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Foundation Fieldbus Architecture
About FOUNDATION Technology
FOUNDATION
fieldbus is an all-digital, serial, two-way communications system that
serves as a Local Area Network (LAN) for factory/plant instrumentation
and control devices. The fieldbus environment is the base level group
of the digital networks in the hierarchy of plant networks. FOUNDATION
fieldbus is used in both process and manufacturing automation applications
and has a built-in capability to distribute the control application
across the network.
Unlike proprietary network protocols, FOUNDATION fieldbus is neither
owned by any individual company, or regulated by a single nation or
standards body. The technology is controlled by the Fieldbus Foundation,
a not-for-profit organization consisting of more than 100 of the world's
leading controls and instrumentation suppliers and end users.
While FOUNDATION fieldbus retains many of the desirable
features of the 4-20 mA analog system, such as a standardized physical
interface to the wire, bus-powered devices on a single wire, and intrinsic
safety options, it offers a host of additional benefits to users.
BENEFITS
Device Interoperability
With interoperability,
one fieldbus device can be replaced by a similar device with added functionality
from a different supplier on the same fieldbus network while maintaining
specified operations. This permits users to "mix and match"
field devices and host systems from various suppliers. Individual fieldbus
devices can also transmit and receive multivariable information, and
communicate directly with each other over a common fieldbus, allowing
new devices to be added to the fieldbus without disrupting active control.
Enhanced Process Data
With FOUNDATION
fieldbus, multiple variables from each device can be brought into the
plant control system for archival, trend analysis, process optimization
studies, and report generation. This access to accurate, high resolution
data enables processes to be fine-tuned for better manufacturing throughput
and reduced plant downtime. These efficiencies add up to higher plant
performance and profitability.
Expanded View of the Process
Modern
fieldbus devices, with powerful, microprocessor-based communications
capabilities, permit process errors to be recognized faster, and with
greater certainty. As a result, plant operators are notified of abnormal
conditions or the need for preventive maintenance, and can make better
production decisions. Problems that detract from operating efficiency
are more quickly corrected, enabling yields to go up while raw material
costs and regulatory problems decrease.
Improved Plant Safety
Fieldbus
technology will help manufacturing plants keep up with increasingly
stringent safety requirements. By providing operators with earlier notification
and warning of pending and current hazardous conditions, fieldbus allows
for corrective action before an unplanned shutdown. Enhanced plant diagnostic
capabilities also reduce the need for frequent access to hazardous areas,
thus minimizing the risks to field personnel.
Easier Predictive Maintenance
Enhanced
device diagnostics capabilities make it possible to monitor and record
such conditions as valve wear and transmitter fouling. Plant personnel
are able to perform predictive maintenance without waiting for a scheduled
shutdown, thus avoiding or reducing downtime.
Reduced Wiring and Maintenance Costs
FOUNDATION
Fieldbus' use of existing wiring and multi-drop connections provides
significant savings in network installation costs. This includes reductions
in intrinsic safety barrier termination and cable costs, particularly
in areas where wiring is already in place.
Additional
cost savings can be achieved through the decreased time required for
construction and start-up, as well as simplified programming of control
and logic functions using software control blocks built into fieldbus
devices.
According
to current estimates, there are now FOUNDATION fieldbus systems in operation
in more than 25 countries around the world. It is projected that approximately
80 percent of all new plant control systems that utilize bus technology
will be FOUNDATION compliant by the turn of the century.
For
more information see the FOUNDATION Fieldbus site at www.fieldbus.org
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