Complete Guide to Inline Automation Terminal System

Analog input/output terminals are sensitive to temperature changes and have low internal power consumption. They should be arranged after all high-power digital quantity terminals and located at the end of the main circuit. This can minimize the impact of temperature rise caused by high current on the accuracy of analog signals to the greatest extent possible.

Special module: Terminals with remote bus branches must be located immediately after the bus coupler or another remote bus branch terminal. The position of the safety module determines the range of subsequent safety related segmented circuits.

Diagnosis and status indication

The intuitive diagnostic function is a major highlight of the Inline system. Each terminal is equipped with LED indicator lights for quick fault location.

D LED (green): Global diagnostic indicator light. Its flashing frequency can indicate different states: constant light indicates normal data exchange; Slow flashing (0.5Hz) indicates the presence of communication power but no data exchange; Flash (4Hz) indicates poor contact or malfunction of the local bus interface between adjacent terminals, which is a key clue for troubleshooting physical connection issues.

UM/US LED (green): Indicates the presence of power supply for both the main circuit and the segmented circuit.

I/O LED (yellow): The yellow LED corresponding to each channel intuitively displays the input/output logic status of that channel.

E LED (red): Commonly seen in power terminals with fuses or I/O terminals with extended diagnostic functions. For example, on a power terminal with a fuse, if the UM LED lights up and the E LED also lights up, it clearly indicates that the fuse has blown.

Special Applications and Scalability

1. Application in explosion-proof areas (Ex i)

The Inline series provides intrinsically safe terminals (EX-IS) that allow I/O signals to be introduced into hazardous areas (Zone 1/Zone 0). Building an intrinsic safety station requires dedicated power terminals (IB IL EX-IS PWR IN-PAC) and isolation terminals (IB IL EX PWR-ISO-PAC) to ensure that energy from non intrinsic safety circuits does not enter hazardous areas. It should be noted that the effectiveness of ATEX certification is closely related to the production date of the product, and the latest compliance information must be checked during engineering design.

2. Security module

The system supports two security integration methods:

Traditional safety module (such as IB IL SAFE 2-ECO): This module is independent of the bus and directly cuts off the power supply of the subsequent segmented circuit by monitoring external safety circuits (such as emergency stop buttons) to achieve safe shutdown.

Based on security protocols such as SafetyBridge and PROFIsafe: These security modules exchange data with the security controller through a standard bus. Secure communication and standard communication are transmitted on the same cable, achieving a fully integrated security solution from the controller to the actuator.

3. Remote bus expansion and branching

Through dedicated branch terminals (such as IB IL 24 FLM-PAC), the Inline system can not only serve as a local I/O station, but also expand the connection to fieldbus modules with protection levels up to IP65/67 (such as Fieldline Modular), or achieve long-distance (cross row) hopping between stations through RS-422 protocol, greatly enhancing the flexibility of system layout.