| NEW WEB SITE |
| PI COMMUNITY GATHERS IN POLAND |
| GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON THE WEB |
| 4 WAYS TO LEARN ABOUT PROFIBUS AND PROFINET: Become a Certified Network Engineer; Attend FREE One-day Training Classes; Connect via the Internet; Try our Web-based Training |
| EVERYTHING ABOUT PROFINET IN 23 MINUTES |
| BLOGGING AND TWEETING WITH PTO |
| PROFINET NEWS |
| DISCOUNTS FOR REMOTE CONFERENCE |
| APPLICATIONS: SMART BIO-ENERGY WITH PROFIBUS |
| MEMBER NEWS: PROFICHIP HITS 10 YEARS; HMS HITS ONE MILLION |
| WORLD NEWS: SOUTH EAST ASIA; JAPAN; CHINA; INDIA; ITALY, UK; GERMANY; POLAND |
| NEW PRODUCTS: TWO PORT PROFINET INTERFACE HAS FAST START-UP; PROFINET CONTROLLER; MASTERS INTEGRATE PA COUPLERS; RELIABLE TERMINATION: MODBUS TCP/IP GATEWAY: OPC SERVER FOR S7; PROFIBUS TO MODBUS CONVERTER: COMPACTLOGIX PROFIBUS |
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| GENERAL NEWS |
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NEW WEB SITE: PI, the PROFIBUS and PROFINET organization of which PTO is a part, has unveiled a brand new
website. Familiar features such as
the product catalog and download
areas are retained, complemented
by freshly developed structures and a range of new content that perfectly
rounds off the global image and presence
of PI and the 25 Regional PI Associations
and 1400+ member companies.
Special focus is given to three
aspects: the two primary
technologies - PROFINET
and PROFIBUS - and the global ‘community’ on which so much of
PI’s success is based.
A completely new content
management system has been deployed. This will be
largely invisible to general visitors
but for PI personnel, member
companies and others who need
to keep the site updated, this
management system offers many
powerful new tools that make
the site easier to maintain and
develop. So, adding new data,
features or sections will now be much
easier and faster.
Expect the site to evolve rapidly to
improve the user experience and
add value for everyone. Please take a look. PI will be
pleased to welcome you and
wishes you fun in finding the
information you need!
Feedback welcome here.
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PI COMMUNITY GATHERS IN POLAND: More than 90 people attended the 21st annual PI meeting in Krakow, Poland at the end of June, prompting Chairman Joerg Freitag to comment on the scale and breadth of the 'PI community' in his opening address."It's one of the major reasons for the success of PROFIBUS and PROFINET," he said. The meeting began on Monday 30th as an RPA-only event (that means the Regional PI Associations, of which PTO is one of 25). On Wednesday it was expanded to include Test Centers (PITCs), Test Labs (PITLs) and others. The PTO's Carl Henning - whose 48-hours-long travel travails are now formally documented in his PROFIblog - arrived just in time for the start. "The size of the community is amazing," he blogged on Day 3. "We have about 80 folks from 22 countries and 6 of the 7 continents here." The group picture shows most if not all of them. Carl has also reported on the meeting here.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON THE WEB: PTO's annual General Assembly Meeting (GAM) has been postponed this year in deference to the economic situation. But if you're starting to get withdrawal symptoms don't, because it's happening anyway on the web! The 15th annual PTO General Assembly Meeting will be held on August 6 as a one-hour web meeting that will include a status report and a look ahead to 2010. Ample Q/A time will be available. PTO members and the press are invited.
Details: 2:00pm Eastern Time. PTO members and the press are invited to register here.
(That pic? It's PTO Executive Director Mike Bryant, speaking at the real 14th GAM in Scottsdale, in August last year.)
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4 WAYS TO LEARN ABOUT PROFIBUS AND PROFINET:
1. Become a Certified Network Engineer: PROFItech classes - which award the title Certified Network Engineer to attendees who successfully complete written and practical tests at the end of the five day course - are held regularly in Johnson City, TN. The 2009 schedule is:
For more detail, download the PROFItech brochure here. Now is the perfect time to train for the upturn, but please register early.
2. Attend FREE One-day Training Classes: PROFIBUS and PROFINET - including special Process Automation events - are covered comprehensively in our ongoing series of free training days. Classes include the latest technical advancements so here's your chance to stay at the forefront of networking technology at no cost. Our program for the rest of 2009 is:
Note: Attendees receive a certificate for 5.5 Professional Development Hours (PDH). And as a special bonus, PTO raffles a week-long PROFINET Certified Network Engineer Class (see above - a $2695 value) at each PROFINET event.
3. Connect via the Web: An update to an earlier webinar will be held on August 12 entitled 'Diagnostics for PROFINET and other Industrial Ethernets.' Other topics are pending and your suggestions are welcome. Archives of past webinars are available here covering Industrial Ethernet Basics, PROFINET, Wireless, and PROFIBUS in the Process Industries.
4. Try our Web-based Training: You will find PROFIBUS Web-based Training here. Top |
EVERYTHING ABOUT PROFINET IN 23 MINUTES: GlobalSpec's unique way of presenting news and technical issues online allows you to learn about leading-edge technologies and the latest products across Machine Control, Information and Intelligence, Motors and Drives, and Instruments, Sensors and Networking sectors. PTO's Carl Henning took part in a recent webcast, with a 23 minute intro to PROFINET including its new Energy Management profile designed to control the power consumption of heavy duty devices such as robots. The presentations are still online, so hurry there if you want to find out what Carl said. Comments from their post-presentation survey included:
- As a software engineer I found the opening examples a little too hard-sell and had doubts that the presentation would be of value but when you got in to the actual technology I found it very enlightening. Thank you.
- The presentation was engaging and informative.
- The information provided allowed me to gain an understanding of where this type of technology will assist in my future selections.
- Obviously knows his stuff! Great Job!
GLOBALSPEC.
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BLOGGING AND TWEETING WITH PTO: Carl Henning's PROFIblog has recently been delivering plenty of tips and advice on PROFIBUS and PROFINET topics derived from real world questions asked at PTO's series of training classes. The Blog also has a new, easy-to-remember web address and has been freshened up by new software. Update your RSS feed today. The same dry humor as always ensures PROFIblog is easily accessible and fun to read. PS: You can now Tweet with Carl* too.
*Tweeting?
“A tweet is a posting to www.twitter.com of 140 characters or less. It's another one of those social networking sites that is widely used by people in industrial automation and it's basically a very fast way to distribute short news items.”
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PROFINET NEWS: Now into its third issue, PROFINET News is a special newsletter produced and distributed in North America. Recent topics include - PI Develops Energy-Saving Profile Based on PROFINET; Fast Start Up for PROFINET IO; White Papers Outline PROFINET Technology; Applications; How to Use Ethernet to Connect Control and IT; PROFINET Node Count Rises 40 Percent in 2008. Stay up to date with PROFINET; SIGN UP to receive a regular copy here.
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| DISCOUNTS FOR REMOTE CONFERENCE: Remote 2009 Conference and Expo will focus on the leading advancements for the monitoring and management of distributed equipment and facilities, remote assets, automated process & system controls and device networks. This year's event will offer managers of distributed equipment and remote facilities the most informative conference on these mission critical technologies yet. PTO members are eligible for a discounted registration rate. Enter REM_S9 in the promotions code field to qualify. REGISTER HERE.
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| APPLICATIONS |
| SMART BIO-ENERGY: Brazilian company Smar reports on three fantastic projects in new bio-energy plants which make extensive use of PROFIBUS to convert sugar products into fuel. FIND OUT MORE HERE.
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MEMBER NEWS |
| PROFICHIP HITS 10 YEARS: profichip is celebrating its 10th year in business. One of its first steps was to develop an alternative to PROFIBUS ASICs and deliver them in fixed silicon. In the first year profichip launched its PROFIBUS Slave Controller VPC3+, followed one year later by the Lean Slave Controller VPCLS. During 2009 profichip will introduce its fifth-generation VPC3+S. The company has remained ‘independent and flexible’, aiming to create technologically leading products. profichip’s latest innovation is the first single chip PLC for Step7. profichip looks forward to a positive future, says managing director and founder Wolfgang Seel, and expects to remain a leader in ‘automation in silicon’. PROFICHIP
HMS HITS ONE MILLION: The Anybus family of interchangeable communication modules has shipped its one millionth module. Annual shipments are running at more than 200,000 says its makers HMS and the second million is expected to be passed “in significantly less time than the first”. The latest generation of Anybus products is powered by Anybus-NP30 technology, a single chip high performance network processor. “Anybus-NP30 shows our commitment to maintain HMS’s position as a leading supplier of embedded industrial network technology,” said CEO Staffan Dahlström. HMS
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| WORLD NEWS |
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SOUTH EAST ASIA: PROFIBUS Association South East Asia has just completed seminars in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok, Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam. An ‘overwhelming response’ resulted, with more than 200 participants recorded. Currently there are 83 PI members in South East Asia. JAPAN: The Japanese ‘PROFIBUS Day 2009’ takes place in July in Tokyo, Osaka and Kita-kyushu, and JPO expects 210 people to attend. CHINA: During March and April the 2009 ‘China PROFIBUS & PROFINET Expert Days’ were held in Guangzhou, Kunming and Nanjing. Over 500 people participated. INDIA: The first ever one-day PROFIBUS Product Developer Training workshops took place in Pune, India in March. One was conducted in the headquarters of Honeywell Automation for their development engineers. Both were organized by the UL Group of Pune. Presenters included Dileep Miskin (right), who is head of the PROFIBUS center at UL Group. Dileep said that he expects a rash of new PROFIBUS products to emerge from India soon. UL Group is setting up the first PI Competence Center in India. ITALY: Antonio Augelli (Industrial Communication Manager at Siemens) has taken over the Presidency from Maurizio Ghizzoni, who held the post for the previous 14 years. The Italian ‘PROFIBUS and PROFINET Day’ road shows are reaching five cities during 2009. UK: A two day exhibition of PROFIBUS and PROFINET products and technology was staged in Stratford on Avon during June alongside the annual PROFIBUS and PROFINET User Conference. GERMANY: A PROFINET Developer Workshop was held in June in Würzburg, organized in collaboration with leading technology suppliers. POLAND: The Polish Regional PI Association PNO Poland celebrated 5 years of operations in May. “Thanks a lot to everybody who helped us during these 5 years”, says PNO Poland Chairman Dariusz Germanek, fresh from organizing the PI meeting in Krakow (see above). Darius is pictured right center, with Artur Szymiczek (PICC Poland) and Pietro Zappa (PICC Poland (Intex)).
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| NEW PRODUCTS |
| TWO PORT PROFINET INTERFACE HAS FAST START-UP: This new Anybus module is a two-port PROFINET IO communications interface with integrated switch which can provide a plug-in PROFINET IO interface according to Conformance Class B. The new module permits PROFINET IO real-time communication with star, line or bus topologies without the need for expensive external switches. It incorporates advanced features such as network management (SNMP), topology recognition (LLDP) and ‘fast start-up’. It also has an embedded web server and FTP server, an e-mail client and a full featured TCP/IP socket interface. The module fulfils the requirements of demanding applications such as from the AIDA group of automobile manufacturers, says its makers. HMS.
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PROFINET CONTROLLER: Phoenix Contact’s robust and compact S-MAX 400 CE PN controller is a ready-to-run combination of PC platform, PLC runtime, and fieldbus master with PROFINET and Interbus support. In addition to its usual controller functions, it also implements all the tasks involved in communicating with distributed control and ERP systems. The package also has a Web server for remote machine control, an FTP server for exchanging data, and TCP/IP or UDP components. The PLC and fieldbus functions can be programmed universally using PC Worx automation software. As a result of its high performance, it can be used universally across all sectors. PHOENIX CONTACT.
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MASTERS INTEGRATE PA COUPLERS: Smar has launched two PROFIBUS DP V-1 masters incorporating PA couplers, for use in PROFIBUS DP and PROFIBUS PA applications. DF97 has 4 PROFIBUS PA channels and DF95 has 2 PROFIBUS PA channels. They eliminate the need for separate DP/PA couplers, reducing considerably hardware and installation costs in process automation. SMAR or cesarcass@smar.com.br.
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RELIABLE TERMINATION: The T1 Terminator provides active and reliable termination for PROFIBUS networks based on RS 485. It makes it possible to turn off, remove and/or replace devices without disturbing the bus communication. The T1 has a redundant power supply and diagnostic LEDs to indicate the status of each power source. It is also equipped with a DB9 connector for use with ProfiTrace or other maintenance/engineering tools. The DB9 connector can also be used as the primary bus connection if circumstances dictate. The T1 Terminator can be installed on a standard DIN-rail. PROCENTEC or info@procentec.com
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MODBUS TCP/IP GATEWAY: ProSoft Technology has a new Modbus TCP/IP to PROFIBUS DP-V1 SE Gateway (5204SE-MNET-PDPMV1), designed to integrate with Schneider Electric Modicon M340 processors. The gateway offers Application Communication Logic (ACL), a feature which automatically generates Derived Function Blocks (DFBs) specific to the user's application. The DFBs are imported directly into the Unity Pro version 4 software. The acyclic pass-through feature allows processor-to-slave messaging without additional programming. These features reduce engineering demands and time-to-deployment while creating a more tightly integrated and secure network infrastructure. PROSOFT TECHNOLOGY.
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OPC SERVER FOR S7: Softing has announced a new version of its economical OPC Server for S5 and S7 controllers, re-designed to save time and effort in setup and implementation. It effortlessly integrates with the Step7 programming environment
via PROFIBUS, Ethernet and serial interfaces and offers a direct import of tag names. It delivers simultaneous communication for up to 256 controllers. As an additional benefit, the Server includes an OPC ActiveX client control with examples on how to create small HMI applications using Excel , Internet Explorer, or Visual Basic and a server-side OPC Tunnel (part of Softing's award-winning Easy Connect Suite ). SOFTING.
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PROFIBUS TO MODBUS CONVERTER: The Anybus Communicator is an intelligent protocol converter which connects Modbus devices to PROFIBUS networks to provide instant PROFIBUS connectivity via a Modbus serial port. The automation device remains unchanged and there is no need for hardware or software modifications or engineering work. On the PROFIBUS side, the Communicator acts as a slave. On the Modbus side, it acts as a master and supports all baud rates from 1200 Baud up to 56kbit/s. In RS-485 mode, the Communicator can connect up to 31 serial Modbus devices to PROFIBUS. Configuration is done using a Windows based tool. sha@hms-networks.com or ANYBUS
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COMPACTLOGIX PROFIBUS: ProSoft has launched single-slot PROFIBUS DP V0/V1 master (PS69-DPM) and slave (PS69-DPS) modules, which are backplane-compatible with the CompactLogix platform.
The PS69-DPM Master module supports both I/O control and CIP messaging for parameterization, DPV1 messaging, and alarms. CIP messaging reduces the amount of information that is continually updated in the processor by separating the non-critical (acyclic) data from the critical (cyclic) data. This allows for non-critical data to be sent upon request only, which can significantly speed up performance. Both modules are PROFIBUS certified, UL 508 listed and C-UL, and CE certified. and are configurable using the PROSOFT.fdt Configuration Software. The slave module is also configurable via ladder logic. +1-661-716-5100 or PROSOFT.
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