A PLC as an Industry 4.0 component

This paper presents a concept for the use of a PLC as an Industry 4.0 (I40) component as defined by the Industry 4.0 architecture RAMI 4.0. As a result, PLC controllers can be integrated seamlessly in Industry 4.0 production environments using the service paradigm. The transmission time for the process data from the PLC to the IP network was determined for a prototype implementation. With the PLC as an I40 component, process data can be transferred directly from the controller to an IP network without additional delays. This forms, amongst other things, the basis for outsourcing parts of the control program to a cloud.