CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation

https://www.controllino.com/product/controllino-maxi-power-automation/?srsltid=AU7gw4V0KSAEMOc0NN4FtsTKglE_WSCNeqDPZJZVmocMvZ_BcZE2m1ll

CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation: WIZnet Ethernet Meets Industrial AI

Industrial automation is increasingly moving beyond basic control and connectivity.

Modern industrial systems are expected not only to read sensors and control machines, but also to collect operational data, identify abnormal behavior, and eventually support predictive maintenance.

CONTROLLINO is an interesting example of this transition.

The company has built its product portfolio around open, Arduino-compatible industrial PLCs, while recently expanding toward embedded AI through CONTROLLINO AI Studio. At the field-control level, products such as the CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation continue to rely on robust wired Ethernet connectivity using the WIZnet W5100.

This combination provides a useful view of how conventional industrial control and emerging AI workflows can coexist in the same automation ecosystem.

CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation

The CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation is an industrial PLC designed for automation applications requiring analog signals, digital I/O, and high-current relay control.

It operates from a 24 V DC supply and is designed for 35 mm DIN-rail mounting. CONTROLLINO currently lists the product at €249 excluding VAT.

Its main I/O resources include:

18 input channels

2 × 0–10 V analog inputs

2 × analog outputs supporting 0–10 V or 0–20 mA

8 digital outputs

5 galvanically isolated relay outputs

up to 16 A switching capability on the Power Automation relay variant

24 V DC industrial power input

USB programming

RJ45 Ethernet

DIN-rail mounting

The product is designed around the familiar CONTROLLINO philosophy: combining Arduino-compatible development with hardware intended for industrial environments.

WIZnet W5100 for Industrial Ethernet

Ethernet connectivity in the CONTROLLINO MAXI and MEGA families is provided by the WIZnet W5100.

CONTROLLINO's official Ethernet documentation states that the W5100 is connected through SPI and provides the PLC with access to local networks and the Internet. The Ethernet interface is compatible with the Arduino Ethernet software ecosystem, which lowers the development barrier for industrial networking applications.

The MAXI Automation pinout documentation also identifies the Ethernet controller specifically as the W5100.

This gives the PLC a simple architecture:

Industrial Sensors
→ CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation
→ WIZnet W5100
→ Ethernet Network
→ SCADA / Server / Industrial Application

The Ethernet interface can be used for applications such as:

Modbus TCP

local monitoring

remote control

data logging

machine-to-machine communication

MQTT gateways

higher-level analytics

CONTROLLINO itself highlights Ethernet as one of the main communication interfaces available across its industrial PLC platform.

Why the MAXI Power Automation Is Interesting for Industrial Data

The MAXI Power Automation is especially suitable for applications where traditional industrial signals need to be connected to software or analytics systems.

For example:

Pressure Sensor
→ 0–10 V input
→ MAXI Power Automation

or

Current / Process Signal
→ Analog input
→ PLC logic
→ Ethernet

The controller can then transmit selected process values to an upper-level system.

At the same time, its high-current relay outputs allow it to act on physical equipment.

A simplified control loop could look like:

Sensor
→ PLC
→ Ethernet
→ Analysis
→ PLC
→ Relay
→ Pump / Motor / Equipment

This creates an important foundation for condition monitoring and predictive-maintenance applications.

CONTROLLINO AI Studio

CONTROLLINO is now extending its automation portfolio with CONTROLLINO AI Studio, which the company describes as a platform for simplifying AI training, deployment, and inference.

According to CONTROLLINO, users can either upload sensor data or collect real-time information over MQTT. AI Studio can then automatically train models optimized for microcontroller inference and support applications such as:

predictive maintenance

anomaly detection

machine-condition monitoring

embedded AI inference

CONTROLLINO positions the service as “Embedded AI for Everyone.”

The workflow can be summarized as:

Industrial Sensor Data
→ MQTT / Dataset
→ CONTROLLINO AI Studio
→ Automatic Model Training
→ Optimized Edge Model
→ Industrial Device

This is a significant shift from traditional PLC programming.

Instead of relying only on fixed thresholds such as:

Temperature > 80°C → Stop machine

an AI workflow can potentially learn a pattern involving several variables over time:

temperature

pressure

current

vibration

operating cycles

load

and identify behavior that differs from normal operation.

From Automation Data to Predictive Maintenance

A practical predictive-maintenance architecture could use a CONTROLLINO PLC as the industrial data-acquisition and control layer.

For example:

Motor

↓

Temperature / Current / Pressure Sensors

↓

CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation

↓

WIZnet W5100 Ethernet

↓

MQTT / Data Collection

↓

CONTROLLINO AI Studio

↓

Anomaly Detection / Predictive Maintenance

The AI system does not replace the PLC.

Instead, the two layers perform different roles.

The PLC remains responsible for deterministic I/O and physical machine control, while the AI layer analyzes operational patterns and provides higher-level information.

This separation is particularly useful in industrial automation because local control can continue to operate independently even when analytics or cloud services are unavailable.

Sense, Connect, Analyze, Act

The overall architecture can be described in four steps.

Sense

The MAXI Power Automation collects industrial signals such as 0–10 V inputs, digital inputs, and equipment status.

Connect

The WIZnet W5100 provides the wired Ethernet path for moving selected machine data to higher-level systems.

Analyze

CONTROLLINO AI Studio can use collected sensor data to train models for anomaly detection or predictive maintenance.

Act

The PLC can continue controlling physical assets using its digital outputs and high-current relay outputs.

This creates a complete industrial data loop:

Sense → Connect → Analyze → Act

Why Wired Ethernet Still Matters in the AI Era

AI tends to receive most of the attention in modern industrial systems, but AI models depend on one fundamental resource:

reliable data.

Machine-learning models cannot provide useful predictions if their sensor data is incomplete, unstable, or unavailable.

For this reason, wired industrial connectivity remains important even as automation systems incorporate AI.

In the CONTROLLINO MAXI family, the WIZnet W5100 provides the Ethernet connection between field-level industrial control and higher-level software systems.

This illustrates a broader trend in Industrial AI:

Sensors generate data.
Controllers collect and normalize it.
Ethernet transports it.
AI extracts insight from it.

WIZnet's role is located directly in this critical data path.

CONTROLLINO's Evolution

CONTROLLINO originally established itself around open, Arduino-compatible industrial PLCs.

Today, the company continues to emphasize:

open-source development

Arduino compatibility

industrial I/O

Ethernet

RS485

Modbus TCP

DIN-rail automation

while also adding an AI software layer through AI Studio.

This creates an interesting evolution:

Industrial PLC
→ Connected PLC
→ Data-Driven PLC
→ AI-Enabled Industrial Automation

The MAXI Power Automation represents the industrial-control and connectivity side of this architecture, while AI Studio represents CONTROLLINO's move toward intelligent machine monitoring.

Conclusion

The CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation shows how traditional industrial automation hardware can form the foundation of future AI-enabled systems.

Its combination of industrial analog I/O, digital control, high-current relays, 24 V operation, and WIZnet W5100 Ethernet makes it suitable for connecting physical machines to higher-level software and data platforms.

Meanwhile, CONTROLLINO AI Studio demonstrates how the company is extending its ecosystem toward predictive maintenance and anomaly detection using machine-learning models built from industrial sensor data.

Together, they demonstrate an important principle for the next generation of industrial automation:

Industrial AI starts with reliable machine data, and reliable machine data starts with dependable connectivity.

References

CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation product page

CONTROLLINO MAXI Power Automation datasheet

CONTROLLINO Ethernet documentation — WIZnet W5100

CONTROLLINO MAXI Automation pinout — W5100

CONTROLLINO AI Studio overview