Welcome to the second issue of our new email version of PROFINEWS. I have just returned from the 23rd Annual Meeting of PI Chairmen in Rome and I can tell you that many exciting strategies are falling into place around the world right now. Following a major web development project, your local Regional PI Association office can now create its own unique web presence at 
www.profibus.com and I am sure you'll soon be seeing the results of that initiative. Our new corporate image is being implemented widely and the PI brand is becoming stronger than ever as a result. The economic crisis of the past 2 years appears not to have dented our technological progress and PROFIBUS continues to be the most successful fieldbus the world has seen. PROFINET is following virtually the same growth curve so PI is fast becoming a major force in automation today. Future plans include extending our reach geographically, with the Middle East being our next target. Other plans will roll out over the next 12 months and we’ll keep you informed as these become public. It’s an exciting time to be involved in automation - particularly within the PI community. I invite everyone, especially those who have still not taken the step into our world of networking, to join us. Finally, I wish you all the success you wish yourselves in whatever role you play at the moment.
Jörg Freitag, PI Chairman
The 22nd Annual PI Meeting of Regional PI Association (RPA) Chairmen, which took place in Rome mid-June, was attended by a total of 26 delegates, including 14 RPA Chairmen. In a packed 3-day agenda, a range of technical and organizational topics was discussed.
Marketing reports were presented by Germany and USA and reports from RPA Chairmen included one from the new China PROFIBUS&PROFINET Association (CPA) based at ITEI in Beijing. New CPA Chairman Wang Haibin demonstrated his excellent command of the English language as he spoke of the CPA's plans.
A major role was played by Xaver Schmidt, head of the PROFINET Marketing Working Group, who needed several sessions to cover the full extent of its current work. A comprehensive overview of latest marketing support publications was provided, followed by a review of a comprehensive draft marketing slide set which is flexible enough to cover all needs.
Schmidt also gave a presentation on PROFIenergy, PI’s latest PROFINET profile for managing energy consumption better by switching end devices over the network in response to pause conditions such as weekends and holidays. PROFIenergy can also be used to monitor energy consumption. The meeting was advised that a project to quantify the savings possible from PROFIenergy had been initiated. Delegates were then invited to participate in a workshop to determine how PROFIenergy can be marketed worldwide.
A second workshop on the final day focused on strategy, during which ‘blue sky’ thinking was encouraged in an effort to see how PI can offer new benefits to its members. A range of suggestions emerged, though the consensus was that full day session devoted to the topic was necessary. This will be held during a future PI meeting.
When Ingersoll CM Systems, Inc. of Midland, MI, USA decided to build their next generation deep fillet rolling machine, they were looking to create a more modular and expandable machine that would allow their customers to easily keep pace with evolving crankshaft sizes. Used in rough machining production to strengthen and straighten journals, a deep fillet rolling machine increases the fatigue strength of a crankshaft by up to 3 times.
Gary Munger, Controls Engineering Manager for Ingersoll, said “The IO-Link solution resulted in 60% cost savings compared with our previous I/O modules. The savings came from reducing the number of components used in the machine and by using the more economical IO-Link hubs.” Gary added: “Reducing the number and complexity of the components also reduces the possibility of failure.”
UL Group has been accredited with the first PI Competence Centre (PICC) in India, joining the network of 37 other PICC’s operating in 22 countries. PI Competence Centers (PICC’s) play an essential role in supporting first-time developers, users, integrators and OEMs of PROFIBUS and PROFINET devices and systems. A PICC is governed by 'Quality of Services’ Agreement that ensures technical excellence and non-partisan service. Formalized training courses are delivered by the PICC to help attendees become accredited engineers or installers of PROFIBUS and PROFINET equipment. Successful attendees clearing the final tests receive an official PROFIBUS Certified Engineer or Certified Installer Certificate. The courses provide a mixture of theory and ‘hands-on’ problem-solving exercises. The PICC also provides diagnostic services for PROFIBUS installations using the latest diagnostic tools and supports the local Regional PI Association (RPA) - Indian PROFIBUS PROFINET Association (IPA). 
india@profibus.com
The new China PROFIBUS&PROFINET Association (CPA) was founded on March 24, 2010 in Beijing to strengthen future PROFIBUS and PROFINET activities there. More than 30 Chinese experts from vendor companies, institutes and universities attended the first meeting which was hosted by the Instrument Technology & Economy Institute P.R.China (ITEI). During the meeting, PI Chairman Jörg Freitag, Deputy Chairman Michael Bryant and ITEI president Mr. Ouyang Jinsong expressed their support. Mr. Freitag gave presentations about the latest technologies and prospects for PROFIBUS and PROFINET and emphasized the importance of the foundation of CPA. At the end of the meeting he declared the foundation of CPA and stated that it will be the only RPA in China that will be accepted and supported by PI in the future. Experts at the meeting expressed their wish that the new CPA should absorb all kinds of memberships and also extend the influence of and provide a continual technology platform for users in China. CPA aims to strengthen the understanding and promotion of PROFIBUS and PROFINET in China, and promote PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies in factory, building and process automation. It will also provide improved services to vendors, suppliers, integrators and end users, and promote and help support Chinese companies who wish to develop PROFIBUS and PROFINET products. 
CHINA
This year the Japanese PROFIBUS Organization is holding its annual 'Day' seminar in Tokyo on June 30. It is the 5th consecutive annual 'Day' event and this year JPO will change the name to "PROFIBUS & PROFINET Day", to better reflect the content. 23 member companies and two Associations will take part. (Last year 15 member companies and two Associations joined the event). JPO will show PROFIBUS DP/PA and PROFINET multi-vendor demonstration systems with products from members on working demo. There are also 9 seminars about product development, plus product information and application stories about the full range of PI technologies. JPO expects more than 150 visitors to attend. 
The next PROFIBUS and PROFINET User Group conference is being held at the end of June. It will include papers discussing radio communications suitable for factory and process automation, and cover case studies of applications where wireless techniques have already been applied. The conference is scheduled for 29-30 June, at the Stratford Manor Hotel in Warwickshire. Functional safety over wireless will also be included. Workshops are being held in parallel with the main lectures, during which PROFIBUS Competence Centre instructors will show how to use diagnostics tools to identify site wiring or equipment problems. There are exhibitions by major suppliers and equipment vendors. 
Planning for the PTO's General Assembly Meeting continue apace. The GAM is on August 3 - 5 and this year is a 'real' event in Scottsdale, AZ, following the virtual, on-line, event of 2009. This year is PTO's 16th anniversary and some exciting agenda items are expected. Meanwhile, PTO's series of one-day free training events continues to attract a growing number of attendees. IO-Link is making good progress too. A new web site devoted to PROFINET is under construction. This is intended to make it easy to understand and use PROFINET, with special navigation features according to what company type you belong to or job title you hold. PTO hopes to debut this at the GAM. 
Emerson Process Management has added PROFIBUS support to its AMS Suite when used with its DeltaV digital automation system. AMS Device Manager v11 now provides a single application for managing field devices using HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, PROFIBUS DP, and IEC 62591 (WirelessHART) communications. Adding PROFIBUS DP support enables users to remotely access diagnostics and configurations from PROFIBUS devices such as motor starters, drives, MCCs, and other high value equipment. By having a central point to actively manage assets, users can take advantage of predictive diagnostics and remote configuration to improve equipment reliability and availability. 
Phoenix Contact plans to make prototypes of its TPS-1 chip available in September 2010. Otherwise known as ‘Tiger’, TPS-1 is a highly integrated single chip ASIC for easy connection of compact devices and drives to PROFINET controllers. The device supports RT and IRT functionality and is fully compatible with current PROFINET specifications. It will also meet the V2.3 specification expected shortly. In collaboration with Siemens, Phoenix Contact contributed its experience of Interbus to the development and also incorporated new ideas. Tiger makes the connection of smaller and simpler field devices to PROFINET cost-effective for the first time. 
PROCENTEC's ProfiTrace diagnostics tool has been enhanced with a CommDTM, meaning it’s now possible to parameterize PROFIBUS devices using plant asset management tools like FieldCare and PACTware direct from the ProfiTrace platform. The regular ProfiTrace functions like message recording, signal analysis, DP master functions and OPC can be used simultaneously with the DTM. Thousands of users are using PROFItrace daily. ProfiTrace has a community on 
The PROFIBUS DPV1 Master Communication Module is a powerful communication interface for Rockwell Automation ControlLogix platforms. Acyclic parameter data can be transferred with Class 1 or Class 2 DP-V1 services, allowing processors to easily communicate with slave devices supporting PROFIBUS DP-V0/V1 protocols. The Communication Module is CIPconnect-enabled. ProSoft offers a range of PROFIBUS DP-V0/V1 solutions for ControlLogix, CompactLogix, and SLC platforms. FDT/DTM support is available, as well as stand-alone gateway solutions. 
Attempts to establish Regional PI Association (RPA) in the key Middle East area have not so far proved fruitful ... but that’s all about to change! Paula Doyle from Ireland has recently taken up a new job in Dubai with Siemens and part of her mission is to set up an official RPA (Regional PI Association) as soon as possible. Paula is from Limerick in Ireland, where she gained her PhD. For the past four years she’s been in Scandinavia developing new control products for ABB. Her position with Siemens in Dubai is firmly centred on PROFIBUS and will allow her to focus her marketing skills on helping PI expand in the Middle East, a key area that deserves more support from the PI community. Her presence at the 23rd PI Meeting in Rome (see full report left) gave her the chance to meet current RPA Chairmen and to find out 'how they did it'. We’ll keep you informed of Paula’s progress.