Hilscher netFIELD Edge Gateways and Edge Management

Hilscher was founded in 1986 in Hattersheim am Main, Germany, and has more than 400 employees at 12 locations, including offices in China, India, Japan and Korea. Best known for its netX multi-protocol chips and PC cards used inside automation devices, it also offers edge gateways that move data between operational technology and IT without disturbing running production.

The netFIELD Edge gateways combine netX processors, which provide PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and IO-Link connectivity, with CPU power for IIoT workloads. They run a Yocto-based Linux designed to meet IEC 62443 requirements, include a web configuration interface and offer two independent container engines so users can deploy their own software. Current models include NFX8M-D4-N32-017, NFX86-D8-N128-021 and NFX86-D8-N128-022. The optional netFIELD Cloud SaaS manages devices and software rollouts across large fleets. Customers are machine builders, plant operators and automation device makers.

• netX connectivity: native PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and IO-Link access from the gateway.
• Secure Linux OS: Yocto-based operating system designed to meet IEC 62443 requirements.
• Dual container engines: two independent engines for running customer software in containers.
• Performance classes: NFX8M and NFX86 models for different computing needs.
• netFIELD Cloud: optional SaaS for device and software management across fleets.
• Use cases: anomaly detection, digital twins, predictive maintenance and condition monitoring.

An automotive parts plant in Vietnam can tap PROFINET networks on assembly lines to feed condition monitoring without changing PLC logic. A machine builder can preinstall netFIELD Edge with its own analytics container for predictive maintenance services. A beverage plant can detect anomalies in filling lines using IO-Link sensor data.

Gateways read data in parallel with running control processes, so plants can add analytics without touching PLC programs. Built-in netX chips give native access to PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and IO-Link instead of extra protocol converters. Two container engines let teams run their own analytics or AI apps on the device. Central management through netFIELD Cloud simplifies software rollout to large fleets over the device lifecycle.

Factories want to run analytics and AI close to machines while keeping control networks untouched, which is driving demand for container-capable edge gateways. Industrial Ethernet protocols such as PROFINET and EtherNet/IP dominate new lines, and IEC 62443 is becoming a purchasing criterion. Vietnam's growing automotive, electronics and food plants built with European and Japanese equipment need this kind of parallel data access.

Hilscher was founded in 1986 in Hattersheim am Main, Germany, and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2026, along with 20 years of Hilscher China. It has more than 400 employees at 12 locations and gained ISO/IEC 27001 certification in August 2026.