Configuring and managing devices has never been easier

The advent of IIoT hasn't made the job of machine builders any easier. The Turck Automation Suite does just that. After all, this IIoT platform makes it child's play to install, configure and manage all your Turck devices, and by extension even all smart sensors and actuators. And what makes this even more interesting: this tool is completely free.

In December, there is usually a gift under the Christmas tree for everyone. Turck also put a big bow on it last year, launching its Turck Automation Suite (TAS), a tool that it makes available to its customers completely free of charge. Turck B.V. Automation Systems Engineer Gerjan Woelders explains exactly how this IIoT platform can add value for machine builders and end users. 

"The function is twofold," he explains. "It is on the one hand a network and on the other hand a device configuration tool. Without the need for additional software - the TAS is a Web application - it provides a complete solution for updates, device management and smart sensors. Everything can now be adjusted and managed from one central location, in a cyber-safe manner. Because that too was particularly important." 

Easily manage devices, including batch

Turck has broken new ground with its TAS. Effective and efficient hardware for automation remains the company's trademark, of course, but it is now adding its own services and software. "Digitalization is the future. We want to deliver future-proof products by adopting a holistic approach in which hardware and software come together seamlessly, to relieve our customers of as much and as well as possible," Woelders clarified. Ease of use was therefore one of the starting points in the development of TAS. "At the touch of a button, a network scan is performed that detects all Turck devices on that network and displays relevant device information. From there, it's child's play to configure and manage the parameters of each device. And this can also be done in batch, which in large networks saves a particularly large amount of time during commissioning and maintenance, for example to perform security updates."

User-friendly features

In addition, TAS includes several interesting features that further capitalize on that mission to make the job of the machine builder or end user as easy as possible. ARGEE View, for example. "The ARGEE software turns Turck's Ethernet I/O modules into logic controllers for direct use in the field. The advantage? The I/Os can make standalone logic operations and decisions. They can work hybridly with the PLC to pre-process certain data or they can still act as a "dumb" PLC slave. With TAS, users can easily import ARGEE programs onto a group of devices and manage them centrally." A second convenient feature is BEEP view. "BEEP stands for Backplane Ethernet Extension Protocol. Sometimes networks are 'maxed out.' In other words, no more participants or I/O modules can be connected to your PLC's network. This is what BEEP is designed for. It extends Ethernet networks by up to 33 I/O modules using only one IP address. This allows us to reduce the number of IP addresses in industrial networks. Also the management and configuration of these networks are easy to configure, import and export from TAS," Woelders adds.

Developing even further

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Turck is determined to continue tinkering with its platform in the coming months and years to further develop the benefits of faster deployment, less downtime and easier management. In the short term, for example, the network scan would already be extended to also recognize devices that are not Turck's. What else can we expect in this way? "Today TAS still works through software that one can download for free. Soon you will be able to access it directly from a cloud environment. That will make those functions accessible to users from anywhere. There will also be the ability to assign different access rights to TAS to different user profiles." To be continued, then. 

The benefits of the Turck Automation Suite in a nutshell

- Intuitive user-friendly operation;

- Huge time savings possible;

- Particularly low-key;

- Free!