The long migration

Profibus, says HMS, remains the most widely used industrial network globally but several networks are closing in. Profinet and EtherNet/IP compete for first place within Industrial Ethernet and no network consolidation is in sight. Products and services from HMS Industrial Networks enable industrial devices to connect to different industrial networks and HMS therefore has a substantial insight into the industrial network market.

"The figures we present are based on insights from colleagues in the industry, our own sales statistics and overall perception of the market. On a general note, we see a shift towards Industrial Ethernet, but the migration to Industrial Ethernet is taking longer time than first expected. We still get a lot of requests for connectivity to both Fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet," says Anders Hansson, Marketing Director at HMS Industrial Networks.

"What is completely evident, however, is that the network market remains fragmented and that industrial devices are getting more and more connected. This is accentuated by trends such as Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0."

HMS sees Fieldbuses still growing by approximately 7% per year. The main drivers for Fieldbus growth are simplicity, tradition and reliability. The dominant Fieldbus is Profibus (18% of the total world market), including Industrial Ethernet), followed by Modbus (7%), DeviceNet (6%) and CC-Link (6%). Industrial Ethernet networks make up 34% of the market and are increasing faster than Fieldbuses (17% per year), but HMS concludes that it will take some time before Industrial Ethernet outgrows fieldbuses.

The main drivers for Ethernet growth are higher performance and office network integration. Profinet and EtherNet/IP are the two biggest Ethernet networks, with 8% of the total network market each. Runners-up are EtherCAT, Modbus-TCP and Powerlink. Regional variations In Europe and the Middle East (EMEA), Profibus is the dominant network, while Profinet has the fastest growth rate. Runners up are Modbus and EtherCAT.

The US market is dominated by the CIP networks where EtherNet/IP is overtaking DeviceNet in terms of market share. Runners-up are Profibus and EtherCAT. Profinet is gaining market shares and Modbus is still popular. In Asia, no network stands out as a clear market leader; but Profibus, DeviceNet and Modbus are widely used. CC-Link is dominating in Japan, and EtherCAT is also gaining traction.

Make M-Bus measuring devices talk Modbus-TCP

M-Bus (Meter-Bus) is a widely used communication standard for measuring devices. It is predominantly used in buildings, for example in electricity meters, gas meters, water meters or other types of consumption meters. By getting data from these measuring devices onto a PLC or SCADA system, users can get a total overview of their energy consumption, including building parameters which previously had to be checked separately.

The Anybus M-Bus to Modbus TCP gateway decodes M-Bus telegrams and maps meter values to Modbus registers. Mapping and configuration is done in a web-based configuration tool allowing the user to set up the gateway without any programming. It is possible to connect up to 20 M-Bus slaves and enable them to communicate on a Modbus-TCP network.