PROFIblog

loading… Continuing to answer questions from an Anaheim training class attendee:  There are lots of great Internet resources; finding them is the challenge.  Of course I’m a little biased towards our site, www.us.profibus.com and the PROFIblog.  But beyond those… The automation industry magazine’s web sites are a good starting point.  These are the four I…

loading… Automation World’s Process Automation Newsletter today reprised an article from the magazine’s October issue: “Fieldbus Reigns in Process Control.”  I liked the article when it first came out; I even blogged about it then.  A quote from the article: “Plant managers at the water plant in DeKalb Country, Ga., learned about the benefits of…

loading… Trying to make sense of the wireless milieu?  Good luck!  Here’s my attempt to help with some commentary and links to recent articles on wireless in automation: First, remember that there is more than one type of “wireless.”  I classify three types: RTU, sensor level, and backbone.  By RTU, I mean radio connection to…

loading… Isn’t it just always the case?  You brag about something and it completely turns around.  Phoenix temperature was 110 when I blogged on Monday; now on Friday we may get all the way up to 70… and rain – very unusual for this late in May.  Ok, back to PROFINET.  The final point I…

loading… The plane landed too soon Friday and cut short my OPC story.  So, here’s the conclusion: A number of people have raised the question about OPC UA replacing PROFINET CBA (Component Based Automation).  First, a reminder of what CBA is – an easy-to-use, peer-to-peer integration technique.  It solves the problem of integrating best-in-class machines…

loading… As many of these PROFINET one-day training events as I’ve done, there is always something new that arises.  There are also some things that are always the same.  We always get requests on the course evaluation forms to do some hands-on training.  With an average attendance of 80 or so, we just cannot carry…

loading… Another airport today – Phoenix Sky Harbor – waiting for my outbound flight to Raleigh for the PROFINET one-day training event tomorrow.  If you’re in North Carolina, I hope to see you there.  Mike A was in Richmond yesterday for a PROFIBUS one-day training class.  It was well-attended with fewer no-shows than our secret…

loading… A recent poll by Control magazine shows that only 12% of users report using primarily digital buses.  Keith Larson mentioned the report in the article, “Industrial Networking: The Next 20 Years”: “…a just-completed survey of Control readers indicated that a full 54% of survey respondents still use mostly 4-20mA analog hardwiring for instrument communications….

loading… Sitting in another airport (Houston Bush) waiting for a plane delayed by weather, here’s my report from ABB Automation World: Many of the industrial automation bloggers were here in Houston and they blogged about the conference.  You can find posts from Greg Hale, Walt Boyes, and Gary Mintchell.  Plus news items from others.  They…