Start of “IO-Link Community Japan” and the regular seminar “IO-Link experience course” at Waseda University
IO-Link Community Japan (Leader: Mr. Shinichi Motoyoshi; Chairman of PI Japan) announces the start of IO-Link Community Japan in April 2017 to promote the industrial digital communication technology, IO-Link, based on IEC61131-9. And it also starts the “IO-Link experience course” from June 2017 at Industrial Open-Network Laboratory of Research Institute for Science and Engineering in Waseda University, as one of the field communication seminars.
Recently the demand for the digital communication technology in the factory floor has been increasing based on the request for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industrie 4.0.
On the factory floor, the digital communication technology called fieldbus was introduced in the 1990’s. After 2000, Industrial Ethernet was proposed. Thus, the control data and the management data on the factory floor can be accessed more quickly, more easily, and with more flexibility.
However, the intelligence and performance required for factory floor devices require the addition of fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet. Because of that expense, most sensors and actuators which are relatively inexpensive and work at the bottom layer of the factory, did not have communication capability.
The number of sensors and actuators in the factory is very large. Without digital communication to sensors and actuators it is hard to represent IIoT and Industrie 4.0. The sensor and actuator data is not available.
IO-Link was introduced in 2005 in Germany, and it adds the communication capability to sensors and actuators with little cost increase. IO-Link is the international standard, IEC61131-9, and has over 5.4 million nodes shipped globally through 2016.
IO-Link connects sensors and actuators to the upper fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet layers. Currently many fieldbuses (including CC-Link, DeviceNet, and PROFIBUS), and many Industrial Ethernets (like CC-Link/OE, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, Modbus/TCP, Powerlink, PROFINET, and Sercos) have an interface to IO-Link.
In Germany, the IO-Link Community was formed within PI and works to develop and promote the technology. More than 20 companies from Japan have joined the IO-Link Community in Germany.
Because of this interest, IO-Link Community Japan has been established in April 2017 to promote IO-Link technology in Japan.
Industrial Open-Network Laboratory of Research Institute for Science and Engineering in Waseda University has held network seminars for process automation for years. Now it will start the “IO-Link experience course” beginning in June 2016. Therefore, it can contribute to a broader range of industrial automation.
Mr. Motoyoshi, leader of IO-Link Community Japan, said “We understand the request of IO-Link in the Japanese users is increasing now. With the start of the IO-Link Community Japan, users can access IO-Link technology more easily. That would support the expansion of IO-Link in Japan.”
If you have any questions, please contact IO-Link Community Japan: info@nullio-link.jp
The twenty members of IO-Link Community Japan are:
- B&PLUS KK
- Balluff Co., Ltd.
- Contrinex Japan K.K.
- Hilscher Japan KK
- HYDAC Japan Corporation
- IBS Japan Co., Ltd.
- ifm efector co., ltd.
- JSL Technology Co.,Ltd.
- K.MECS Co., Ltd.
- Maxim integrated
- Molex Japan
- OMRON Corporation
- Panasonic Industrial Devices SUNX Co., Ltd.
- Pepperl+Fuchs K.K.
- Phoenix Contact K.K.
- SICK K.K.
- Siemens K.K.
- SMC Corp.
- TJ Group Corporation
- TURCK Japan Corporation