8 Go-To Resources for PROFINET
loading… 1. Marketing Flyer: PROFINET. A brief, high-level overview of PROFINET. Yes it has “marketing” in the title, so you can skip this one if you want to. 2. System Description: PROFINET Technology and Application. Twenty eight pages of detailed introduction to PROFINET: models and engineering, basic functions, optional functions, legacy fieldbus integration, topologies, product…
4 More PROFINET Myths and the Much Better Realities
loading… Myth 3: PROFINET requires a proprietary chip. Reality: A standard Ethernet controller chip can be used for PROFINET, even for real-time data. Just add a PROFINET stack (the software that knows how to direct the PROFINET message as well as the TCP/IP traffic). In order to achieve motion control, PROFINET does require that the…
2 PROFINET Myths and the Much Better Realities
loading… Myth 1: PROFINET is PROFIBUS on Ethernet. Reality: Although it builds on the concepts of PROFIBUS, PROFINET is a new protocol, tailored to Ethernet capabilities. Other Industrial Ethernets have just wrapped up their old messages in a TCP/IP or UDP/IP wrapper and called it an Industrial Ethernet. PROFINET built the protocol from the ground…
Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Fieldbus
loading… I can’t believe anyone is still in favor of 4-20mA as the best approach to process automation, but there were some in the ISA LinkedIn group who favored it. This sends me into rant mode… If you think 4-20mA is the right approach for process automation, you probably also think: Three channels of television…
Does PROFIsafe use up bandwidth?
loading… This is a question we received at a recent PROFINET training class. Does PROFIsafe use up bandwidth? The answer is: “NO”. For a full description of PROFIsafe, read the PROFIsafe System Description. For a short refresher, watch this video: PROFIsafe is used to exchange data between a safety device (F-Device; e.g. emergency-stop button) and…
PROFIBUS PA – Simple and Safe in Hazardous Zones
loading… What follows is an excerpt from the recently released White Paper entitled 6 Reasons to Give PROFIBUS PA Another Look. The high-power trunk with FISCO spurs is a de-facto standard for PROFIBUS in explosion hazardous areas. Based on this concept, PROFIBUS PA can be installed without difficulty or the need for major cost analyses…
PROFIBUS PA – Certification Ensures Compatability
loading… What follows is an excerpt from the recently released White Paper entitled 6 Reasons to Give PROFIBUS PA Another Look. Billions of people use their cellphones without ever thinking about the underlying communications technology. The phones are made by different manufacturers, operate on different networks and have different user interfaces, but people can communicate…
PROFIBUS PA – for Stable Process Control
loading… What follows is an excerpt from the recently released White Paper entitled 6 Reasons to Give PROFIBUS PA Another Look. Infrastructure which delivers overall stability is indispensable in the process industry, and PROFIBUS offers this level of stability for data communications in the field and at the control station. The performance features of PROFIBUS…
PROFIBUS PA – Device Management Made Easy
loading… What follows is an excerpt from the recently released White Paper entitled 6 Reasons to Give PROFIBUS PA Another Look. Having more information about system assets is generally an advantage assuming that the information is accurate and consistent. To provide access to more information, a few things have to be put in place at…
PROFIBUS PA – Diagnostics Made Easy
loading… What follows is an excerpt from the recently released White Paper entitled 6 Reasons to Give PROFIBUS PA Another Look. Fieldbus communication has brought about a paradigm shift in automation technology. Communication used to be one-way and each line carried only a single analog signal. Fieldbus communication uses digital technology and it is bi-directional….