The Foundation Fieldbus e-learning course enables you to learn all aspects of different industrial bus networks including not just FOUNDATION Fieldbus but also HART, Profibus PA and ASi Bus. On completion you can take the associated exam and on passing, earn a Certificate of Competency and an electronic badge via Credly.
What is Fieldbus?
Fieldbus refers to an all digital, two way communication network that is used by Automation and Control Systems to interface sensors, transmitters (both analog and digital) and actuators. Most installations are in places such as manufacturing plants, oil & gas facilities, power generation plants, mining, pulp and paper mills. Typically, the sensors, transmitters and actuators in such facilities are located outdoors (referred to as the “field”) and the Control System is located in the Control Room. Since this network connects these field devices via a “bus” (an electronic communication network) it was named as “Fieldbus” to distinguish itself from prior communication buses that were used to connect various controllers in the control room itself. The technology evolved from the original 4-20 mA current signal standard, that is still in use in many plants today.
Fieldbus is a generic term and can refer to any of a dozen fieldbus protocols that are actually used in plants. Examples include FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Profibus PA, HART (short for Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) and ASi (Actuator Sensor interface) bus. These are the major bus protocols in use today and if you are an Automation Systems Engineer, Instrumentation & Control Systems Engineer or technician, then you must be knowledgeable and familiar with this technology.
Why this Fieldbus Training Course?
Abhisam is the global pioneer in creating e-learning self paced courses for engineers and technicians all over the world. Customers felt the need for an e-learning course, that was better than some of the existing CBT (Computer Based Training courses) that were available a few years ago. These were more like DVDs and the experience was like watching a movie, where somebody explains the technology. This could get pretty boring. Moreover they were available for only one of the major networks, that is FOUNDATION Fieldbus.
The other kind of training was a kind of Power Point Presentation. You could see a lot of stuff, but the explanations were hard to come by.
This Fieldbus training course on the other hand is a detailed self paced e-learning course having several modules (you will spend about 40 hours to complete all of them) that have text, animations & simulations to explain key concepts (such as Manchester encoding), situational videos, real life examples of how to design a Fieldbus network for a small plant unit and so on. After you complete this course you can take the associated exam and earn a Certificate of Competency and an electronic badge via Credly.
Why can’t I get this for free?
You can of course trawl the internet and search for information here and there but much of this course is created by our experts and is not available online anywhere else. One of the problems with the internet is that for general topics, there is a flood of information and you have tons of it. For specialized and niche topics, there is a lot of information but much of it may be either not authentic, or could be opinions presented as facts, or pure marketing hype and so on. You could theoretically be able to search for everything and compile it and understand it, but you will likely spend at least a year doing it. You surely value your time, do you not? On the other hand, you need to only spend on this course, 40 hours of your time in going through it and then you can always earn a Certificate of Competency plus an electronic badge.
The material in this course is presented in a very structured and logical manner, so one thing leads to the next and you will have several “Ah-Ha!” moments. We doubt you could ever find all this information free on the internet.
Can I not buy a book?
You will not get all this information in a single book, you will have to buy several. Then, a book will not have animations, so it is kinda hard to understand. However even if you take one look at the animated workings shown in the Abhisam e-learning course, you will understand in a jiffy. Books take a long time to get updated and printed, so probably the information may already be obsolete, by the time you get your hands on it.
Lastly nobody will issue you a certificate because you read a book.
So what’s in this course?
Here are the contents in detail below:
Module 1 – Basic Concepts
- Introduction
- Process Control Systems
- Single Loop Controller architecture
- Process Control Systems with Single Loop Controllers
- Traditional Controls
- DDC to DCS
- DCS
- Automation Hierarchy
- Fieldbus
- Ethernet based buses
- Point to Point Architecture
- Traditional DCS architecture
- Multi Drop Architecture
- Other Control Systems
- Why Fieldbus?
- Analog and Digital Signals
- Types of Signals
- Digital & Analog Signals
- Digital Signals
- Clock
- Manchester Encoding
- Field Devices
- Analog Networks
- Hybrid Networks
- Digital Networks
- Combination Networks
- Topologies
- Addressing
- Types of Bus networks
- Fieldbus Standards
- Current Standards
- Interoperability
- FOUNDATION Fieldbus
- HART
- Profibus
- ASi
- Fieldbus Advantages
- Multivariable Transmitters
- The OSI Model
- Using OSI for communication
- Fieldbus OSI Model
Module 2 – Foundation Fieldbus
- Introduction
- The Fieldbus Foundation
- Physical Layer
- H1 network
- H1 characteristics
- H1 segment
- Fieldbus Hardware & Terminology
- H1, H2 and HSE
- Topologies
- Daisy Chain
- Multidrop
- Chicken Foot Topology
- More on Topologies
- Linking Devices
- Handheld Communicators
- Host Communication
- Transmission and Reception
- FF Power Supplies
- FF 831
- Power Supply Sizing
- Redundant Power Supply
- Signal Characteristics
- Bricks and Couplers
- Device Couplers
- Terminators
- Cable Lengths
- Cable Types
- Number of devices per segment
- H1 Addressing
- Data Link Layer
- Communication Issues
- Cyclic and Acyclic Communication
- Link Master
- Data Buffers
- Scheduled Communication
- Unscheduled Communication
- LAS Function
- Live List & Time Sync
- Backup LAS
- User layer
- Fieldbus Blocks
- Types of Blocks
- What are Function Blocks?
- Control in Field
- Typical loop using Function Blocks
- Representation of the FIC loop
- FIC loop implementation
- Location of Function Blocks
- Types of Function Blocks
- Typical blocks in a PT
- Flexible Function Blocks
- Multiple measurements & blocks
- Cascade Control blocks
- Cascade Control configuration
- Input Select Function
- Macrocycles
- Macrocycle Optimization
- What are VCRs?
- More about VCRs
- VCR Limits
- More Function Blocks
- Host Communications
- History of EDDL
- More about EDDL
- FDT/DTM
- Comparison of EDDL and FDT/DTM
- Which one to use
- Fieldbus Interoperability
- Device Tests
- HIST
- Host Profiles
- Safety Instrumented Functions
- Traditional approach
- Advantages of FF SIF
- Disadvantages of FF SIF
- Black Channel and White Channel
- FF Black Channel
Module 3 – HART, Profibus and ASi
- Introduction
- Other protocols
- HART
- HART Introduction
- Master Slave Network
- Principle of operation
- FSK
- HART Communicator
- HART PC Configurator
- HART Versions
- HART 7 Features
- PSK
- PSK
- Point to Point Network
- Multi Drop Mode
- Scan Times
- HART Commands
- HART I/Os-1
- HART Multiplexer
- DD files
- Choosing HART Devices
- HART Wiring and Installation
- Profibus
- History-1
- Profibus Philosophy
- OSI Model
- Profibus Structure
- Profibus DP
- Profibus PA
- Similarities with FF
- Differences with FF
- Architecture-1
- Segment Couplers-1
- Number of devices
- Profibus PA Blocks
- Control in Field?
- GSD Files
- FDT/DTM
- Wiring and Installation
- ASi Bus
- Why ASi Bus
- ASi Bus Characteristics
- ASi Bus Topologies
- ASi Cable
- ASi Masters
- ASi ASIC
- ASi Slaves
- ASi Addressing
- ASi Certification
- ASi Power Supplies
- Safety At Work
- Safety Monitor working
- ASi Installation
Module 4 – Fieldbus in Hazardous Areas
- Using traditional explosionproof methods
- Fieldbus using Intrinsic Safety
- Fieldbus Entity Calculation Example
- FISCO
- FISCO Topology
- FISCO Conditions
- FISCO Advantages
- FNICO
- FNICO with repeaters
- FNICO and Ex-ic
- Field Barriers & High Energy Trunks
Module 5 – Case Study of Fieldbus Project
- The Project
- The Plant & Process
- The P & ID
- Fieldbus Architecture
- Engineering for Fieldbus
- The new P & ID
- Segment Allocation
- Fieldbus Hardware
- Instruments
- Junction Boxes & Wiring Blocks
- Power Supply
- Cable
- Max Cable length
- Terminators
- Fieldbus Software
- Installation
- Format for checking
- Configuration
- Commissioning
- Troubleshooting
- Completion of project
Self Assessment Test
After you complete the modules, you can take the self assessment test that enables you to measure your level of understanding of VFDs. It also can be used as a mock test or practice test, to help you pass the final certification exam.
Free Certification
It is not enough to just learn the technology, you need to show to your employers, bosses and clients (both current and future) that you have understood the subject and are qualified to work on them. For this you need a trusted third party to certify your knowledge.
Luckily, you have Abhisam, one of the most popular e-learning and training companies in the world, to do this for you. Simply take the associated exam that follows this Fieldbus Training Course and you can earn a Certificate of Competency and an electronic badge (issued via Credly, the largest badge issuer on the planet). Abhisam is a verified Credly badge issuer and this fact enables you to easily share your newly achieved digital credential on places online, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. This showcases your achievements to the whole world as well as your connections and is a great way of landing a better job or assignment.
The best part of this is that it is included with the course fee, so there is nothing extra to pay!
Enterprise Versions
We have different versions for individuals and companies or large organizations. If you are a company or similar large organization, then you can buy the Enterprise Version of this course. It allows every learner to have a separate account, to access the course and complete it at his or her own pace. You as an employer or boss, can get a complete record of learner activity on the portal including time spent on every module and test scores. This is an easy way to keep training records if it is mandated by either your internal procedures or by an external agency.
Your learners also earn 40 Professional Development Hours (PDH) for this course.
If you already have a Learning Management System (LMS) in your organization that accepts SCORM or TinCan content, then we can stream this course directly to your LMS, so that your learners can have all their training modules in one place. The pricing for this service is different, please get in touch with us to know more.
Who buys your courses?
Our self paced e-learning courses are purchased by individual engineers who wish to upgrade their knowledge, companies who wish to train their employees and sometimes even government bodies, who wish to be up to date with technology. Many of our courses are used by Fortune 500 companies. The list of our customers is too big to be fitted on one page. A sampling appears on the Customers page of this website.