ifm automation technology

Industrial Sensors, IO-Link & Machine Diagnostics

Industrial sensing and connected-machine technologies for position, flow, pressure, level, temperature, condition monitoring, IO-Link, machine vision, identification, safety sensing, utility monitoring and rugged mobile automation.

Primionics is an authorized ifm distributor, providing product selection, application engineering and commercial support for the ifm portfolio.

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Selection basisApplication & environment

Field technologySensing · vision · safety

ConnectivityIO-Link & industrial networks

Engineering outputControl + diagnostic information

Application-led selection

Industrial Sensing and Connected-Machine Solution Areas

The sensing principle, target or medium, measurement range, mounting, interface, environmental conditions and control architecture determine the appropriate ifm technology family.

01 · Process monitoring

Flow, Pressure, Level & Temperature

Measurement technologies for liquids, gases, tanks and machine processes, selected by medium, range, process connection and interface.

Process monitoring → 02 · Machine automation

Position & Object Detection

Inductive, capacitive, optical, ultrasonic, magnetic and encoder technologies for presence, position, distance and rotation.

Position sensing → 03 · Machine diagnostics

Condition Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance

Vibration and machine-condition technologies for motors, pumps, gearboxes, spindles, fans and rotating equipment.

Condition monitoring → 04 · Industrial connectivity

IO-Link & Smart Factory Connectivity

Sensor and actuator connectivity that carries process values, parameters and diagnostics to defined control and information systems.

IO-Link architecture → 05 · Vision & identification

Machine Vision & Industrial Identification

2D vision, code reading, 3D sensing and RFID for inspection, identification, positioning and measurement.

Vision & identification → 06 · Safety sensing

Machine Safety Sensors & Protection

Safety sensing for access, position monitoring and non-contact personnel protection within the appropriate safety architecture.

Safety sensing → 07 · Plant utilities

Energy & Utility Monitoring

Compressed-air, industrial-gas, water and related process variables for consumption, leakage and plant-resource transparency.

Utility monitoring → 08 · Mobile automation

Mobile Machine Control & Rugged Automation

Controllers, displays, I/O and rugged sensing for off-highway and demanding mobile-machine applications.

Mobile automation →

System architecture

Machine-Control and Information Paths

Deterministic control and diagnostic/information data have different responsibilities. Both paths should be defined before selecting sensors, IO-Link masters and higher-level software.

01 · Requirement

Machine / process

Target, medium, measurement, diagnostic or safety function.

02 · Field layer

Sensor or system

Position, process, condition, vision, identification or safety technology.

03 · Interface

Field connectivity

Digital, analogue, IO-Link, industrial Ethernet or safe I/O where applicable.

04 · Control

PLC / controller

Machine, process, mobile or safety control according to the application.

05 · Function

Machine response

Control, monitoring, diagnostics, maintenance or safety response.

Parallel information pathSensor / IO-Link data→PLC / IO-Link master / edge→moneo / SCADA / MES / analytics

Architecture boundary: cloud and analytics remain outside the deterministic machine-control loop. IO-Link is point-to-point device communication and does not replace the controller fieldbus.

Technology portfolio

Eight ifm Technology Areas

Each route provides selection guidance, system architecture, representative product families, application context and integration requirements.

Process monitoring

01 · Process monitoringFlow, Pressure, Level & Temperature

SM · SI · SA · SD · PN · PI · LK · LMT · TN · TA

Open technology area →

Position sensing

02 · Machine automationPosition & Object Detection

Inductive · capacitive · optical · ultrasonic · magnetic · encoders

Open technology area →

Machine diagnostics

03 · Machine diagnosticsCondition Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance

VVB · VTV · VSE · oil condition · moneo

Open technology area →

Industrial connectivity

04 · Industrial connectivityIO-Link & Smart Factory Connectivity

Masters · hubs · modules · control and information paths

Open technology area →

Vision & identification

05 · Vision & identificationMachine Vision & Industrial Identification

O2D · O2I · O3D · O3R · RFID

Open technology area →

Safety sensing

06 · Safety sensingMachine Safety Sensors & Protection

Fail-safe sensing · light curtains · safety switches · safe field I/O

Open technology area →

Representative ifm utility monitoring device

Plant utilities

07 · Plant utilitiesEnergy & Utility Monitoring

Compressed air · gases · water · pressure · temperature

Open technology area →

Mobile automation

08 · Mobile automationMobile Machine Control & Rugged Automation

ecomatController · ecomatDisplay · mobile I/O · rugged sensing

Open technology area →

IO-Link architecture

IO-Link Control and Information Architecture

Master family, controller network, port class, power, installation and supported IIoT services are selected from the exact system architecture rather than assumed across the complete portfolio.

Machine-control path

ifm sensor / actuator↓IO-Link↓ifm IO-Link master↓Industrial network↓PLC / controller

Parallel information path where supported

IO-Link master↓Documented IIoT interface↓moneo / SCADA / MES / higher-level application

IO-Link Architecture IO-Link Master Families

Representative applications

Industrial Applications Across the ifm Portfolio

Application examples illustrate the engineering route; final sensor selection remains dependent on the exact medium, target, range, geometry, response time and environmental conditions.

Machine Coolant Monitoring

Flow, pressure and temperature selected for coolant properties, piping and machine requirements.

Hydraulic & Pneumatic Pressure

Pressure sensing matched to range, process connection, output and dynamic behaviour.

Tank Level & Point-Level Detection

Continuous measurement and switching functions treated as separate selection tasks.

Motor & Pump Condition Monitoring

Vibration and diagnostic depth selected for the asset and maintenance strategy.

Machine Position & Object Detection

Sensing principle selected from material, distance, geometry and environmental constraints.

IO-Link Machine Digitalisation

Control values, parameters and diagnostics routed to their defined consumers.

Automated Vision Inspection

Inspection, code reading, 3D measurement and perception handled as distinct vision tasks.

Compressed-Air Consumption Monitoring

Consumption measurement and leakage investigation based on supported gas and installation conditions.

Engineering selection

Sensor and Connectivity Selection Criteria

A complete application description reduces model-selection errors and makes product, accessory and IO-Link architecture recommendations more reliable.

Measurement or detection functionDetection, measurement, monitoring, identification, condition diagnostics or safety function.

Medium or targetMaterial, fluid, gas, conductivity, surface, colour, size and compatibility.

Operating rangeRange, resolution, accuracy, repeatability, overload and expected process variation.

Mechanical integrationProcess connection, housing, mounting, insertion, pipe/tank geometry and accessories.

Detection geometrySensing distance, blind zone, target approach, optics, working distance or field of view.

Electrical interfaceSwitching, analogue, pulse, encoder, IO-Link, industrial Ethernet or safe interface.

IO-Link data scopeProcess values, parameters, event data, diagnostic information and required master/network architecture.

EnvironmentTemperature, ingress, washdown, shock, vibration, EMC, pressure and material requirements.

Dynamic performanceResponse time and update behaviour related to process dynamics, machine cycle and safety timing.

LifecycleCurrent availability and successor status verified by exact order number before replacement or standardisation.

Existing ifm part-number reviewProvide the exact part number and application so functional equivalence can be checked before proposing a successor.

New application selectionProvide the medium/target, range, connection, output, IO-Link requirement, environment and quantity.

Architecture reviewProvide the PLC/network, IO-Link master requirement, information-system destination and commissioning constraints.

ifm product families

Every ifm family covered on this site, for direct navigation when the required technology is already known.