Technically I suppose this is a post about comments. The point is that anonymous comments have been enabled for the PROFIblog and I hope you will participate by adding your comments. You don’t have to agree with me – responsible opposing viewpoints are welcome… encouraged even. Dialog is good. You’ll find some of that has started. (Gary Mintchell had a post about the growing automation blogosphere. Check that out, too. The information available to you will grow, too. Read and comment!)
Our next PROFINET one-day training class is coming up August 17 in Portland, OR. It’s not too late to register if you’re up that way. You’ll find additional details and a link to the registration form here.
PROFINET in the news. The August Control Engineering magazine is out electronically now. There are a number of articles of special interest for users considering Industrial Ethernet. One is “Coalescing Networks” which talks about PROFINET very positively and has some great examples. Another is “Worlds in Collision — or Cooperation?” This is on one of my favorite topics: IT and control engineering getting along.
We’ve just confirmed the date and location for the PROFINET Developer Workshop. It’s October 5 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. We’ve set the date for this as the day after the Industrial Ethernet Symposium in downtown Chicago. So if you’re in town for that, stay one more day. We’ve also set the start time of the workshop at 9:30 am so east coast folks could travel in the same day. If you’re a developer, development manager, or product marketing person involved with control devices, mark your calendar for this free event. Seven of the top PROFINET development tool providers will exhibit and present their particular tool set. We’ll begin with a brief overview of the Industrial Ethernet market (from ARC’s Harry Forbes) and I’ll provide a brief introduction to PROFINET. More details and registration start here. You should end the day with a good idea of which tool set is right for you.
Speaking of the Industrial Ethernet Symposium, you should register for that as well. Although it’s sponsored by Siemens, all the Industrial Ethernet providers have been invited to participate. It should be a good location to compare the various technologies and hear some application stories. Information here.
I’ve run into a lot of online articles and blog entries worthy of your attention and my critique. I should be spending a fair amount of time in airports and on airplanes this week so maybe I can compile that during my travels.