Industry 4.0, the fourth revolution in manufacturing and process automation, poses a considerable challenge for PLC design engineers who are required to pack more functionality into smaller enclosures. With higher IO (input/output) densities and smaller form factors, systems must be more power efficient than ever before to keep the PLC from overheating especially in an application where fans and vents are generally not acceptable. Fortunately, solutions are being developed by Maxim Integrated, who are looking to leverage their integration capabilities in the evolving industrial market.

Maxim's Pocket IO development platform is a reference design integrating a total of 30 IOs. This consists of four analog inputs, one analog output, eight digital inputs, eight digital outputs, two RS485 (PROFIBUS-capable field busses), three encoder motor-control ports, and four IO-Link^® masters. Maxim's Pocket IO technology demonstration platform shows how analog integration can enable lower heat dissipation and faster throughput in a smaller footprint. Pocket IO connectivity is through USB or its own Wi-Fi^® network. Code can be developed to run on the Intel^® Edison using the popular and easy-to-use open-source Arduino^® software IDE.

• Pocket IO: The New Pathway to Industry 4.0
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