Virtually any industrial application can be easily connected to the wider enterprise with the right products and support

RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers, offers multiple solutions to help engineers exploit the numerous benefits of a smart, connected-factory approach.

By leveraging the capabilities underpinning the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 – two global megatrends that are revolutionising the industry – users will be able to capture, collate, decipher and disburse vital, real-time manufacturing data, enabling them to make faster, better informed and immediately actionable business decisions.

The key to this new data paradigm is giving products, machines, cells and lines the ability to communicate harmonised manufacturing and process data to the wider enterprise as quickly and efficiently as possible. This communication can be by any number of different means – Near Field Communication, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Modbus, Ethernet, etc. – all that is required is the means to collate and connect.

A new landing page published on the RS website shows how users can easily create a connected architecture, even when working with commodity or “dumb” products. The page details products and solutions that can read information from existing control systems, harmonise the communication protocols and make this information available to a wider network. In some cases the solutions can even make the communication between machines or systems more secure.

Among the many products RS offers, for connected solutions is a new NFC timing relay from Schneider Electric, which offers control and monitoring of a timing relay via NFC using a smartphone or tablet. At the controller level there is also a range of Modbus-capable mini PLCs from BARTH, which can turn simple machines and cells into fully connected manufacturing nodes. Higher up the control spectrum, MICA modular industrial computers from HARTING offer open-source programming so users can develop integrated industry projects quickly, with minimal expense and disruption. These three solutions are just a small part of a myriad products and services that RS offers for wider connection capabilities.

To help with product selection and to learn more about the IIoT and Industry 4.0, the RS DesignSpark repository is a goldmine of helpful information and advice, capturing the latest IIoT news, solutions and products. This added-value service offers software, 3D models, articles, tools and forum discussions relating to many of the products, services and capabilities in the extensive RS range.