Balluff's new IO-Link inductive coupler, with its small compact IP67 housing, is the industry's first compact inductive coupler to offer 32 bytes of bi-directional data transfer over a standard 4-pole M12 sensor cable.

Florence, KY December 15, 2015 -- Balluff is pleased to announce the expansion of its IO-Link enabled Inductive Coupling product family to include bi-directional IO-Link communication. The Balluff inductive coupling solution enables transfer of power and data over a small air gap - making it ideally suited in the industrial space, where getting I/O in hard to reach places or to moving components is a challenge.

The Balluff IO-Link inductive coupler, with its small compact IP67 housing (40mm x 40mm x 70mm), is the industry's first compact inductive coupler to offer 32 bytes of bi-directional data transfer over a standard 4-pole M12 sensor cable. It's also rated for 500mA at a 5mm gap with 24V power.

"IO-Link enabled inductive couplers uniquely combines two of Balluff's product portfolios - the IO-Link family and the inductive coupling family - to tremendously simplify today's complex automation needs in robotics applications, assembly line automation, turntable-based systems, and even press automation," says Shishir Rege, Marketing Manager for Networking products at Balluff Inc.

IO-Link utilizes standard 4-pole sensor cables and enables the connections to sensor hubs, actuation devices or IO-Link smart devices seamlessly, which helps significantly reduce cable clutter in industrial automation environments while allowing for large amounts of data transfer.

The Balluff inductive coupling solution utilizes the magnetic induction phenomenon to exchange power and data wirelessly over a small gap or over a non-metallic barrier. Because of the technology used, it is immune to vibration, oil, dust, or liquids. For over 15 years, Balluff has offered the largest portfolio of industrial inductive coupling solutions that include power only, input, output, analog, IO-Link unidirectional, and now IO-Link bi-directional.

Learn more about Balluff Inductive coupling solutions: http://www.balluff.com/balluff/MUS/en/products/non-contact-connectors-with-io-link.jsp

Learn more about IO-Link technology at http://www.IO-Link.com