Wednesday morning Nov 26 at the SPS/IPC/Drives fair, PI held its annual press conference to announce the latest updates with respect to the technologies.
Here are the highlights:
PROFINET perfect for machine building
PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) is pleased with the increasing use of PROFINET in machine building, where functions for safety, diagnostics, etc., are also in demand.
PROFINET has established itself as the Ethernet communication standard in plant construction on a broad scale. In production automation, in particular, PROFINET has long served not only as the fast backbone of automation. Today, production automation systems are equipped with Ethernet all the way down to the field level. For example, there are currently systems in the automotive industry with up to 15,000 PROFINET nodes.
Machine builders are also facing increasing competition. In a global market in which individualized products are expected, the demand is for innovative and flexible machines. PROFINET can excel here. It is not only the high performance of PROFINET and the accompanying high-precision isochronous communication suitable for motion control tasks that is important here. PROFINET provides an extensive set of functions over the entire life cycle of a machine. For example, commissioning is accelerated by the easy adaptation of IP addresses during device integration in system networks. Thanks to standardized interfaces, subcomponents can be tested in advance and flexibly integrated into machines later on. During operation, comprehensive diagnostics ensure fast troubleshooting and thus short downtimes. Because PROFINET is integrated seamlessly in existing Ethernet networks, innovative remote maintenance concepts are also optimally supported.
Successful in China with PROFIBUS and PROFINET
For the globally acting PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) organization the Asian economic region has become increasingly important in recent years. Above all, the development of the market in China for the PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies has gained in importance. PROFIBUS is more successful in China than ever. Leading market research firms report PROFIBUS as the most widely used fieldbus. To increase acceptance, PI has long pursued a strategy of promoting development of not only international standards but also local, country-specific industry standards. This is especially important in China. In 2006, PROFIBUS was the first well-known fieldbus to achieve the status of a national standard (GB/T), which contributed significantly to its installed market base. Now there are numerous applications in a wide range of production automation and process automation industries. This course was also taken at an early stage with PROFINET, which achieved the status of GB/T in 2014.
The standardization provides stable requirements for manufacturers and users. Local support is another key ingredient for success. This applies to device manufacturers in their implementation of protocols in I/Os, controllers, drives, etc., and to users in their use of devices in their own systems and machines. PI relies on local support here as well. Today, it boasts a generous offer of Chinese Competence Centers. This assures prompt support in the national language with no loss of time due to time zones. Additionally a test lab has been established for PROFIBUS and PROFINET in China, where local certification meeting the same high-quality standards is offered for Chinese products.
Four application stories from China were also presented at the press conference, one each from ABB, Endress+Hauser, Siemens, and GE.
For a complete list of announcements as well as the press release content, head over to PROFINEWS.