Christoph Schmermund

IO-Link to MQTT: Connecting Sensor Data Without Touching the Controller

The conventional route runs through the controller: anyone who needs one extra data point has to touch the control program, test it and have it signed off, sometimes with the plant down. Schmermund calls this the effort customers underestimate most often. TAS Edge takes the data straight from the IO-Link masters instead, running alongside the control program and collecting data even when no controller is present. Configuration happens in a web browser, data points are picked with checkboxes, and MQTT carries them onwards. Rose puts numbers on it: more than a week to connect through CODESYS, two hours with TAS Edge at a trade fair. The conversation also covers TAS Desktop, the free device management tool: configuration, firmware updates and reports for factory acceptance tests. Both guests name simplicity as their key learning – the real hurdle was not the technology but convincing their own sales team. Key takeaways The underestimated effort is not the initial setup but every extra data point, with its testing, sign-off and downtime. TAS Edge runs alongside the control program and needs no controller to collect data and forward it via MQTT. Configuring it takes no MQTT knowledge: data points are picked with checkboxes, a certificate handles secure transmission. TAS Desktop documents sensor configuration across all devices and exposes swapped connections before commissioning. At field level the solution is vendor-neutral: IO-Link devices from any manufacturer work, provided they run through a Turck master.