Mitsubishi Electric's CC-Link IE TSN puts real-time control and IT data on one network

Mitsubishi Electric builds CC-Link IE TSN, an open industrial Ethernet network embedded across its MELSEC programmable controller lineup, to let real-time machine control and IT-level data traffic share the same standard Ethernet cable. The network applies Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), the IEEE-defined standard for deterministic messaging on Ethernet, to TCP/IP communications. That combination lets control commands and background data requests coexist on one wire, something conventional industrial Ethernet can't do, according to Mitsubishi Electric.

CC-Link IE TSN folds three earlier Mitsubishi network technologies into one: the diagnostics of CC-Link IE Field Network, the large-capacity data handling of CC-Link IE Control Network, and the motion-control performance of SSCNET. Two IEEE TSN standards keep the timing deterministic. IEEE 802.1AS synchronizes the clock across every device on the network, and IEEE 802.1Qbv schedules which traffic gets the wire and when, so a motion command isn't stuck waiting behind a data upload.

That scheduling detail matters on the shop floor. A vision sensor or CMM streaming inspection data upstream for predictive maintenance doesn't have to compete for bandwidth with the motion commands running a robot cell on the same network segment, since TSN reserves timing slots for each.

The network also builds in setup and diagnostic tools meant to cut commissioning time. It can automatically generate system architecture and parameters, and it time-stamps network event errors so a technician can trace the actual cause of a fault instead of testing components one by one. CC-Link IE TSN supports third-party diagnostic software for troubleshooting connected devices, including standard Ethernet equipment already on a line.

Mitsubishi Electric designed the network for integration rather than a closed architecture. It accepts third-party networks and standard Ethernet devices, such as vision sensors and wireless routers, and supports multiple topology options to scale from a single production cell to a full plant network.