In factories, it is essential that environmental variables such as temperature, humidity, and air quality are automatically controlled and monitored to ensure optimal conditions for production and work personnel. By ensuring efficient control of facilities, such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) and lighting systems, factory owners can save significant energy and manage emergency situations safely.
However, when systems integrators plan factory-building integration, they typically face a heterogeneous and challenging communication environment. BACnet is the protocol typically used in building management systems (BMS) to control facilities within the building, and PROFINET is one of the most widely used networks for controlling production processes in factories.
Communication allowed with the certified Intesis PROFINET-BACnet gateway
Focusing on this situation, the new Intesis PROFINET-BACnet IP/MSTP protocol translator from HMS Networks is a cost-effective and easy-to-install gateway solution that provides bidirectional communication between PROFINET PLCs and BACnet controllers. Capable of connecting up to 1200 data (measurement) points, the gateway functions as a BACnet IP/MSTP server/slave on one hand and a PROFINET I/O device on the other, featuring independent Ethernet ports. The gateway is BTL certified for BACnet and UL listed to guarantee the highest communication and quality standards.
Thanks to its strategic location between the factory and the building management systems (BMS), the gateway becomes a facilitator of very interesting applications such as measuring the energy consumption of devices and machines in the factory from the BACnet-based building management system (BMS), monitoring the air conditioning (HVAC) and control from a PROFINET PLC, as well as easy definition and management of alarms.
Easy setup and integration process using Intesis MAPS
Intesis MAPS, the common configuration tool for all Intesis protocol translators, offers a highly intuitive configuration process for system integrators, covering both sides of the gateway. MAPS assists integrators in their projects by providing valuable EDE files for BACnet integration, as well as GSD files and TAG files from the TIA portal (Totally Integrated Automation, the software platform for the concept of the future digital factory) for quick configuration of any connected PROFINET PLC controller.
Expanding upon the existing range of Intesis BACnet protocol translators, the new PROFINET-BACnet version is the first product in a new line of Intesis gateways for factory and building integration that HMS Networks will launch in stages. In these gateways, HMS combines its proven Anybus® and Intesis communication technologies for industrial and building-oriented communication, respectively.
