Traditionally, automation equipment is controlled by a PLC – the logic brain of a system that handles the flow of operation, processes I/O, and communicates with other networked equipment.

The majority of Autonetics’ products are controlled by an industrial PC (IPC). We eschew the traditional route of a PLC to harness the additional computing power and flexibility a modern PC offers.

One hurdle that must be overcome when using an IPC for industrial Ethernet applications is the need for real-time communications. While Microsoft Windows offers familiarity and ease-of-use to a wide range of users, it lacks real-time network communications. A data stream from a networked device may stream data at a fixed interval for a while, but Windows can decide to interrupt that process at any time, without notice.

To overcome this hurdle, Autonetics offers a real-time Industrial Ethernet package via the PCI bus.

Our Windows-based applications communicate, in real-time, with any industrial Ethernet technology. This allows our systems to seamlessly operate as an IO device within a customers industrial network.