Smarter, Simpler Connections

Solutions for making machines run leaner, smarter and cheaper come in all shapes and sizes, and connection products can play a significant role in this endeavor.

"Everybody wants to reduce cost, and cabling's a big part of that," notes Robert Muehlfellner, director, automation technologies, for B&R Automation.

Muehlfellner sees a trend within machinery that calls for more modularization as end users demand more options and more customization. "Along with this, there are trends toward decentralization of the electrical components, and more machine-mount I/Os and drives," he says. "Intelligent connection and cabling technology plays a more prominent role than it did in the past."

Passive distribution blocks are also resurging, according to Aaron Henry, marketing manager at Murrelektronik . They are similar to machine-mount I/O devices, he explains, because they refrain from active communications and have simple, homerun wiring to I/O cabinets. "Many machine builders in U.S. markets are constructing progressively smaller machines with smaller I/O counts, but they still want to build them faster, and so they're using more passive distribution blocks," he says. "These allow easier troubleshooting and reduce wiring without having to justify and implement a full-blown fieldbus."