PROFINET Cables: Copper
loading… A PROFINET network is built on standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet. Due to challenging environments on the factory floor, most users opt for rugged industrial Ethernet cables when building an industrial network. Even though wireless access points are becoming more popular, most of today’s network connections are wired and require cabling. Depending on the application, industrial…
2017 New PROFIBUS / PROFINET Products
loading… Since the beginning of 2017 there have been 80+ new products announced with either a PROFIBUS, PROFINET, or IO-Link interface at profinews.com. That’s the result of a quick count I did by counting all of New Product announcements this year: http://profinews.com/category/product-news/ 80+ New Products This Year at PROFINEWS How many others? And that’s just…
The Next Chapter
loading… It’s time for Carl to retire; he hit 70 a couple months ago and as much fun as PI North America has been, it’s time to reluctantly move on. It’s been fun. So, it’s time for Carl to focus on the next chapter, but it’s a time to look at past chapters just a…
PROFI Mnemonics
loading… I’m a big fan of mnemonics. A mnemonic, /nɛˈmɑːnɪk/ (the first “m” is silent) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention in the human memory per Wikipedia. In school, you may have learned a mnemonic to remember the Great Lakes: HOMES, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. I learned the…
Where’s My GSD File?
loading… GSD files have been needed for a long time, first for PROFIBUS, and now for PROFINET. Our usual comparison is to printer drivers. A GSD file tells the software system what features, I/O, alarms, and diagnostic capabilities a device has. It resides in the engineering tool, not in the device itself. A printer driver…
Secure Your Network!
loading… Your network is not secure! Whether you have all the security in place that’s possible or have not even thought about security – your network is not secure! Sadly, no network can be 100% secure. The best that you can hope for is to make it very difficult to hack. Let’s start at one…
Show Me the Money
loading… Show Me the Money, or justifying an Industrial Internet of Things project with PROFINET because we like the technology. Dilbert has been known to say, “We’re technology driven.” But that does not resonate with the owners and their managers – whether the “owners” are stockholders or private individuals. Those folks’ mantra will be some…
Motor Diagnostics
loading… We often brag about PROFINET’s diagnostic capabilities and we brag about PROFINET’s role in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industrie 4.0. PROFINET excels at device to controller communications. But not all communications needs to go to the controller – there is some data it just doesn’t need. There are many articles in…
Cloud versus Fog
loading… If the Jeopardy answer is “Cloud, Fog, or Edge,” the question is “Where all can you do analytics?” We rejoice in the PROFINET of Things with its Data Access, Uptime, and Openness, but the Industrial Internet of Things is really about analytics. PROFINET is an enabler. A very important enabler, but still an enabler….
PROFINET Independence Day
loading… It’s Independence Day in the USA, the Fourth of July. PROFINET connection coming up, but first… “Independence Day” always reminds me of the movie (the original one, where a virus created on a Mac laptop can infect an alien operating system) and the old joke “Daddy, does Canada have a fourth of July? Yes,…