Modular All the Way

Control Modular All the Way

2025-05-12 From Przemysław Joachimiak* | Translated by AI 5 min Reading Time

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For a Tier 1 automotive supplier in Poland, Smart Automation developed a modular, decentrally controlled production line—using the Turck portfolio, from sensors to multiprotocol I/O modules, connection technologies, LED lights to RFID.

Turck's Ethernet multiprotocol I/O modules ensure efficient data communication along the system.(Image: Turck) — Turck's Ethernet multiprotocol I/O modules ensure efficient data communication along the system.
(Image: Turck)

Przemysław Joachimiak is a sales engineer at Turck Poland

Modern production facilities for industry require increasingly flexible solutions. Whether it's changing production volumes, dynamic demands on the shape and size of the parts to be produced, or the need for quick conversion to a new product, manufacturers in many industries face the task of efficiently meeting these new challenges. These requirements also lead to a shift in thinking among machine builders. For a long time, hierarchically structured machines with central control were the state of the art; today, many tasks can often be realized much more efficiently with modular machine and plant concepts, whose modules are controlled decentrally.

As a specialist in the automation of industrial processes, the Polish system integrator Smart Automation has many years of experience in various industries, including furniture, food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and automotive sectors. The company, based in Olsztyn, Poland, relies on Industry 4.0 technologies for its customized solutions.

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With their compact design, the TBEN-RFID interfaces can be mounted almost anywhere without difficulty.(Image: Turck)

Przemysław Joachimiak is a sales engineer at Turck Poland.(Image: Turck)

The extensive production line of the supplier is modular and can be flexibly adapted to future requirements.(Image: Turck)

WLS27 LED strip lights display the status of a module in color.(Image: Turck)

Gallery with 6 images

For a Tier 1 automotive supplier, Smart Automation has developed a production line for valve covers based on modular machines and decentralized control. This modular concept enables more flexible and efficient production, allowing for a quicker response to changing market conditions and customer needs.

Modularity on Multiple Levels

The development of the modular production line was a particular challenge, due to the customer's requirements for flexibility on one hand and because of its size on the other. Smart Automation had never before designed and implemented a production line of such dimensions.

The line combines modules for numerous tasks, including UV laser marking of data matrix codes for traceability, inductive heating, assembly and measurement of aluminum inserts, as well as robot-based deionization and cleaning of the surface for the rubber seal. In addition, numerous measurements and leak tests had to be performed, ranging from diameter and roundness to leakage, flow, and pressure drop tests.

Workstations from Three Sub-Modules

Each workstation consists of three sub-modules for transport, process, and construction. With the modular structure of the workstations, Smart Automation was able to achieve standardization at the design, assembly, and programming levels, which significantly eases any changes during the later machine lifecycle.

Assembly cells like these can be secured efficiently and reliably with Turck's Safe Link modules. (Image:Turck)

To implement this highly flexible line, the system integrator chose Turck as an automation partner. "Turck was already involved in the concept phase of the project," recalls Cezary Zakrzewski, sales manager at Smart Automation. "This helped us to discuss the optimal solution with the customer and facilitated the subsequent phases of project preparation."

Standardized Device Integration

A key requirement for the production line was the use of different Ethernet protocols. With their Ethernet multiprotocol functionality, Turck's I/O modules from the BL67 and TBEN series were therefore the ideal solution for this project. They combine the three Ethernet protocols Modbus TCP, Ethernet/IP, and Profinet in one device and can operate automatically in each of the three networks. This effectively reduced the variety of device variants needed. Additionally, the identical planning of machine and plant parts with different Ethernet protocols allows for standardization in the integration of devices with different communication standards, enabling future reconfiguration of the plant with minimal effort.

Additionally, the Turck I/O modules used in the line support the decentralized control approach with their on-board logic ARGEE. This "Field Logic Controller" functionality can handle small to medium control tasks without burdening the central controller. For example, no program adjustment in the central controller is necessary when the I/O modules are changed or replaced, and the individual modules can be tested independently beforehand. This significantly supports the modular machine construction principle, as Zakrzewski confirms: "Through collaboration with Turck, we achieved a high modularity of the entire production line. This enables us to easily redesign the process when needed."

Flexible Process Monitoring With RFID

For complete monitoring of the manufacturing process, Smart Automation has implemented an RFID-based tracking system in which the TBEN-S-RFID interface and HF readers from Turck play a central role. All parameters and measurements of the manufacturing process are recorded for each individual part and stored in a database on a server and in the cloud. This solution allows for a flexible design of the manufacturing process, enabling individual steps to be skipped or certain elements to be reworked at any time.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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In the area of inductive sensors, the company has chosen Turck's Uprox series. As factor 1 sensors, the Uprox devices detect all metals reliably and with the same switching distance, enabling standardization in sensor selection—another advantage in machine construction. The uniform use of these sensors leads to easier integration into the system, as different distances and target materials do not need to be considered. Installation and maintenance are also less complex. This makes the production of the system more efficient.

Production at a Glance With LED Technology

In such an extensive project, it is very important to display the current status at the different production stages. The company opted for the programmable WLS27 LED strip lights from Turck's optosensorics partner Banner Engineering to indicate the respective status of the machine in the individual modules through different colors. K50 illuminated actuators were used for intuitive communication with the user.

Another challenge with the complexity of this line was the connectivity technology. But Smart Automation also found a solution for this in Turck's extensive connectivity portfolio. During the planning phase, pre-assembled cables in various lengths were selected, and passive hubs were used as needed. This approach not only eliminated connection errors from the outset but also significantly accelerated the assembly and commissioning of the individual modules.

In view of the increasing production demands in the automotive industry, the combination of modular machine construction and decentralized control offers numerous advantages. Thanks to the solutions used, the number of operators could be reduced, wiring effort decreased, and assembly work accelerated, which would not have been possible with traditional central control technology. Additionally, the modular concept increases plant availability, as only the faulty module needs to be replaced in case of a failure. Ultimately, the modular design provides simple expansion possibilities for the plant to meet future requirements. This increases flexibility and ensures long-term cost efficiency.

"It was very important to us that manual operations can be easily automated if the customer requires it at a later time," says Zakrzewski. "The wide Turck portfolio enables easy handling of various signals, from digital and analog standard signals to RFID, which were used both for operator logging and process tracking. Through collaboration with Turck, we were able to achieve a high level of modularity across the entire line."