Industrial communication protocols such as PROFINET, EtherCAT and Ethernet/IP are classified as real-time communication protocols. These protocols can already achieve cycle times as low as 1 millisecond and jitter between 10 and 100 microseconds.
In some cases, however, even this level of performance isn’t enough. The fact of the matter is: it takes time to transmit and process data. In certain applications, it is critical that this time be precisely synchronized to ensure that production steps are performed correctly.
This is particularly true in motion control, where the demands for speed and performance in data communication have increased to the point where the cycle times of standard real-time PROFINET are no longer fast enough, and other key metrics such as jitter and determinism no longer meet the required standards.
For example, a robotic arm must be in a precisely defined position at a specific time to pick up or process a part. If the arm is even slightly early or late, the process can be severely disrupted. In such cases, the transmission and processing of data must be both fast and reliable.
PROFINET IRT is used wherever standard real-time communication reaches its limits and extremely accurate synchronization at exceptionally high speeds in data communication are required.
