IO-Link technology is designed to reduce wiring because it offers point-to-point sensor and actuator connection to the control system.
Parameter and diagnostics data are transmitted in addition to the cyclic operating data for the connected sensors/actuators (such as motor starters) using unshielded three-wire cable.
SIMATIC IO-Link Master and Devices
Industrial switching technology from Siemens offers you everything you need to integrate actuators into your automation network easily, efficiently, and reliably via IO-Link. The SIMATIC RF 200 RFID system IO-Link is designed for identification tasks, such as reading identification numbers. It consists of space-saving HF readers, which are particularly suited to applications in intralogistics or in small assembly lines. The compatibility of IO-Link also allows the connection of standard sensors and actuators. IO link input modules allow the connection of several sensors to the controller through the same cable, reducing wiring and space requirements and improving cost-effectiveness. Learn more about these technologies and what you can do with IO-Link.
To link IO-Link devices with your automation system, Siemens offers you a choice of IO-Link master devices for non-central peripherals, the SIMATIC ET 200 and the SIMATIC S7-1200 controller. These IO-Link master modules integrate fast and simple IO-Link communication with sensors and actuators in the established PROFIBUS and PROFINET field bus systems, and thereby in Totally Integrated Automation. IO-Link masters from Siemens can be used to link IO-Link-certified sensors and actuators in all areas of production automation. Project planning of IO-Link channels can be performed easily, quickly and conveniently using the S7-PCT port configurator tool, which is integrated in STEP7 Engineering and is also available as a separate tool.
With IO-Link you can even connect commanding and signaling like the SIRIUS ACT ID key switch, which incorporates the latest RFID technology and allows you to restrict access in your plant and ensure only those authorized can operate machinery.
→ Download the SIRIUS Act IO-Link flyer
Learn more about IO-Link Master Modules
IP20
IP65/67
SIRIUS ACT push buttons and signaling devices can also be quickly and safely connected to IO-Link via special electronic modules.
Siemens provides complete solutions for IO-Link inside the control cabinet
Sensor and actuator connection to the control system is usually done outside the control cabinet, but Siemens offers a design inside - offering you a way to reduce cabinet wiring and labor, in addition to improving system diagnostics.
One of many manufacturers to take 
advantage of Siemens' unique use of IO-Link technology, Hoffmann Filter Corporation, a manufacturer of oil and coolant filtration equipment, shares details of their success.
After their IO-Link upgrade, Hoffmann Filter reduced the wire count from approximately 45 wires on eight motor starters to around ten in the original design. Replacing a motor starter was also simplified. Each starter has an IO-Link Communication Module mounted on the front with the same part number and three to five wires per group of four starters. Connections between the four starters is done with plug-in ribbon cables reducing additional remaining discrete control wiring and labor.
→ Read the case study
IO-Link Communication Standard
Seamless communication right through to the final steps of the process
IO-Link solutions from Siemens allow you to enjoy maximum
precision and cost-effectiveness in any production facility.
Enabling data access to the lowest field level not only increases
plant availability but also reduces engineering expenditure.
The IO-Link communication standard is fully integrated into the Totally Integrated
Automation (TIA) engineering framework and offers you many advantages.
TIA Selection Tool – IO-Link
Using IO-Link in switchboards and on the field level simplifies the integration of sensors
and actuators. It ensures maximal consistency and efficiency in the last steps of the process.
With The TIA Selection Tool, we show you a clever and easy way
to connect components using the IO-Link communication system.
TIA Selection Tool | Contact your IES team
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