Hannover 2016: Member News
loading… Visiting PI North America members uncovered some unique products. Here they are in the order I stumbled upon them: HMS. In the OPC Foundation booth, our old friend Michael Volz showed me an HMS module that moves PROFINET data to OPC UA. Both protocols run on the same wire – a benefit made possible…
Hannover 2016: The Forum, Part 2
loading… The second session I attended in the Industrie 4.0 meets the Industrial Internet forum was by Armin Pühringer of Hilscher. I was attracted by the title, “From Sensor to Cloud – Device Integration and IT Infrastructure.” Knowing that Hilscher has introduced products for moving PROFINET data to the cloud and given PI’s cooperation with…
Hannover 2016: The Forum
loading… The forum, Industrie 4.0 meets the Industrial Internet, ran frequent sessions throughout the week. I attended a couple of them: the opening panel and “From sensor to cloud – device integration and IT infrastructure.” The opening forum featured an introduction by an official from the German government, Dr. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister for Education…
Hannover 2016: The PI Booth
loading… The PI booth was once again the hub of PROFINET and PROFIBUS activity under the banner of “Backbone of Industrie 4.0.” Featured walls included PROFINET, process, PROFIsafe, IO-Link, and vision. The PI Lounge provided a venue for networking and refreshment. Many meetings – planned and ad hoc – took place. Some quick facts about…
Hannover 2016: The Show
loading… Events surrounding the show were tough this year between track maintenance on the main line, a transit strike in Hannover, and the security surrounding President Obama’s visit. Despite all that, the show itself was a success. By the numbers: 190,000 visitors, 5,000 from the USA 5,200 exhibitors, 58% from outside Germany, 525 from the…
Hannover 2016: PROFI Growth
loading… I’m just back from Hannover Fair, reflecting on the news therefrom. In passing (literally), it was President Obama’s walk-by. For us automation types though it was the continuing growth of all things PROFI. The independent auditor’s count of nodes installed during 2015 provides new totals. While I and my PI colleagues get enamored of…
Do the Engineering
loading… I realized I had a pet phrase to go with my pet peeves: “There’s never a substitute for doing the engineering.” I realized it was a pet phrase when Gary Mintchell noticed I said it in a comment to his post, More on Industrial Protocols and Standards. A corollary might be “choose the right…
Hanover Fair Preview
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…
What did the blender say to the toaster?
loading… What did the blender say to the toaster? I don’t know, but that apparently happens in the Internet of Things. What did the I/O block say to the PLC? Here’s my inputs and thanks for the outputs. That’s the Industrial Internet of Things. When I read articles about the Internet of Things, I find…
Where Is the Edge of the Industrial Internet?
loading… I’ve recently read a number of blog posts and articles talking about the Edge of the Industrial Internet of Things, including Vibhoosh Gupta’s blog post titled “Industrial Edge Node: The iPhone of Industry.” They made me think about where the edge really is. I’ve heard “edge” defined differently by different people. This is my…