Electronic commands passed from machine to machine over data networks increasingly drive today's precisely timed and sequenced manufacturing production lines. However, timing irregularities in the signals from even one machine can result in havoc for manufacturing processes on the plant floor. The timing glitches, called cyclic jitters, can cause real jitters, making production machines jump or shake, damaging products and even shutting down assembly lines.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) engineers have created a software program, the EtherNet/Industrial Protocol (IP) Performance Test Tool, to help avoid that problem. The NIST software enables manufacturers to anticipate how certain machines will perform as part of their data communication system. Data from the tool can also provide vendors with information needed to better tune the performance of their equipment.
The EtherNet/IP Performance Test Tool collects device information from the user, generates a set of test scripts based on that information, analyzes the performance data, and reports the results to the user. The software package provides device transmission data for three different conditions: with no background electronic traffic; with small background traffic; and with more than 240 devices on the network.
