Trade Show and GAM Reports
Product Updates (Hanover Fair 2009 Report 4)
loading… In addition to the new PROFIsafe products I mentioned several posts ago, there were other new products as well. First up, a Phoenix Contact PROFIBUS Proxy with built-in 4-port switch, highlighted in green here. Shown among many other PROFINET devices from Phoenix Contact. Siemens also introduced its new PLC, the S7-1200. Karsten Schneider (former…
Read MoreTechnology Updates (Hanover Fair 2009 Report 3)
loading… There was news of progress in a number of technology areas: IO-Link, wireless, PROFIBUS, and PROFINET. IO-Link products are appearing more rapidly. IO-Link is not a fieldbus, but allows digital communications over the device’s cable. This led me to characterize it as “HART for discrete.” Conventional devices can be interchanged with IO-Link devices easing…
Read MorePROFIsafe in Hanover (Hanover Fair 2009 Report 2)
loading… The PROFIsafe wall gets longer with every fair. Befitting its longevity, I suppose. PROFIsafe began over 10 years ago. Through last year there were 630,000 PROFIsafe nodes installed. Based on the ARC report that the total number of bus-capable safety devices is 700,000, PROFIsafe has a 90% market share. PROFIsafe is the only bus-based…
Read MoreSPS Drives 2008 Report: IO-Link
loading… I’ve previously described IO-Link as HART for discrete. IO-Link was widely displayed at this year’s show. For more explanation, how it fits with PROFIBUS and PROFINET, reports, photos, and video, click here.
Read MoreSPS Drives 2008 Report: 10 Years of PROFIsafe
loading… While competing fieldbuses struggle to add functional safety, PROFIsafe celebrated its 10th anniversary at SPS/Drives. PROFIsafe is also the only functional safety fieldbus technology that spans discrete, process, and motion control applications.
Read MoreHanover Fair 2008: PROFIsafe
loading… Now I’m at the airport with time for my next to the last observation from Hanover: I spent some time with PROFIsafe expert Wolfgang Stripf in front of the PROFIsafe display. Here’s the display: It depicts an automotive example but applies to any dynamically changing process. The demo highlights safety functions in drives,…
Read MoreHanover Fair 2008: Discoveries and surprises
loading… Monday morning and I’m about to leave for the airport en route to Houston for the ABB Automation World. I’ll be speaking about PROFIBUS and PROFINET on Thursday. But before I go let me share some of the discoveries I made at Hanover Fair. Phoenix Contact showed managed Ethernet switches that have their configuration…
Read MoreHanover Fair 2008: Hooked on a Feeling
loading… The final numbers for Hanover Fair are just in – in time for this, my final Hanover Fair post: 5,100 exhibitors from 60 countries 200,000 visitors 3,200,000 leads generated (a 15% – 20% increase) This blogging software won’t let me post videos, so click here to get the sights, sounds, and…
Read MoreHanover Fair 2008: Even more news
loading… The final new press release from the PI press conference covered new white papers. [From O’Hare airport in Chicago, between flights.] The news: PI publishes two new strategy documents The gist, part 2: The second one is “Enhancing the High Performance of PROFINET.” It builds on the paper presented at the 12th IEEE Conference…
Read MoreHanover Fair 2008: More news
loading… The big news related to PROFIBUS and PROFINET (and maybe for the show over all) was the continuing growth of the PROFIBUS and PROFINET fieldbuses. What the numbers were and meant were in an earlier post. The other topics from the PI press conference included: The news: IO-Link Integration into PROFIBUS and PROFINET The…
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