Trade Show and GAM Reports

loading… Remember when there were big independent shows in the US?  Shows like ISA and National Manufacturing Week? Hanover Fair (April 25-29) in Germany makes them look tiny.  Hanover Fair is big, although not as big as in years gone by.  You’re probably not going to Hanover Fair, but you can visit vicariously through live…

loading… This year’s SPS/IPC/Drives, in my humble opinion, was one of the most exciting ever. With so many important announcements going on, it seemed like a non-stop barrage of news. First was the announcement about cooperation with CC-Link IE. This cooperation is singularly about the end-users, and making their lives easier. By specifying a “coupler” to…

loading… There were quite a few PI North America members that had tables at the booth this year at SPS 2015. Here’s a list that sponsored tables: Molex Advantech Innovasic Phoenix Contact Siemens Belden Harting Procentec Murrelektronik Hilscher Mitsubishi ProSoft Comtrol This is by no means an exhaustive list of those that supported the booth,…

loading… This year’s theme: PROFINET – The Backbone of Industrie 4.0 See below for a collection of photos from the PI booth at SPS/IPC/Drives 2015 in Nuremberg, Germany. After moving to Hall 2 last year, again the booth was located in Hall 2. The difference was, foot traffic was much greater than in 2014. Maybe people…

loading… One of the big announcements at the SPS Fair last week was the increased cooperation between PI and the OPC Foundation.  This is benefitting users moving to Industrie 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things.  And the increased cooperation will improve that even more. Remember the FDI Cooperation?  PI, OPC, HART, Fieldbus Foundation, and FDT…

loading… Security is always a requested topic for the General Assembly Meeting. This year we had two excellent security sessions: Network Security and PROFINET – Marty Jansons, Siemens Marty reminded us that security is not just about the technology used to secure a network; it’s also about people, processes, and procedures.  After a look at…

loading… On Day 2 of the annual meeting we discussed the PROFINET of Things topic in depth in a panel discussion.  Our diverse panel included: Mike Bastian, Ford Motor Company Karsten Schneider, PI Mark Hoske, Control Engineering Drew Baryenbruch, Real Time Automation They provided different perspectives on the PROFINET of Things (and IIoT and Industrie…

loading… The PROFINET of Things is a foundation of the Industrial Internet of Things which lies at the overlap of the Internet of Things and Industrie 4.0.  It is foundational in that it provides the data that is needed.  And it does it better than other protocols (see Data Access, Uptime, and Openness). Our theme…

loading… As I have said about past PI North America General Assembly Meetings, this one was simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating.  Not to mention that there was a lot of news to share from the two-day event – news about PROFINET, PROFIBUS, IO-Link, Industrial Internet of Things, and Industrie 4.0.  And even in Arizona the Fall…

loading… I enjoy meeting unexpected people at the fair.  This year that included sitting next to the deputy mayor of Akron, Ohio at breakfast one morning.  (I got my BSEE from the University of Akron.)  Akron has been represented at Hanover Fair for 30 years seeking to attract businesses to locate North American operations in…