As most advanced automation systems, SVIA’s robot cells need to communicate with some kind of plant-wide industrial network and this type of communication is not always hassle-free.

“A couple of years ago, we built a robot cell for a customer who promised me access to their PROFIBUS system, but after a while, it became clear that our system was only to be a separate node in their network. That’s when we found Anybus X-gateways from HMS. We tried installing one into our cabinet and it handled the conversion between our DeviceNet based system and the customer’s PROFIBUS system in a very elegant way,” says Anders Mandorsson, Project Manager at SVIA. 

Since then, SVIA has used Anybus X-gateways in many of the robot cells they deliver to customers around the world. Once again, simplicity is key.

“DeviceNet is the standard we use in most of our cabinets and instead of handling the conversion to other networks ourselves, we simply install an X-gateway from HMS. It is cheaper, but above all, it makes it easier for the customer since he gets a clear segregation between our system and his own factory network,” says Anders Mandorsson.