SUCCESS STORY
Securely networked: MS Ultraschall Technologie GmbH networks machines with WALL IE
As a globally active machine builder, MS Ultraschall Technologie GmbH is confronted day after day with the requirement to integrate machine networks securely into higher-level production networks.
With a combination of industrial NAT/gateway and firewall, a reliable and practical solution was found for this task. Despite uncomplicated integration and commissioning, they offer a flexible range of functions for networking and protection.
Ultrasound effortlessly melts thermoplastics by means of high-frequency vibrations, thus ensuring a very strong bond between the joining partners in a short time. For good reason, many automotive suppliers and other plastics processors around the world rely on this process. One supplier in this field is MS Ultraschall Technologie. Around 350 special and series machines leave their production facilities every year.
Industrial Ethernet and cybersecurity
The triumph of Industrial Ethernet, specifically the change from Profibus to Profinet, naturally does not stop at this machine manufacturer. In recent years, more and more customers have requested that the machines or their communication networks be integrated into a higher-level production network. Technically, this sounds feasible at first: The machine network, i.e. the network of an automation cell with one or more machines, is to be regarded as a local area network (LAN), the production or company network as a wide area network (WAN). From the point of view of the absolutely necessary cybersecurity, however, the situation is much more complex. In order to effectively protect control systems and automation networks against external attacks, the machine network must be securely integrated into or separated from the higher-level production network.
