PROFIdrive is an application profile that sits above the PROFIBUS and PROFINET communications protocols. It arranges the data in a consistent fashion to simplify the interchange of information. Drive vendors can choose not to use PROFIdrive, but then the drive parameters are not so easily exchanged. To make it easier for drive vendors to adopt PROFIdrive a vendor community has been established: Industrial NETworx Community. This community has released source code to simplify adoption. They also maintain the source code and assist drive companies in adapting it.
In the PI booth, there was a running example from Jenny Science, a Swiss drives company. This brief clip shows their drives plotting a PROFIdrive logo, “Jenny Science,” and “PROFINET IRT.”
Alois Jenny, Managing Director of Jenny Science AG, noted: “With the availability of the PROFIdrive standardized drive interface on our servo controllers, users shorten their development time and are ideally prepared for the future.”
PROFIdrive, PROFIsafe, and PROFIenergy application profiles are all applicable to drives. PI has prepared a white paper to explain the interplay: Drives and Motion with PROFINET. Especially recommended for drive vendors, but useful for users too.
–Carl Henning