What is CC-Link IE Field?

CC-Link IE Field network is the first gigabit industrial Ethernet network extended down to the field device level. It combines the best of existing technologies and applies them in a highly reliable architecture that provides exceptional data bandwidth and transaction rates. The new network uses commercially available Cat5E cable and RJ45 connectors.           

A significant difference between CC-Link IE Field Network and other Industrial Ethernet solutions is that CC-Link IE Field Network delivers deterministic control communications without requiring the addition of Ethernet switches. This feature eliminates the hardware costs and engineering implementation costs of those switches. Also, the cost and need for developing communication statements to govern the flow of data is eliminated due to the shared memory concept of CC-Link IE Field and no knowledge of CC-Link IE Field  protocol is required. Determinism is guaranteed by the CC-Link IE Field token-passing technique.

A CC-Link IE Field Network allows for a topology best suited to the needs of the particular application — thus ensuring greatest flexibility. These topologies include star, line, mixed star and line, and ring. Within a single network there can be a total of 254 stations with up to 328 feet (100 meters) of Cat5E cable between each station. In addition, as many as 239 networks can be interconnected allowing vast exchange of data to suit any application.