Fiber optic LANs for the manufacturing environment

The physical layer requirements for local area networks (LANs) that satisfy the set of environmental requirements unique to factory automation applications are discussed. In many cases these requirements are best met with fiber-optic LANs compatible with the IEEE 802.3 (CSMA/CD) or 802.4 (token bus) network standards. Implementation of a passive fiber-optic star-coupler-based LAN is presented in terms of two simple fiber-optic system design rules. A number of applications of the passive star-coupler-technology LAN are briefly described to highlight the benefits of fiber optics as a data communication medium