Experimental performance evaluation of Profibus-FMS in the manufacturing automation systems

The fieldbus provides real-time communication among field devices in the manufacturing automation and process control systems. In this study, an experimental model of the Profibus-based manufacturing automation system is developed. The experimental model consists of two robots, two conveyor belts, NC machine, PLC, sensors and operator station. These machines are interconnected into the Profibus network and exchange their data through the services provided by FMS (Fieldbus Message Specification). The experimental model is used to measure the network-induced delay of variable and file data transmitted through FMS services. This study analyzes the network-induced delays at each sublayer of the Profibus protocol stack. The experimental results obtained from this study promote understanding the delay characteristics of the Profibus FMS.