Decentralized Plug-and-Play

A strong trend in factory design is to place the controls at or near the sensors, cameras, gearboxes, robots and other machines in a line. The idea is that by decentralizing the control mechanism, manufacturers can realize significant cost savings, simplified commissioning and greater ease of maintenance.

“We’re enabling people to wire and connect their machines with less effort and less time,” says Craig Fox, VP Product Innovation for Murrelektronik, a company that specializes in plug-and-play components for the interconnected factory.

“Build times are getting shorter and shorter,” Fox says. “The customer wants their building up and running as soon as possible.”

In contrast to conventional installations, where each signal is wired individually, Murrelektronik relies on decentralized installation technology,” Fox says. This means the control technology is placed directly at the machine, and the connection to the control cabinet includes only two cables: one for power and one for data, greatly improving flexibility.

Applications for this type of decentralized control technology extend to machine vision, safety, robotics and much more, Fox says.

At the recently held MODEX 2026 exhibition, Murrelektronik showcased its MVK Fusion CIP Safety module. This hybrid I/O device is designed specifically for Ethernet/IP applications that use the Common Industrial Protocol Safety (CIP Safety) standard.

CIP Safety is a certified extension of the widely used CIP protocol (IEC 61508) that enables the safe transmission of data in real time—without the need for separate safety networks. The new MVK Fusion CIP Safety device supports this functionality, helping engineers easily integrate safety into both new and existing Ethernet/IP systems.

The device features robust M12 L-coded power connectors that offer a high current capacity in a compact form factor—ideal for space-constrained installations. Designed for use in harsh environments, the MVK Fusion CIP Safety is IP67-rated and features a fully encapsulated metal housing, resistant to shock, vibration, and temperatures from -22°F to +140°F (-30°C to +60°C).

Configuration is handled directly through the controller’s engineering software—no external tools are needed to transfer the Safety Network Number (SNN) or device settings, minimizing setup time and reducing errors.

When it comes to safety systems, simplicity and clarity are extremely important to success, Fox says. In fact, even something as simple as color-coded cables can go a long way toward providing that necessary clarity. Murrelektronic safety cables use a bold red color on the cable jacket for safety visualization, and the I/O ports on the MVK Fusion are also color-coded to match.

Another key concept, Fox says, is keeping plug-and-play components as universal as possible.
“Our components are PLC-agnostic. They play well with all other controller manufacturers.”

All of this fits well with Murrelektronik’s corporate philosophy of providing standardized components for fast and simple system setup, Fox says. But the key comes back to getting the controls out of the cabinet.

“The more you move away from the cabinet, using field-mounted controls, the more plug-and-play you can make the system,” Fox says.