NetSilicon provides FOUNDATION Fieldbus interface to Foxboro

Waltham, Mass. – Increasing user benefits and product reliability, the Foxboro Co. (an Invensys company), a developer of real-time industrial automation systems, selected NetSilicon’s NET+Works to supply Ethernet connectivity to an enhanced network interface for Foxboro’s I/A Series intelligent automation systems. NetSilicon provides an integrated solution of tightly coupled processing hardware and networking software to connect intelligent devices in virtually any industry to a LAN, WAN or the Internet.

‘Foxboro is one of the most trusted, recognizable names in industrial automation, and the I/A Series of automation systems one of the most widely deployed across a variety of stalwart industries,’ said Cornelius ‘Pete’ Peterson, chairman and ceo, NetSilicon. ‘Building NET+Works into Foxboro’s FOUNDATION Fieldbus interface means that Foxboro customers will save valuable time and have even greater flexibility in connecting industrial field devices to their automation networks, increasing the value of an investment in Foxboro equipment.’

NetSilicon’s NET+Works integrated ‘solution-on-chip’ has been interfaced with Foxboro’s FOUNDATION Fieldbus, an all-digital, bi-directional communications protocol designed for industrial control applications. Fieldbus Modules are located in the field – reducing distance from the process and field wiring requirements – demonstrating the dependability of NET+Works in providing the integral network interface. The combination of NET+Works’ fully integrated hardware and software with Foxboro’s open, flexible FOUNDATION Fieldbus architecture extends the operational cost-saving benefits of the I/A Series by allowing the I/A Series to be deployed into common Ethernet and existing network infrastructures.

‘We needed a networking solution we could trust, one that was reliable and had the necessary support to allow our design engineers to concentrate on the design specifications of our I/A Series, rather than on integrating multi-vendor products,’ said Kevin Fitzgerald, vice president of IA Systems Development, Foxboro/Invensys. ‘NetSilicon’s NET+Works reduced our time-to-market while limiting design risks and cost, and provides the secure network connection that is vital to the functionality of our product.’

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