Beijing, China, February 26, 2025- Recently, Schneider Electric, the global leader in industrial technology, officially launched the new generation Modicon Edge I/O NTS distributed IP20 I/O system. As a distributed I/O system for future data fusion, Modicon Edge I/O NTS integrates innovative technology that combines high robustness, high performance, high flexibility, and integration. It is suitable for various industrial scenarios, including mixed industries and discrete manufacturing, and can meet the different application needs of equipment manufacturers, system integrators, as well as industrial end-users such as transportation, water, consumer goods, and intelligent infrastructure from low-end to high-end. It brings customers stronger performance, higher efficiency improvement, and end-to-end network security.
In recent years, with the continuous development of industrial Internet technology, as well as the emergence of big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other emerging technologies, industrial networks are accelerating to the direction of "cloud edge end" collaboration. Enterprises urgently need to conduct deeper collection, analysis and diagnosis of field equipment data to give full play to the value of data in equipment monitoring, prediction, maintenance and other links, which opens a broad application prospect for distributed I/O systems.
However, the increasingly complex production demands and network environment have put forward higher requirements for the data transmission capability and information security of distributed I/O systems. In addition, how to simplify on-site wiring and improve deployment efficiency to cope with various industrial environments has become a major pain point for many users.
Three major features to help achieve intelligent manufacturing
Based on its technological accumulation and rich practice in the field of industrial automation, Schneider Electric has innovatively created the Modicon Edge I/O NTS distributed I/O system with a backplane bus based on OPC UA over TSN network. It not only includes rich module combinations for users to flexibly choose according to their needs, but also supports multiple bus communication protocols, such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, Sercos III and other open Ethernet communication protocols, and supports network or local bus extension network topology structures. It has three major characteristics of stability, reliability, high efficiency and ease of use, and safety innovation, which can meet customers' high-level needs for performance improvement, efficiency optimization, safety and reliability in industrial I/O applications. The Modicon Edge I/O NTS system has the following characteristics:
● Stable and reliable: Modicon Edge I/O NTS fully complies with IEC related industry standards from design to testing and verification, with anti-interference capabilities that exceed industry standards and excellent environmental adaptability. It can be provided in both standard and reinforced versions to ensure stable and reliable operation in various harsh industrial environments. Its single I/O station can support up to 25 segments, with a maximum of 32 modules per segment and a maximum of 250 modules per station. The analog signals use 16 bit resolution to ensure high accuracy; The base can effectively reduce the failure rate by adopting a passive design. At the same time, all Ethernet communication interface modules are equipped with dual Ethernet ports that support RSTP ring networks, and all I/O modules support hot swapping, which not only facilitates quick replacement and reduces downtime for users, but also easily integrates seamlessly with the Modicon M580 redundant control system;
Efficient and easy to use: The Modicon Edge I/O NTS module has a wide variety of types, and its compact design not only saves installation space, but also can be mixed and used with the Modicon X80 I/O on the same network, achieving a flexible and scalable network architecture - it can be paired with control expert platforms, machine expert platforms, EcoStruxure open automation platforms, and third-party controllers. Users can export material lists directly through online selection tools to reduce engineering design time, and can also configure them based on web pages or software tools to reduce on-site debugging time. In addition, the module adopts a single row terminal and semi suspended terminal design for faster and more convenient wiring, making installation and debugging easier. Meanwhile, users can freely choose screws or spring terminals with or without protective covers.
Security Innovation: Modicon Edge I/O NTS is designed in accordance with the network security specifications of IEC 62443-4-2, providing a series of security measures such as device authenticity verification, firmware signing, encryption, and access control to ensure end-to-end network security; At the same time, from the controller to the distributed I/O network interface module and backplane bus protocol, they all comply with security standards, ensuring data transmission security and native security, and supporting secure data transmission to the edge and application layers. Its backplane bus deeply integrates OPC UA over TSN technology, which not only inherits the determinacy and reliability of standard Ethernet, but also ensures real-time data, improves data management and network security, and prepares for the future of industry.
Four dimensions empower enterprises to create value
As a distributed I/O system for Industry 4.0 and data fusion, Modicon Edge I/O NTS supports connections with various devices and architectures by adopting an open Ethernet protocol, and embeds data intelligence into new technologies, empowering enterprises to create new value from four levels: efficiency, cost, availability, and security.
In terms of efficiency, Modicon Edge I/O NTS adopts adaptive tools, simplifies design and wiring. Faster activation of new machines and processes to shorten product launch time can empower enterprises to achieve overall efficiency improvement from pre-sales to operational implementation.
At the cost level, the system can significantly reduce average repair time and unplanned downtime by adopting a robust design, reinforced wide and mild coatings, hot swappable, and integrated diagnostics, thereby lowering enterprise costs.
At the usable level, the system supports custom I/O islands, and its compact design allows users to integrate more I/O modules and functions in a smaller space. Among them, the I/O module has more than 100 rich types of models, covering digital modules, analog modules, expert modules, fieldbus modules, and motion control modules, etc. It has strong expansion capabilities and can greatly improve system availability.
At the security level, thanks to the end-to-end network and data security of the system, users can securely access and integrate the required data to optimize enterprise efficiency, agility, sustainability, and profitability, preparing for the future data-driven industry.
Distributed I/O systems, as an important link between underlying devices and edge control, can only truly empower industrial enterprises to achieve intelligent manufacturing by integrating more innovative technologies, "said Cheng Xiaoli, Product Marketing Director of Schneider Electric Industrial Automation China." As a global leader in industrial technology, Schneider Electric has always been committed to driving innovation and bringing more outstanding and safe intelligent products and solutions to enterprises, working together to promote industrial digital transformation