PROFINEWS 79

The EK9300 Bus Coupler permits easy connection of EtherCAT Terminals to PROFINET networks. It acts as a PROFINET IO device and has an integrated EtherCAT master, which connects the terminals by auto-configuration. The PROFINET process data are converted in the Bus Coupler into E-bus formats. Terminals and Box modules are directly connectable. BECKHOFF

A study by the Institute for Automation & Industrial IT, based at Cologne University of Applied Sciences, confirms potential savings of 50% or more during idle phases as a result of using the PROFIenergy profile. The analysis was carried out on production lines at the Daimler factory in Sindelfingen and the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles factory in Hanover. Load curves, load distribution, and pause types and durations were analyzed. In addition, the influence of operating modes and pauses were analyzed. Up to 15 measuring points were used, indicating the energy savings potential realized by using PROFIenergy could be in excess of 50%. It also became clear that even unplanned pauses of 3 to 5 minutes duration can be exploited with clever use of PROFIenergy to significantly reduce energy consumption. The first PROFIenergy pilot applications are currently undergoing testing at multiple user sites.

A PI version of 'PROFIBUS in Process Automation' by James Powell and Harry Vandelinde has been published. It's available in English and German and costs Euro 18 per book for PI members. Non-members price is Euro 36. (Prices exclude tax and shipping.) Reviews include:

“The variety of PROFIBUS applications continues to grow steadily, as does the experience of countless experts. The authors have applied their knowledge in an easy-to-understand manner. This book is a well-prepared appetizer – an excellent introduction to the world of PROFIBUS.” (Jörg Freitag, Chairman of PI)

“Modern device communication is clouded by technical terms and boundary conditions. This book takes PROFIBUS technology and shows that an easy, understandable path through this jungle does exist. Readable and highly recommended!” (Michael Pelz, Clariant Produkte (Deutschland) GmbH and Chairman of NAMUR Working Group 2.6 Fieldbus).

Orders may be e-mailed to info(at)profibus(dot)com or by USING THIS FAX ORDER FORM.

The INTERBUS Club and PI have agreed to integrate INTERBUS into the PI organization. The INTERBUS Club already had decided on PROFINET as its Industrial Ethernet standard and relevant working groups have created an optimal integration concept which is in widespread use. Also, since INTERBUS technology is now fully developed, INTERBUS Club members felt they had achieved their mission. Stefan Körte, current first Chairman of the INTERBUS Club said: “Easy and economical integration of INTERBUS networks into PROFINET ensures that users' existing INTERBUS investments are protected.” PI Chairman Joerg Freitag added: “The migration from INTERBUS to PROFINET makes a logical move.” Over 13 million INTERBUS nodes are thought to be in use worldwide.

Kopenhagen Fur took machine safety very seriously when a new pelt sorting system comprising 30 stations was installed recently to optimize the sorting process - and thus revenue. The new system was set up around existing measuring equipment, which made it possible to exploit the equipment more effectively.

"It was really most important that we could build up the pelt-sorting system in modules, so that it was scalable in relation to future projects," explained production engineer Janus Tappert. "That would mean we did not have to start from the beginning with every new project."

An ASi solution from Bihl+Wiedemann Nordic ApS was chosen, because AS-i is able to handle the complex machine safety system as well the I/O. "It was also a requirement that all thirty stations should be able to function individually," said Tappert, "while being included as part of the overall machine safety system."

The primary communications networks are PROFIBUS-based, which the company has been using for several years. The pelt-sorting system has more than 120 PROFIBUS nodes - divided between AS-i gateways, frequency converters, bar-code readers and other equipment.

Tappert continued: "We are now in the process of building a new production line. The only difference is that we are going over from PROFIBUS to PROFINET. The PROFIBUS network was heavily loaded with a large number of nodes - and PROFINET was its obvious successor.  One of the advantages of PROFINET is that it is possible to get a better loading on the bus system and at the same time achieve an even higher diagnostics level." Another not entirely insignificant advantage of PROFINET is that Kopenhagen Fur's subcontractors can provide remote support through a VPN tunnel. PROFIBUS DENMARK

PI Joined forces with the FDT Group, the Fieldbus Foundation and the HART Communication Foundation at the Hanover Fair in hosting the first-ever co-sponsored Field Communication Lounge. The Lounge provided a display area divided into four separate sections. The aim was to reduce costs and make things more convenient for visitors and vendors alike by creating a single place in one Hall where the latest in field communication and integration technologies could be shown and discussed. A common presentation forum and relaxation areas were also available. PI showed all its technologies, including PROFINET, PROFIBUS, PROFIenergy, PROFIsafe and IO-Link. A PROFIBUS display emphasized the easy to use nature of PI's world-beating fieldbus solution while a PROFINET wall (pictured) demonstrated the wide ranging scope of the products now available as well as the globalized nature of the vendor base. Presentations on all these technologies were given in the various forums organized throughout the 5 day Fair.

A number of important announcements were made at the Fair and you can read about those stories elsewhere on this page. A great photo-opportunity came with the awarding of an official PROFINET certification to the new Tiger TPS-1 ASIC Development Kit from Phoenix Contact (see also Product Story below right).  PI Chairman Joerg Freitag (left) presented the certificate to Gunnar Lessmann (middle), Project Manager TPS-1 Development of Phoenix Contact, with Albert Tretter from Siemens and two very relaxed PI models looking on! The press releases can be FOUND HERE. 

Bernie Anger, General Manager Control and Communication Systems for GE Intelligent Platforms, has been elected to the PI North America Board of Directors.  The appointment follows GE Intelligent Platforms’ commitment to PROFINET as the backbone network of its next generation PACSystems controller architecture. Michael Bryant, Executive Director of PI North America, said: “

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Separately, Prof. Dr. Frithjof Klasen (left) has been elected to the Board of Directors of PI in Germany,  replacing founding chairman Prof. Dr. Klaus Bender who retired in 2009. The PI Board of Directors now comprises Jörg Freitag (Chairman, Siemens AG), Klaus-Peter Lindner (Endress + Hauser Process Solutions), and Prof. Dr. Frithjof Klasen (AIT). Prof. Klasen has served as director of the Institut Automation & Industrial IT (AIT), Cologne University of Applied Sciences, since 2003. He is an expert on PROFINET and Industrial Security and AIT has been an active member of PI Germany since 1997. It is also an accredited PROFINET Competence Center. Prof. Klasen has helped implement numerous industrial automation projects, both domestically and abroad.

The dot marking system MARKER3000 made by ADT of Germany has been sold for years to the automotive industry with a PROFIBUS interface. But things are changing and most of the well known car manufacturers in Europe are switching to PROFINET.

This posed some challenges for ADT since MAKER3000 is a sophisticated device sold in small numbers - maybe 20 per year. A new bus interface would take about half a year of development and an investment of perhaps $40,000 including certification. Fortunately, Hilscher provided a handy alternative with its netLINK PROXY module.

netLINK PROXY is a device that turns any PROFIBUS slave into a PROFINET device in minutes. Like an ordinary fieldbus plug it is mounted directly on the slave’s PROFIBUS interface. The output is an RJ45 port for PROFINET.

“We are very happy to have netLINK PROXY as an interim solution," said Johann Krutsch CEO of ADT

. "It tides over the period required for our PROFINET development and, to be honest, with a price of just $150 it was hard to give our own PROFINET development a ‘go’ at all. To PROXY or not to PROXY was really the question”. HILSCHER

Paula Doyle writes: "Greetings from the UAE! Interest in the PROFIBUS Association Middle East is growing and we have been getting great feedback from the region. A recent visit to one of the largest global Oil and Gas exhibitions, ADIPEC, showed the importance of PROBUS in this market with many vendors showcasing PROFIBUS products on their stands. Plans are going ahead to formally launch the organization in the near future and there are certified training sessions planned in Dubai for December, March and May. We plan to establish regional Competence Centers that can cover our large geographical area and I'm pleased to announce that we have three strong candidates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia & Lebanon. As always - if you would like further information, or would like to share some wisdom, please get in touch at middle.east(at)profibus(dot)com"

The 2011 PI Conference is to be hosted by PNO on February 15-16 at ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany. The Conference will be dedicated to 'Automation and Energy Efficiency' and a full program has now been published covering technology sessions, panel discussions and the real world experiences of end users.

Specific topics include PROFINET in factory and process automation, PROFIenergy, drives with PROFIBUS and PROFINET, life cycle management with PROFIBUS PA, functional safety with PROFIsafe, sensor/actuator communication with IO-Link, wireless communications, and device integration and system engineering.

There will be a mini-exhibition running alongside the event and a series of live demos. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, former German Federal Minister for the Environment.  All sessions will be in German. For more information, and to download the program, please VISIT THIS PAGE.

The Genoa Fieldbus Competence Centre (GFCC) has been accredited as a PROFIBUS and PROFINET PI Training Center (PITC). GFCC is already a PROFIBUS and PROFINET Competence Center (PICC). GFCC thus becomes one of only five PITCs that are able to support all the PROFItech certified classes: i.e. PROFINET Engineer, PROFIBUS Engineer, PROFIBUS Module PA Engineer plus PROFIBUS and PROFINET Installer courses. GFCC is a spin-off from the Genoa University, Electrical Engineering Department, Industrial Automation section. It has more than 20 years of on-site experience and can provide high added-value services ranging from audit and certified training to the on-site diagnosis of industrial networks. Its multilingual staff (Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese) operate worldwide. GFCC

KPA (Korea PROFIBUS Association) participated in the ‘Automation World 2011’ fair in Seoul during March. A multi-vendor demo showed PROFINET and PROFIBUS devices from member companies and the open connectivity of both protocols. B&R Automation, Deutschmann, Endress+ Hauser, Hilscher, PHOENIX CONTACT, profichip and SIEMENS, Systeme Helmholz participated.  PI Chairman Mr. Freitag attended and helped present a Press Conference and parallel Seminars together with Mr. Chang (SIEMENS Korea) and Mr. Cha (RPA Korea Chairman). This fair is Korea’s only exhibition for the domestic automation industry. It offers an information forum for introducing new products. It pursues innovations through convergence of IT, robots and welding technologies, in addition to promoting existing manufacturing technologies and automation.   kpa@profibus.co.kr  

Visit the All Things PROFINET web site above to find out why PROFINET is the best featured, most powerful Industrial Ethernet available. Now with ADDED 'Product Showcase' for even greater power!

During September and October 2010, RPA Brazil organized a series of seminars about PROFIBUS

/PROFINET for users, integrators and engineering companies. The goal was to present the fundamentals and principles of PROFIBUS such as interoperability and highlight that PROFINET is a leading protocol for implementing Industrial Ethernet that can help bring IT standards to the plant floor. There were three events - held in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba - with an average of 70 attendees. One aim was to present technological resources and development tools for PROFINET. The events were conducted by the RPA Directors and an expert in PROFINET from Germany. BRAZIL

With PROFIBUS, the use of manufacturer-specific description files means that users have to replace a process field device with an identical one. The recent introduction of PROFIBUS PA Device Profile 3.02 changes all this as a new field device can now automatically assume the device version of an older device without any interruption to the process. The replacement device thus presents itself to the control system as its predecessor, even though it may be 10 years more advanced.

This brings some valuable benefits. During a subsequent planned shutdown, the new functionality can be integrated by updating the description file. The same applies to the integration of an EDD or a DTM during a device replacement. It is also possible with Device Profile 3.02 for a new device to assume the functionality of several predecessor versions.

Device Profile 3.02 has recently undergone tests at BIS Prozesstechnik in Frankfurt, where one of the world's largest multi-vendor fieldbus test installations (see right) is installed. The laboratory is also a test center for EMC and actuator technology (SIL, CE, TA-Luft), a PI Competence Center (PICC) for PROFIBUS, and a Fieldbus Foundation Center of Excellence.

In the Profile 3.02 tests, two scenarios were considered: first, the replacement of an existing device while the process was running and, second, the display of status signals according to NE 107. Two field devices – a Samson actuator and an Endress+Hauser head transmitter – were tested in combination with five different control systems from Siemens, ABB, and Schneider. Three types of segment coupler were also included in the tests.

To start, a PA device assembly was configured and commissioned for each control system. Each was then replaced with a newer version. The cyclic transfer of measured values and the status of the measured value were monitored. The tests also included the mapping of specific diagnostic information onto four standardized categories according to NAMUR Recommendation 107. Different error scenarios were simulated. All tests were successfully passed.

Profile 3.02 can also handle faster uploading of parameters for optimizing transmission times. Different quantities of data must be transferred depending on the phase in the life cycle of a field device. Thus, a portion of the parameters must be adapted during commissioning, another portion during subsequent maintenance activities, and a large portion during device replacement. Depending on the functionality of the device, it is not unusual to deal with 300 parameters. The new PA Profile 3.02 optimizes the transfer by grouping parameters. This allows the transfer times to be reduced many times over (5- to 10-fold, depending on the data quantity). These functions are not yet available in devices so further testing will be carried out later.

PI is undertaking a worldwide survey about PROFINET. We want to know what you think about it. Are you using it yet? How do you rate its efficiency? It will take you no more than 5 minutes to answer a few key questions on-line here, and in that time you could help us improve the relevance of PROFINET to your needs. (link to come here).

The special capabilities needed by PROFINET to make it fully acceptable to the process industries are being specified now by PI Working Groups and nearing review. They should be released early in 2011. PROFINET supplements PROFIBUS in hazardous environments by providing a high-speed, high-bandwidth backbone for PROFIBUS PA (and other networks) while providing immediate connectivity for drives and discrete IO. The specialist process automation requirements being addressed are: Proxies, 'Configuration in Run' (CiR), Time Sync / Time Stamping and Scalable Redundancy. PI North America member GE is participating in the Working Groups to help develop these capabilities.

PI has published a 'PROFIBUS Guideline for Planning'. It's the third of a three volume 'Installation Guide'. The first two volumes - 'Cabling and Assembly Guideline' and 'Commissioning Guideline' - have been available for sometime. The volumes cover PROFIBUS DP and PROFIBUS PA. In addition to providing support for the plant topology definition, the guideline covers the selection of cable types and plug connectors, the planning of copper and optical transmission lines, tips for estimating bus cycle times and information regarding shielding and grounding. There's also a template for planning and documenting plants. A pdf is available here for free download.

A new White Paper from HMS gives a quick overview of PROFINET and points out what needs to be taken into account for a successful migration from PROFIBUS to PROFINET. It shows the main differences between the two and points out their common ground. It also gives a basic overview of the key functions and features of PROFINET without getting lost in bits and bytes. The White Paper is available in English here.

As the fourth biggest passenger-car seller in China, Chery Automobile China, is enjoying great success. It is upgrading its transfer press line and increasing throughput by adopting state-of-the-art safety systems. PROFINET with integrated PROFIsafe is being used for automating the feeders between the individual press stages, based on Siemens SIMATIC safety products. PROFINET IRT is employed to enable virtual real-time communication within the system and to synchronize the feeders within one millisecond. CBE 20 communication processors with integrated ERTEC chips ensure that the SINAMICS converters respond equally quickly. PROFIsafe meets the strict European safety requirements of SIL 3 (Safety Integrity Level 3). The PROFINET bus architecture is open and can be enhanced at any time. No separate bus structures or cable systems are required for the safety-specific functions or for the drive synchronization. Thanks to the uniform bus structure of the system controller, drives and peripheral systems, Chery is able to reap considerable savings. The whole system runs on a single platform, resulting in significant cost reductions for engineering, commissioning, maintenance and ongoing production. It has helped Chery increase throughput by 15% compared with manual systems. SIEMENS

This new SPIRTA tool for easy testing of PROFINET IRT functions is available for free download by PI members from the PI website and can be integrated as a supplementary module in existing PROFINET testers. A test module for evaluating the security behavior of PROFINET devices has also been made available. These run various network load scenarios and evaluate the reaction of the test object, an important aspect when evaluating security quality. Both tools can be used to test intermediate development results, to evaluate reproducible test scenarios and for preliminary certification testing. PI 

The Genoa Fieldbus Competence Centre (GFCC) is a new PI Competence Centre

(PICC) in Italy. GFCC is based in Genoa and is a spin-off from Genoa University. It has been founded by

. In charge are Prof. Paolo Pinceti and Dr.Ing. Micaela Caserza Magro of Genoa University.

GFCC operates in the fieldbus and industrial automation sector, providing high added-value services ranging from audit and certified training to the on-site diagnosis of industrial networks. Some of its activities are oriented towards research, as its academic origins suggest.

GFCC is a PI Competence Centre for PROFIBUS, PROFIBUS PA and PROFINET and is staffed by three Certified PROFINET Engineers, three Certified PROFIBUS Engineers and one Certified PROFIBUS PA Engineer having more than 20 years of experience in fieldbus communications. GFCC can operate in Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese languages.

The Swedish PROFIBUS/PROFINET Group is now preparing for the Scanautomatic Fair in Gothenburg 26-28 October. With help from PI Chairman Joerg Freitag the aim is to show Scandinavian industry how PROFIenergy can save money and the environment! With seminars and a product display in a large booth the Group expects visitors to attend from Norway and Denmark too, thanks to the short distance between Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen. SWEDEN

60 people attended PROFIBUS and PROFINET workshops in Paris and Lyon recently. Members of the French Association presented the latest innovations offered by PROFIBUS & PROFINET in terms of interchangeability of instruments, the PROFIBUS PA 3.02 profile, energy savings with PROFIenergy, isochronism using PROFINET IRT and safety with PROFIsafe. Q&A sessions allowed participants to leave with a good understanding of these topics. Participants in Paris also visited a PROFIBUS installation at GDF SUEZ (where the event took place). PowerPoint presentations are available at FRANCE. If you want to be informed of future exhibitions and workshops please email: france(at)profibus(dot)com

http://www.br.profibus.com/

This Isolator protects copper-connected Ethernet participants against potential differences up to 4kV. At data transmission rates of up to 1 Gbit/s, the level of interference immunity in industrial environments is significantly increased. They are installed in front of the network participant to be protected. A power supply is not required. Approvals for railway applications (rolling stock) in accordance with EN 50155 and EN 50121 are available.  PHOENIX CONTACT

Balluff BIS M series RFID systems now feature an IO-Link interface. Up to four read/write heads can be integrated into the control level "plug and play" using an IO-Link Master, with no additional managing unit. With a large variety of rugged data carrier types and read/write heads systems operate without contact and are wear-free. They are ideal wherever low data amounts are needed for traceability. Specially designed for harsh environments, the systems provide virtually unlimited read/write cycles for flexible, fast communication even over long distances. BALLUFF

Softing has a new evaluation kit for integrating PROFINET into devices. The hardware consists of a base board and an Altera Cyclone III FPGA module which provides huge flexibility. Various peripheral interfaces are available to test different integration possibilities. Today, the product supports PROFINET IO Device Conformance Class A and B. Support of Conformance Class C will be available next year. A PLC program for communicating with the Evaluation Kit, example programs and documentation are included. The protocol software is portable and can be used in other environments. SOFTING

Endress+Hauser has a new UV sensor and Memograph transmitter with built-in PROFIBUS connectivity for the in-line measurement of UV absorption. A built-in reference channel and an optimized measuring filter permit extremely precise, linear and reproducible measurement. The Easycal sensor system and the precision optical path length adjustment tool allow liquid-free in-line calibration. Available are FM and ATEX approved lamp housings for hazardous area applications. ENDRESS + HAUSER.

This software package enables PROFIBUS and PROFINET networks to be monitored with one solution. The concept is comprised of a web-based software tool and a network access point which is available for fixed installation or for mobile use.  Intuitive handling, protocol-independent diagnosis functionalities and uniform views make using the package really simple. An automatic alert allows short reaction times in case of failures. Diagnosis information is available directly or can be integrated into higher-level applications via OPC. The package will be presented at SPS/IPC/DRIVES in November. TREBING + HIMSTEDT

This Switched Ethernet PROFINET module supports the PROFIenergy power management profile to allow the power values of low voltage distribution systems in industrial plants collected with the help of PAC measuring devices to be integrated directly in higher-level automation and power management systems. Thus, power management can be optimized over a PROFINET IO network. Installation, networking and commissioning costs are minimal: the module is simply plugged onto the back of the power monitoring device and, thanks to the integrated Ethernet switch, can be directly connected to the PAC. The module is detected automatically and is programmed using software such as Step 7. SIEMENS

COMbricks is a modular repeater system that contains a ProfiTrace core for permanently monitoring four PROFIBUS networks. 

While the repeaters are driving the bus segments, the ProfiTrace core autonomously monitors the data traffic and warns the user of problems.

In essence, this means asset management tools can be integrated in network components and therefore become part of an installation. The condition can be remotely inspected via a standard web browser, allowing installations to be monitored all over the world. PROCENTEC

On 12. March 2010 the first ever PROFIBUS Product Developer Workshop took place in Shenzen, in the south of China. The event was organized by profichip China one day after the SPS Industrial Automation Fair in Guangzhou. In the one day sessions over 30 engineers were trained how to start developing a PROFIBUS product. Main topics were: the software and hardware structure of an integrated PROFIBUS interface, the differences between DP-V0, DP-V1 and DP-V2 protocols, PROFIBUS ASIC's from profichip GmbH, the RS485 physical interface design, and PROFIBUS tools. PROFICHIP

A completely new marketing brochure for PROFIenergy has been published, along with four other updated brochures covering PROFINET, PROFIBUS PA, PROFIdrive and PROFIsafe. All comply with the latest corporate design of PI and are available for download in pdf format

 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.

Among the many presentations given on the PI booth was one about FDI technology. PI is actively working as part of the FDI Cooperation to help develop FDI, which will lead to a big reduction in the costs of maintaining plant assets. It enables both FDT- and EDDL-based host systems to manage field devices using a single engineering package, so it will make different engineering solutions for different devices obsolete

. It also provides a scalable alternative in applications ranging from simple configuration to the complex management of sophisticated field devices.

PROFINEWS is published by PI, a global community supporting technological excellence in industrial automation. It represents PROFIBUS, PROFINET and IO-Link and actively collaborates with other leading automation groups such as ECT, HART, FDI, FF, OPC and WCT.

www.profibus.com or www.profinet.com

If you're interested in a blogger's view of Hannover Fair visit PI North America's PROFIblog. 

Meanwhile, PROFIBUS and PROFINET training classes continue without let up. The first PROFINET training classes were corkers! In Houston 103 students and 13 exhibitors attended. PROFINET in Process Automation has been added this year and at the seminars we showed how PROFINET can provide the ideal backbone architecture for automation projects that incorporate PROFIBUS, Foundation Fieldbus, DeviceNet and others, as well as providing direct connectivity for PROFINET-enabled non-hazardous area process devices. Seventeen more FREE training class opportunities are scheduled for 2011. MONITOR THIS PAGE to stay abreast of dates and venues. Two more live Webinars are planned, covering the latest developments in PROFINET, including PROFIenergy and PROFINET in Process Automation. Experts from PI North America and the PROFI Interface Center from Johnson City will be presenting and answering questions. VISIT THIS PAGE for more information and to register.  NORTH AMERICA

In June there will be a one day course showing how a PROFINET or PROFIsafe network can be securely and reliably deployed over an Industrial Wireless LAN. This hands-on course covers configuration of Industrial Wireless LAN equipment and explains how to avoid the common pitfalls to successfully deploy an industrial wireless network. More Information from Ann on +44 207 193 8018. The next opportunity to get fully PROFIBUS-trained and certified to Engineer level is in the week of 16th May when MMU presents its Certified PROFIBUS Training Week.  UK EVENTS

UL Group, which hosts the Indian PI Competence Center (PICC) and is a lead member of the Indian PROFIBUS, PROFINET Association (IPA) held a series of technology seminars and training sessions over the past three months in Pune. Courses covered ‘PROFIBUS Basics’ and ‘PROFIBUS Maintenance & Troubleshooting’. The plan is to extend these throughout the country. The sourses are devised and conducted by the PICC team and attended by end-users, OEM’s , System Integrators, designers and maintenance personnel. Courses start with a pre-evaluation of the participants - to better understand their level of knowledge - and concludes with a post-evaluation which indicates the enhancement of their knowledge. According to feedback, by attending the course participants have become confident PROFIBUS engineers. profibus(at)ulepl(dot)com

PI has abolished the certification fees for PROFINET products for PI member companies, now that the certification process has been fully developed. Certification nows covers the entire functionality of PROFINET, extending from IO devices with RT functionality and IRT functionality to IO controllers.

Certification

PI has decided to abolish certification fees for PROFINET devices developed by member companies.

Another Story

This is another news brief telling you what happens in PI

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A comprehensive offer of products and services is now available from a wide range of providers to aid with the design and development of PROFINET devices. As well as sophisticated SDKs, firmware based on Standard Ethernet interface, PROFINET ASICs, and ready-to-install modules can now be easily purchased to support fast and effective deployment of PROFINET devices. A brochure entitled “The Easy Way to PROFINET Technology" has been published and is now available for download HERE. This includes a full overview of all providers. With the release of the new TPS1 (TIGER ASIC) by Phoenix Contact, yet another PROFINET chip is now available to assist device implementers. TIGER has been designed especially for compact devices (e.g. compact IO modules or drives). 

In a new market study called “The World Market for Industrial Ethernet – 2009 Edition”, IMS Research in UK estimates that with a market share of 28% PROFINET is amongst the top most-used Industrial Ethernets worldwide. The study particularly notes that PROFINET offers an Industrial Ethernet solution for a comprehensive range of applications, including high-speed motion control. PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP/IP fill the top slots, accounting for 80% of the total market.http://www.imsresearch.com/index.php

Of those 31.4 million PROFIBUS devices, 5.4 million are now used in process automation so it's clear that PROFIBUS has assumed the dominant fieldbus role. The latest PA Profile V3.02 is expected to accelerate this since it contains a set of important asset management features specifically requested by end users.

In the Functional Safety market, PROFIsafe continues to lead as well. The 220,000 purchased PROFIsafe devices in 2009 equals the number purchased the previous year. The installed base of PROFIsafe now exceeds 850,000 devices.

NB: PROFINET market statistics are collected by an independent and fully neutral third party. Only end devices are included in the count; infrastructure devices are excluded.

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