten kevyempiä ja joustavampia kaapeleita. Niiden tilantarve ja kokoonpanokustannukset ovat pienemmät kuin perinteisissä laitteissa.

SPE-linkki tukee datanopeuksia 10 megabitistä aina gigabittiin asti sekunnissa. Gigabitin linkki kantaa 40 metrin päähän, hitain linkki yltää aina 1000 metriin asti. Lisäksi se tukee PoDL-tekniikkaa eli kaapelia pitkin voidaan tuoda myös toimilaitteen vaatima virta.

SPE-linkit lupaavat mullistaa Teollisuus 4.0 -ja IoT-toteutukset, koska sen avulla ethernet voidaan tuoda anturin ja pilvin liitäntätekniikaksi.

https://www.analog.com/en/product-category/industrial-ethernet-physical-layer-devices.html

Analog Devices on tuonut markkinoille täydellisen 10BASE-T1L Ethernet-ratkaisun, joka on suunniteltu rakennusautomaatioverkkoihin. Uusi ADIN2111 lisää pitkän ulottuvuuden Ethernet-liitettävyyden ohjaimiin, antureihin ja toimilaitteisiin, mikä tarjoaa oivalluksia tehokkaampaan ja kestävämpään kiinteistönhallintaan.

Analog Devices on tuonut markkinoille täydellisen 10BASE-T1L Ethernet-ratkaisun, joka on suunniteltu rakennusautomaatioverkkoihin. Uusi ADIN2111 lisää pitkän ulottuvuuden Ethernet-liitettävyyden ohjaimiin, antureihin ja toimilaitteisiin, mikä tarjoaa oivalluksia tehokkaampaan ja kestävämpään kiinteistönhallintaan.

Piiri on suunniteltu datan ketjuttamiseen linja- ja rengasverkoissa käyttämällä olemassa olevaa yhden kierretyn parikaapelin infraa rakennuksissa.

Tämä IEEE 802.3cg -standardin mukainen ratkaisu mahdollistaa Ethernet-yhteyden yli 1,7 kilometriä kaapelointia, tukee soittojen redundanssia ja pehmeitä reaaliaikaisia protokollia, kuten Modbus/TCP, BACnet/IP ja KNX.