Hanover 2015: Members’ Booths
I always enjoy visiting PI North America members’ booths to see what’s new and talk to folks from the US and from headquarters. There is always news about PROFINET and PROFIBUS. At the Phoenix Contact booth, PI North America Board of Directors member Mike Rothwell ensured that I got a look at new PROFINET products. …
Read MoreHanover 2015: Around the Fair
I was able to get around the fair two ways this year. One, I took two guided tours offered by the Fair (Industry 4.0 and Industrial Automation and IT). Second, I always make it a point to visit PI North America members’ booths. I took the tours to force visits to booths I would not…
Read MoreHanover 2015: The PROFI News
“Good News Is No News.” The PROFINET and PROFIBUS news from Hanover Fair was slim… and that’s a good thing. This means the technologies are stable and complete. Although work continues “around the edges,” the core communications protocols are where they need to be for wide adoption. With 50,900,000 PROFIBUS nodes installed through 2014 along…
Read MoreHanover 2015: The PI Booth
I wish you could have been there to see and hear all about PROFINET, PROFIBUS, and IO-Link. Since you weren’t, here’s the photo gallery (click to enlarge and start slide show): The PI Booth provided a great meeting point for North American trade press, PI North America members, and PI colleagues from around the world.…
Read MoreHanover 2015: The Fair and Industry 4.0
The official theme of this year’s Fair was “Integrated Industry – Join the Network” but the real theme was “Industry 4.0.” Industry 4.0 was noted in every booth in some way. The best explanation of Industry 4.0 that I heard was in the ABB booth as part of the official Industry 4.0 tour that the…
Read MoreHanover 2015: The Fair
Hanover Fair (Hannover Messe) took up all 5 weekdays last week. (Many of us remember when it was longer with family days on the weekend.) “Integrated Industry – Join the Network” was its keynote theme. Phrases I heard during the week included: Shop floor to top floor. Lot size of one. Personalization. Industry 4.0 (often…
Read MoreIndustrial Wireless: What to Consider
Lots has been written in this space about using industrial wireless with PROFINET. This is mostly the ‘what’; this post is to address the ‘how’. “How do I implement industrial wireless in a PROFINET network?” Just to recap, while wireless is not just one thing, this will focus exclusively on the most common type of wireless:…
Read MoreTech Tip Roundup
One of our favorite topics is tech tips. We provide at least one in every issue of PROFINEWS. If you are a subscriber, you have been kept up-to-date with tech tips. If you are not a subscriber, subscribe here. Then read on for a current list (and read PROFINEWS for new ones). For PROFINET: Why…
Read More5 Simple Facts about PROFINET
1. PROFINET is fast. PROFINET is as fast as you need it to be. Different applications have different requirements for speed – many process applications are slow moving so updates in hundreds of milliseconds is fast enough. Factory automation needs faster response. Motion control needs even faster response. PROFINET covers the gamut. 2. PROFINET is…
Read MoreChoose the Network First
In the Atlanta PROFINET one-day training class, someone was asking about using PROFINET with a controller that does not natively support it. The unusual part of this is that only one controller maker does not support PROFINET natively (you have to use a gateway). That’s what happens when you pick the controller supplier before picking…
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