Automation & IIoT

IO-Link Masters: Enabling Sensors and Devices to Communicate Through Software

Feb. 10, 2025

Presenters at MD&M West highlight the advantages of IO-Link, a manufacturer-independent digital communication protocol/interface, while introducing a software solution.

Rehana Begg

Related To: Baumer

The Design Alley educational program at MD&M West 2025 was organized around prototypes, software and testing and measurement equipment. For their part, presenters Mauricio Lugo and Steffen Schneider elected to focus on “Harnessing the Power of IO-Link.”

Sponsored by Baumer, a manufacturer of sensors, encoders, measurement instruments and automated imaging components, their presentation was curated for designers and engineers.

What Tangible Benefits Does IO-Link Offer?

Focusing on the tangible benefits plants can expect from implementing IO-Link, Lugo and Schneider emphasized that the advantages—standardized wiring, enhanced data availability and advanced diagnostics—have an impact across different production stages, from the engineering process through operations. IO-Link is a manufacturer-independent digital communication protocol/interface and manufacturers can benefit through cost and time savings, they said.

The pair highlighted a use case from Swiss machine manufacturer Aerne Engineering. They explained how the automation specialist relies on smart sensors to accelerate design and commissioning, and how they use IO-Link and software to tie their systems together. A video of the Aerne case history can be viewed below:

Lugo and Schneider also introduced attendees to Baumer’s Sensor Suite of software, which allows plants to parametrize, monitor and evaluate IO-Link devices.

Insights from Sensor Technology Experts

Leading up to their presentation, Machine Design reached out to Lugo and Schneider to glean further insight into their sensor technology. They responded jointly via email to our queries (answers edited for clarity).

The Experts Behind the Insights:

Mauricio Lugo, director of sales – Western Region, Baumer, has more than 20 years of experience in the industrial automation industry. He joined Baumer seven years ago, where he specializes in solving sensor applications for customers, particularly focusing on medical and lab automation.
Steffen Schneider, a business development manager at Baumer’s headquarters in Switzerland, is a technical sensor expert with more than 10 years of experience in industrial automation and has worked as a product manager for sensors and measurement electronics with digital interface for five years. He has a special emphasis on laboratory automation and material handling.

Machine Design: At a high level (consider this your elevator pitch on IO-Link), what is the relationship between this connection technology and sensors and actuators?

Mauricio Lugo & Steffen Schneider: Baumer sensors offer the best and most reliable sensor functions. With the IO-Link technology, the functions integrated directly in the sensor can be easily parameterized. Sensors are immediately ready to use and optimally adjusted to the respective application.

IO-Link also makes it possible to transmit a wide range of additional information directly from the sensor to the OT world or IT world, making for more effective systems—your gateway to the digital factory.

MD: What are the biggest advantages?

ML & SS:

Easy commissioning & fast sensor exchange
Diagnostic data for condition monitoring for optimized processes
Loss-free transmission of measured values thanks to digital communication
More sensor information for reliable control of systems & machines
Precise parameterization of sensor functions
Efficient engineering thanks to PC-based sensor tools

MD: Standardization is a big topic when it comes to IO-Link. Are there any updates or specifics we should communicate to our audiences?

ML & SS: On the IO-Link device front, we saw only minor spec updates with the latest standard V1.1.3. However, we are seeing a giant leap forward in the performance of IO-Link Masters. The new generation masters deliver way more energy and can now power modules with up to 4 Amps via Class A and B combined.

Their cycle time is also tenfold from the last generation, removing one of the biggest bottlenecks IO-Link had in the past: speed. With this new master generation IO-Link applications are just as fast as reading switched signals from a DIO card right in the PLC.

In addition, newer masters support all state-of-the-art IIoT protocols, such as OPC-UA, MQTT and JSON, allowing valuable sensor data to be used by higher level systems. This allows maintenance to switch from fixed-service cycles to demand-based servicing for example or makes fully automatic AI assisted leak detection in the air pressure system possible.

MD: Which specific products is Baumer showcasing at the booth?

ML & SS: We are showing different sensors with IO-link, including our awarded Baumer Sensor Suite software, together with the Baumer USB-C IO-link master for easy parametrization and the UF200 Sensor, our newest ultrasonic product.

Editor’s note: For more show coverage, be sure to check out our MD&M West 2025 content hub.

About the Author

Rehana Begg | Editor-in-Chief, Machine Design

As Machine Design’s content lead, Rehana Begg is tasked with elevating the voice of the design and multi-disciplinary engineer in the face of digital transformation and engineering innovation. Begg has more than 24 years of editorial experience and has spent the past decade in the trenches of industrial manufacturing, focusing on new technologies, manufacturing innovation and business. Her B2B career has taken her from corporate boardrooms to plant floors and underground mining stopes, covering everything from automation & IIoT, robotics, mechanical design and additive manufacturing to plant operations, maintenance, reliability and continuous improvement. Begg holds an MBA, a Master of Journalism degree, and a BA (Hons.) in Political Science. She is committed to lifelong learning and feeds her passion for innovation in publishing, transparent science and clear communication by attending relevant conferences and seminars/workshops.

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