A field guide to industrial Ethernet
PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and TSN serve different masters. What each was designed for and how to tell them apart.
Functional safety
Failure-tolerant design quantified by SIL ratings.
Engineering that keeps failures from causing harm: safety PLCs, rated sensors and actuators, and certified communication (PROFIsafe, CIP Safety, Safety over EtherCAT). Quantified by Safety Integrity Levels (SIL) per IEC 61508/62061.
Use the concept: 4–20 mA loop scaling · Industrial automation fundamentals · Modbus RTU CRC & frame helper
In depth
PLC FAT and SAT checklist: test behavior and handover evidence
Plan factory and site acceptance around requirements, observable results, failure states, approved changes and recoverable project files.
PLC analog input scaling: raw counts, 4–20 mA and diagnostics
Map raw counts into engineering units, check the configured channel range, and keep signal-quality diagnostics separate from the displayed value.