Media Converters
Media converters connect various transfer media, such as copper cables and fibre-optic cables. Fibre-optic cables are capable of transferring data over distances of several kilometres and reduce the failure susceptibility in EMC-critical environments.
Serial Media Converters
In industrial environments, data is still transmitted via serial interfaces (RS-232/485). If the achievable cable lengths of about 10-15m (RS-232) or up to 1000m (RS-485) are not sufficient when using copper cables, fibre optic cables (LWL) are used. This allows distances of several kilometres to be bridged when using media converters in pairs.
Ethernet Media Converters
With Ethernet media converters, a network can be built using fibre optic cables instead of copper cables. This has 2 advantages: a) the maximum Ethernet cable length is increased from 100m to 2km or more and b) the transmission lines are immune to EMC interference.
CANbus Media Converters
With CANbus media converters, a CANbus network can be routed via fibre optic cables instead of copper cables. The most common reason for using fibre optics instead of copper is to avoid EMC and similar electrical interference on the CANbus lines, which is not uncommon with "heavy equipment".
PROFIBUS fibre optic converters
PROFIBUS fibre optic converters are used to transmit PROFIBUS signals via fibre optic cables instead of copper cables. They are particularly suitable for use in EMC-critical environments.
EtherCAT fibre optic converters
EtherCAT fibre optic converters enable EtherCAT connections to be established via fibre optic cables instead of copper cables.