A Google Groups search for 1-wire in sci.engr.control returns only about 5 results. Why is it almost never talked about here? Is there something wrong with using it as an industrial control system?
The Dallas/Maxim 1-Wire bus looks nice. The idea of needing only "one wire" makes my cheap-gimmick-radar go off. It seems like there must be a trade off for the convenience of needing only one wire. Also, it's not that much of a convenience. If I have to run the 1-wire and ground, I can easily run a couple more wires. If that were the only selling point, it wouldn't be that much. More than that, Maxim's chips appear easy to use and the whole system is flexible with generous limits on distance and number of devices, and data rates up to 142kbps. There are all-in-one serial com interface chips, ADCs, DACs, EEPROM, timer, serial number, battery monitor, different sensors and GPIO chips. They are inexpensive compared to off the shelf products and other fieldbuses, and a lot easier than using microcontrollers.