NXP Semiconductors' new 'NXP Analog Front-end N-AFE' product family enables factory operators to easily configure and set up smart factories according to market demands.

NXP Semiconductors today announced a new family of NXP analog front-end N-AFE products for condition monitoring systems and high-precision data acquisition for factory automation.

The N-AFE family is designed as a software-configurable, universal analog input device, supporting software-defined factories.

The N-AFE family integrates up to eight universal analog inputs for data acquisition systems in factory and process automation. It also combines signal chain protection, precision amplification, high-speed data conversion, filtering, and high-precision self-diagnostics to monitor factory conditions. Additional advanced diagnostic capabilities are integrated to enable factory calibration and self-correction capabilities with predictive maintenance and anomaly detection capabilities.

NXP Semiconductors said adding software configurable elements will allow factory operators to make field changes more easily without the need for extensive equipment overhauls.

“The software-defined factory is an evolution of Industry 4.0, and our family of software-configurable analog front ends can help usher in the next era of Industry 4.0 and beyond,” said Jens Hinrichsen, vice president and general manager of Advanced Analog at NXP. “The analog front end ushers in a new era of smart factories by combining configurability with increased accuracy and precision to improve product quality, along with advanced diagnostics that identify problems before they occur and reduce downtime.”

Meanwhile, Schneider Electric has integrated the N-AFE family into its industrial solutions. “The productivity and overall cost savings of a software-defined smart factory are immeasurable,” said Ralf Neubert, Vice President of Digital Factory R&D at Schneider Electric. “NXP’s analog front-end software configurability and high accuracy accelerate hardware design, reducing time to market. Furthermore, the N-AFE family provides design flexibility to help customers respond quickly to market trends. But most importantly, it helps increase overall factory productivity by reducing downtime.”