VEGA member of the Single Pair Ethernet Alliance
Partnership in the future of automation to offer customers the best possible digital networking and simple integration into digital infrastructures
Today, more process data is available to industry than ever before. This brings many advantages, because digital networking makes production processes more transparent and scalable. To be able to offer customers the best possible networking as well as simple integration into digital infrastructures, instrumentation manufacturer VEGA is now participating in the Single Pair Ethernet Alliance.
Single Pair Ethernet
In the process industry, the networking of machines and production systems in the sense of Industry 4.0 is in full swing. A situation that has made it clear that data transfer must start to move in a new direction. That’s why VEGA, the global manufacturer of level and pressure measurement technology, has been involved in the SPE Alliance, an association of leading technology companies, since the end of 2024: founded in 2020 with the stated goal of creating a standardised, seamless network architecture based on Single Pair Ethernet, or SPE for short. Customers can rely on the extensive compatibility that the members of the SPE System Alliance ensure with their solutions. These are designed to help keep pace with the massive growth of data in the future and ensure better data analysis.
As simple as possible
“In the future, it will no longer be enough to just offer the best sensors. These will only be of value if they can be seamlessly integrated into a wide range of technological areas,” says Philipp Ketterer, VEGA product manager, summarising the reasons for the partnership with the SPE Alliance. Since manufacturing processes are becoming more and more complex, simplicity is the most important thing to keep in mind: “Our aim is to remove hurdles and make our customers’ work as easy as possible,” he explains.
Future proof and cost effective
In increasingly complex process environments, the key advantages of SPE become critically important: First and foremost, the high speed at which huge amounts of data can be transferred to the field level. Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) transmits process data over Ethernet using a two-wire cable, achieving transfer rates of 10 Mb/s to 1 Gbit/s. With its simple wiring and high level of connectivity, SPE can not only simplify setup and commissioning, but also make it significantly less costly.
They complement each other perfectly: APL and SPE
VEGA is also heavily involved with new APL Ethernet solutions, where especially demanding areas and Ex environments play an important role. “On the other hand, I see SPE as the ideal solution for areas that can do with more compact solutions.” Ketterer emphasises that, in this sense, the two Ethernet technologies “complement each other perfectly.”
