Remote Distributed IO-Link Master Station: Making Networking More Flexible

I am a technical engineer at a pneumatic valve equipment company in Zhejiang. We are using SMC's PROFINET communication protocol IO-Link master station to connect with Siemens 1200PLC for controlling the IO-Link communication valve island. The master station has 8 IO-Link Class A ports, capable of driving up to 8 valve slices, with a maximum of 24 double-electric control IO-Link communication valve islands.


 

Flexibility of Remote Distributed Modules

The reason we chose to use SENTINEL products was quite accidental. Our company primarily focuses on IO-Link communication valve islands. Initially, we tested the communication between Siemens' 1278 Master module and the valve island. However, we found that the 1278 Master station cannot be installed remotely; it must be located near the PLC. But according to the specifications and standards of IO-Link, the communication distance between the master station and devices cannot exceed 20 meters. What we needed was an IO-Link master station that could be installed in a distributed manner.
 

In the process of searching for this type of product, we unintentionally came across SENTINEL's instructional video on IO-Link communication online. This video gave us a brand new understanding, as it clearly explained the concept of IO-Link and its configuration methods.
 

The essence of service is to solve problems

Our understanding of SENTINEL products started with online instructional videos and detailed information on their official website. After meeting their professional technical engineers, our trust grew even more.
 

During the use of the product, we encountered some problems. Initially, when we were networking the IO-Link master station with the valve island, we experienced communication failures. After timely communication with SENTINEL's technical engineer, they requested a set of our valve island for testing. After their analysis, they discovered that the issue was with the communication response: it was because the initial response time set for our valve island was too long, causing the IO-Link master station to mistakenly believe that the valve island was "unresponsive", resulting in communication failures. Subsequently, our technical engineer modified the control program of the valve island, resolving the communication issue. Therefore, I believe that the core value of their service is to help customers solve problems, and in this aspect, we highly appreciate SENTINEL's professional technical team.


 

Customer suggestion

During our cooperation with SENTINEL, we have some additional suggestions. We hope that SENTINEL can provide instructional videos on the IO-Link master station alarm function. Although there are currently no major issues in its use, we are not very familiar with some communication faults or the alarm function. Therefore, it would be very helpful for us to have some instructional videos on how to handle the alarm of the master station. If the videos could include some specific cases for demonstration, we believe it would greatly help us in understanding and operating.
 

On the other hand, the current IO-Link master only supports three communication protocols: PROFINET, EtherCAT, and CC-Link IE Field Basic. We hope to add the mainstream EtherNet/IP protocol, which will provide us with more convenience in our choices. In addition, we also suggest that the company display all models in picture format and indicate their physical dimensions on the official website's product introduction. This will provide greater convenience for customers in selecting the right model.
 

Overall, we are satisfied with our experience in using SENTINEL's IO-Link master station. From product quality and user experience to technical support, SENTINEL has provided us with excellent service. Although there is still some room for improvement, we believe that SENTINEL can further provide better products and services. We look forward to a deeper cooperation with SENTINEL for mutual development.