IO-Link Workshop
Shopfloor Digitalization

• Objective
• Topics

More Transparency, Less Effort: The Benefits of Intelligent Sensors in Industrial Applications

Reduce Costs and Drive Innovation with IO-Link

Mechanical engineering is facing significant chal-lenges. Increasing competitive pressure is forcing companies to either reduce costs or gain a decisive technological advantage over international competi-tors through innovation. IO-Link supports both strategies. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore the advantages of intelligent sensor technology com-pared to traditional analog solutions using a practical PLC-controlled demonstration setup:

• Easy sensor replacement with automatic para-meterization
• Multifunctional sensors that reduce hardware requirements and system complexity
• Additional condition data for Condition Monito-ring and Predictive Maintenance
• Greater immunity to interference through digiti-zation of measurement values directly within the sensor
• Use of advanced smart sensor technologies such as the SIEDS (Smart Industrial Environment Digitalization Sensor)

The workshop also examines the economic diffe-rences between analog and digital sensor concepts, supported by real-world examples and practical cost-benefit considerations.Another key focus is the use of sensor data beyond the PLC. Modern IO-Link and PROFINET devices make their information available not only to the cont-rol system but also via OPC UA for applications such as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), energy management, condition monitoring, and process optimization.Through practical examples, participants will learn how to identify available OPC UA data using free tools such as UaExpert and how to easily visualize and process this data with Node-RED, unlocking additional value from their industrial sensor infras-tructure.

What awaits you?

Workshop Topics – Theory:

• IO-Link Technology: Learn the fundamentals and potential of IO-Link. Discover how intelligent sensors and actuators can be integrated, parame-terized, and diagnosed, and the resulting benefits for maintenance, availability, and plant operation.
• OPC UA Technology: Use data securely and across manufacturers. Learn the basics of OPC UA and how machi-ne data can be standardized for visualization, MES systems, energy management, and condition monitoring.
• Shopfloor Network Structures: Learn how to design network architectures that ensure secure and reliable communication between production systems, IT systems, and industrial applications.
• Industrial Routers and Firewalls: Understand the role of industrial routers and firewalls and how they protect production networks while ensuring secure data commu-nication.

Workshop Topics – Practical Session:

In the practical session, participants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in small groups or follow the live demonstration step by step.

• EMC interference test comparing an analog and a digital sensor
• How sensor cable shielding works and how it should be connected
• Comparison of wiring effort for analog and digital sensors
• Replacement of sensors requiring parameterization
• Establishing connectivity between SCADA/PROFINET networks and securing them using routers and firewalls
• OPC UA configuration and data visualization without using the PLC
• Utilization of environmental data

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