ENG_673755.XML
P_PCS7_XX_00507
Smart field distributor – SIMATIC Compact Field Unit
Digitalization is an important catalyst for the process industry. The system solution was therefore expanded with special high-performance and compact hardware products that support PROFINET – the world's leading Industrial Ethernet standard – and create more freedom for the plant planning and operation.
With the new SIMATIC Compact Field Unit (CFU), we reinterpret the conventional approach to the field device connection. You benefit from greater flexibility and easier handling coupled with maximum availability. In this way, you can efficiently transfer your familiar plant concept to the digital world.
Today's challenges in field device connection
- High overheads for device integration and replacement
- Complicated, error-prone wiring and routing over several levels, making the hardware FAT very complex
- Very long copper cables and numerous terminal points in the field
- Multiple individual control cabinets
- Large numbers of different components and protocols necessitate costly spare parts inventories and training sessions
- High planning and documentation costs
SIMATIC CFU – The answer to these requirements
Functional description
G_PCS7_XX_00972
The SIMATIC Compact Field Unit (CFU) is changing the existing rules for field device connection and is opening up completely new perspectives in terms of simplicity and flexibility. The compact field distributor is installed at the process level and is connected via PROFINET directly to the process control system to form the foundation for digitalization in the field. Utilization of digital fieldbus communication simplifies device interfacing considerably compared to conventional 4 - 20 mA engineering.
Greater flexibility thanks to consistent distributed installation
Thanks to the distributed installation of the SIMATIC CFU, classic control cabinets are no longer required and you can make considerable savings from the cabling and the number of terminal points required as well as from reduced planning and documentation overhead. The high granularity (16 I/O per SIMATIC CFU) enables flexible assignment to the higher-level controllers.
