Bürkert embraces Industry 4.0 with intelligent Efficient Device Integration Platform

With every industrial revolution comes a wave of remarkable new technology that completely transforms current working practices and eclipses anything that came before it. In this article, PIF takes you on a whistle-stop tour through time, from early mechanisation to modern day Industry 4.0 advancements like Bürkert’s Type 8905 Online Analysis System with their intelligent Efficient Device Integration Platform (EDIP) onboard.

Intelligent networking solutions

The first industrial revolution at the end of the eighteenth century brought about widespread mechanisation; representing a huge leap forward for civilisation. The second industrial revolution from the end of the nineteenth century through to the early twentieth century went one better with the emergence of electricity, gas and oil power, the internal combustion engine and the telephone no less.

The emerging technology of those two first industrial revolutions were frankly monumental. The proliferation of new inventions throughout the twentieth century, as well as major technological achievements like the Apollo 11 moon landing, arguably blunted the impact of the resulting two periods of advancement. But the technology they brought into industrial practices has been no less important or impressive.

The third industrial revolution of the latter half of the twentieth century gave rise to electronics, telecommunications and computers. The new millennium signalled the dawn of the fourth and current industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0. It takes the previous advancements in automation and raises them by harnessing autonomous systems, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), cloud computing, Big Data and a raft of other smart technology to create a much more digitally connected industrial landscape.

Intelligent networking solutions from Bürkert

The second digitalisation of the industrial sector ushers in an era where machines, sensors, actuators and people are networked with each other and can exchange information freely between each other. Bürkert was quick to recognise the benefits of smart connectivity, launching its Efficient Device Integration Platform (EDIP) to pave the way for the intelligent networking of its products.

EDIP facilitates the integration of field devices in an existing system, right down to the sensor and actuator level. In effect, EDIP brings the intuitive functionality that modern smartphone users know and expect to the industrial arena. Thanks to Bürkert’s foresight, users can now monitor and control complex processes using highly user-friendly touch controls.

Communication between EDIP devices is made possible thanks to a digital interface: the Bürkert system bus. Bürkert’s bus is based on, and is fully compatible with, the CANopen industrial standard. It also features additional functions for simplified operation. For instance, the fieldbus coupler allows the integration of Bürkert field devices in other industrial standards, like PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP and PROFIBUS.

“With EDIP we aim to provide our customers with a standardised device platform with an intuitive control concept,” says Nandini Mungee, Product Manager Industrial Communication at Bürkert. “The Bürkert system bus is fully compatible with CANopen, but also offers additional functions. The users do not need to familiarise themselves with a new standard. Instead, they are able to integrate EDIP devices in an existing process.”

Bürkert Type 8905 Online Analysis System

EDIP is ideal for networking modular field devices and managing process or servicing information. One such device to benefit from the EDIP ethos is Bürkert’s Type 8905 Online Analysis System. As a case in point, the Type 8905’s ultra-compact sensor cubes can be automatically configured using EDIP technology. This modular design makes it possible to retrofit new sensors easily and in any combination.

The Type 8905 also leverages the crucial software component of EDIP known as the Bürkert Communicator. This universal tool enables the configuration, diagnosis and parametrization of EDIP devices like the 8905 and their networks. Communicator also gives the user a complete overview of all cyclic process values and acyclic diagnostic data, which can be easily identified and displayed graphically. This integrated graphical programming environment helps to create decentralised sub-system control functions.

Innovations like Bürkert’s Efficient Device Integration Platform and Type 8905 Online Analysis System are at the cutting edge of Industry 4.0 technology. For any manufacturers or water suppliers seeking a more joined-up solution for their water monitoring processes, look no further than Bürkert’s latest generation of smart technology.

For more information, please contact Bürkert today.