Relatech S p A : , through its subsidiary EFA Automazione SpA, acquires the distribution of the innovative IO-Link Master Fastus UR series modules of the Japanese Optex FA· 03/07/2024

PRESS RELEASE

Relatech, through its subsidiary EFA Automazione SpA, acquires the distribution of the innovative IO-Link Master Fastus UR series modules of the Japanese Optex FA

Milan, 7 March 2024

Relatech S.p.A., Digital Enabler Solution Know-How (DESK) Company listed on the Euronext Growth Milan market (Ticker: RLT), through EFA Automazione SpA, a company that has been active for over thirty years in the field of connectivity, industrial communication solutions and software platforms for system integration, part of the Relatech group, has signed a commercial collaboration agreement for the distribution in Italy of the Fastus IO-Link Master modules produced by the Japanese company Optex FA Co., Ltd.

Optex FA has forty years of experience in the automation market, with particular reference to the world of optoelectronics, a technological field that has seen it operate for many years in a joint-venture with a European company that is a world leader in the field of sensors. Today, with the IO-Link Master Fastus modules of the UR series, Optex FA continues in the wake of innovation, offering solutions for the interconnection of IO-Link devices that, unique in their kind, now land in Italy thanks to the sales network and technical support offered by EFA Automazione.

The IO-Link Master Fastus of the UR series have technical characteristics that can be labeled as unique, starting from the minimum cycle time of only 0.3 ms, an exceptionally high-performance value that, compared to standard IO-Link masters (1-2 ms), is about 6 times lower.

Unlike other IO-Link master modules on the market, which allow up to 8 devices to be interconnected, the Optex FA UR series Fastus has twice as many channels, allowing up to 16 devices to be connected and thus optimizing costs and cabling. Its compact dimensions of only 110 x 63 x 45 mm (practically half the size of standard IO-Link master modules) make it a true champion of space, so much so that it can be mounted even in the smallest available crevices inside the panels or boxes distributed along the system.

Created to offer the necessary connectivity between IO-Link and the rest of the world of industrial communication, the IO-Link Master Fastus of the UR series allow you to interfacewith all the main Ethernet-based industrial communication networks: Ethernet/IP, Profinet, CC-Link IE Field Basic, EtherCAT and Modbus TCP. It should be noted that the Modbus TCP protocol is always available even when used simultaneously with other fieldbuses, with the exception of EtherCAT, which does not use the standard TCP/IP stacks.

Another unique feature of the Optex FA's IO-Link Master Fastus UR series is the ability to handle mixed-type signals. In addition to connecting sensors and actuators in IO-Link, it is possible to wire both PNP and NPN digital I/O, which makes them extremely flexible tools to connect almost all types of devices: light curtains, pressure, flow, temperature sensors, proximity sensors, solenoid valves, linear electric actuators, stepper motors, electro-pneumatic regulators, etc. An input can also be used for high-speed counting, e.g. for connecting incremental encoders up to 250 kHz.

The module has a two-line OLED display which, together with a keypad, allows you to configure IO-Link master and device by choosing from 10 available languages, including Italian. Configuration operations are also facilitated by the ability of the Fastus UR modules to automatically download IODD (IO Device Description) files. When an IO-Link device is connected to an IO-Link master, the master requests the IODD file from the device. This automated process greatly simplifies the integration of IO-Link devices into the industrial automation system, reducing the complexity of manual intervention to configure devices. A convenient parameter back-up function allows the operation to be carried out in "plug & play" mode, i.e. without having to redo a new configuration and minimizing downtime, in the event that a device, such as a sensor, needs to be replaced.

In addition to the IO-Link Master, Optex FA offers a number of IO-Link hubs. These devices allow you to extend the connection capacity up to 256 points, transforming the Fastus UR system into a communication backbone capable of collecting and sending a mix of analog and digital signals to the most popular Industrial Ethernet networks using modules with 16 digital inputs, 16 digital outputs, 8 inputs and 8 digital outputs, 4 analog inputs and 4 analog outputs.

Finally, JSON can be used to integrate data generated by IO-Link devices into larger systems, such as IoT platforms or web applications that need data in standard, high-level interoperable formats.

The following is a summary of the main features of the IO-Link Master Fastus UR modules produced by Optex FA and distributed in Italy by EFA Automazione:

• 1. Number of channels: 16 (highest currently available)

• 2. Simultaneous management of IO-Link points, digital I/O (PNP and NPN), and analog I/O

• 3. Minimum cycle time: 0.3 ms (currently the fastest)

• 4. Network interfaces: Modbus TCP, Ethernet/IP, Profinet, EtherCAT, CC-Link Field Basic

• 5. Ultra-compact dimensions: 110 x 63 x 45 mm (about half of the solutions on the market)

• 6. Availability of a dedicated input for fast counting (up to 250 kHz)

• 7. Multi-language support, including English

• 8. Automatic backup/restore function for plug-and-play replacement of IO-Link devices

• 9. Automatic reading of IODD files

• 10. Wide range of IO-Link hub modules (digital and analog I/O).

CAPTIONS:

• 1. In just 110 x 63 x 45 mm, the Optex FA UR series Fastus IO-Link modules, distributed in Italy by EFA Automazione (Relatech group), have 16 channels.

• 2. The Fastus UR series also features hubs to transparently manage PNP/NPN and analog digital signal mixes.

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Relatech (ticker RLT ISIN IT0005433740), Digital Enabler Solution Know-how (DESK) Company listed on the Euronext Growth Milan market since June 2019, has been active for over twenty years in Digital Enabler frontier technologies, such as Cloud, Cybersecurity, IoT, Big Data, Blockchain, Machine Learning. Relatech is the reference partner for the Digital Innovation of companies and is at the head of a group of companies highly specialized in Digital Enabler Technologies united by the common mission of supporting customers in the digital transformation process. Relatech constantly invests in Open Innovation with intense R&D activities carried out by internal hubs in collaboration with universities and national research centers. Thanks to the RePlatform digital platform and the know-how deriving from the ecosystem of scientific and technological partners, Relatech develops digital services and solutions capable of innovating the business model of its customers, ensuring sustainable business growth for all those companies that see the digital innovation process as the key to current and future success.

EFA Automazione SpA,part of the Relatech group, has been operating for 30 years in the field of industrial automation with products, solutions and know-how dedicated to the world of connectivity for system integration. An absolute forerunner of some of the issues that permeate the current 4.0 scenario, EFA Automazione has anticipated many technological trends, including that of IoT, which is currently riding as a protagonist by offering cutting-edge solutions in the use of the cloud and wireless communication in all its architectural forms. EFA Automazione is a unique reality in the national industrial landscape, able to offer a strategic advantage to all stakeholders of the ecosystem of which it is part: customers, system integrators, partners and suppliers. The synergy with Relatech makes EFA Automazione a hub equipped with 360-degree skills, technologies and assets in the field of IT/OT convergence, through which companies - both SMEs and large - can access the most advanced digital technologies to solve all the needs of connectivity, collection, analysis and protection of data and machines in order to increase their margins and compete better and better on their outlet markets.

Press Contacts

Relatech S.p.A. - Communication Office

Rossella Caiazzo |[e-mail] | T: [phone] | Viale Ercole Marelli, 165 - 20099 Sesto San Giovanni (MI)

EFA Automazione S.p.A. - Communication Office

Alice Andrighetti - Italia |[e-mail] | T: [phone] | Via Isola Guarnieri, 13 - 20063 Cernusco sul Naviglio (MI)

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