Properly Scoping TSN, EtherCAT, OPC-UA into your Machine Controller is Key to Protecting its Future

Machine builders are undergoing pressure to add networking features to their machine controllers that support major industry trends like IoT, machine consolidation, cloud integration, Industry 4.0, and remote management and maintenance. Innovative networking standards like Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), OPC-UA, and EtherCAT fieldbus all have a role to play in the well-designed machine controller of the future. Getting the boundaries for each networking standard correct is crucial to ensuring a machine controller can deliver on the promise of these market trends and is limiting if the scope is not correct.