Regional and Member News – May 2020

Member News: Fluke Networks Inaugurates a New Industrial Ethernet Website

Fluke Networks is proud to announce the launch of its new Industrial Ethernet website. This website shows resources and product information that help customers better understand how to validate, troubleshoot, and maintain cabling in a PROFINET network and further underscores Fluke Network’s commitment to the PROFINET communication standard.

PROFINET networks are the backbone of many of today’s connected factories and Industrial Automation systems. And, cabling, copper or fiber optic, is a major cause of downtime in these time-sensitive industrial control networks. We understand that for plant electricians, maintenance technicians, and control engineers, one of the top priorities has to be avoiding downtime. When something goes wrong in a process, it’s not always easy to determine if the problem is related to control logic, devices, or the cable between devices. Testing PROFINET cables can save hours of downtime discovering distance to cuts, incorrect pin assignment, or a specific cabling parameter (attenuation, crosstalk, etc.) failing in an end to end link measurement.

Visit flukenetworks.com/industrialethernet for a complete overview of the PROFINET cable testers and click here to receive the latest and most relevant facts about Industrial Ethernet cable testing.

Visit Website


Regional News: Brazil

WESTCON: New PROFIBUS PITC and PROFINET PICC

PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PI) has just recognized WESTCON Instrumentação Industrial as a Certified PROFIBUS Training Center (PITC) and a PROFINET Competence Center (PICC). Previously, in 2012, PI also approved WESTCON as a PROFIBUS PICC.

Worldwide, 59 PICCs are operating, through Regional PI Associations, qualified to provide technical support for PROFIBUS and PROFINET. PITCs, on the other hand, can conduct certified training courses.

WESTCON has been part of the Brazilian market for over 25 years. They provide analysis, diagnosis, troubleshooting, and network certification services. Its team is composed of trained and certified engineers. Many have been certified as CPE (Certified PROFIBUS Engineer), CPI (Certified PROFIBUS Installer), CPNE (Certified PROFINET Engineer), FSE (Functional Safety Engineer – TÜV), or ISA / IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Expert.

Visits and Training Mark the Beginning of the 2020 Activities of PI Brazil

In January and February of this year, PI Brazil paid a visit to potential partners from different sectors. The visits took place at Tetra Pak, a multinational food packaging manufacturer Yakult food; the Prysmian groups, which produce electrical wires and cables; and Zilor, which focuses on energy and food. The units of the SENAI School in Bauru and Lençóis Paulista also joined PI Brazil, looking to establish partnerships and align actions together.

2020 Training Schedule Dates and New Courses

PI Brazil, in partnership with the National Telecommunications Institute (INATEL), has published its 2020 training schedule. Their training program is made up of over 20 events. Most of the classes are Certified PROFIBUS and PROFINET Engineer and Installer courses. The schedule also includes new training on PROFIBUS-PA, PROFINET-PA, AS-Interface, and IO-Link.

To check the complete schedule, visit www.profibus.org.br/treinamentos.

PI Brazil Seminar at the Technology Week of SENAI Pindamonhangaba

PI Brazil participated in the SENAI Pindamonhangaba Technology Week, held in December 2019. At the event, PI Brazil presented a PROFIBUS, PROFINET, and IO-Link Technologies Seminar. Professionals, users, teachers, and students were able to learn, in a single event, the applications and news of the communication protocols.

In addition to PI Brazil’s main presentation, the talk “Analysis and Diagnosis with Industrial Networks PROFIBUS and PROFINET” was presented by the vice president of PI Brazil and Product Manager at WESTCON, Alexandre de Oliveira. Also, the CEO of PI Brazil and Marketing Manager at SICK Brazil, André Petroff, led the following talk: “IO-Link as the Gateway to Industry 4.0”. Event participants were able to interact with the speakers and watch practical demonstrations through learning kits.

Connectivity and Digitization: The Future of The Industry

On December 4, 2019, Festo Brazil held an event on the future of the industry and the impact of digitalization on production processes, at Cubo Itaú – the largest center of technological entrepreneurship in Latin America. This initiative had a unique program with companies and institutions invited to present and discuss the challenges and opportunities for the Brazilian industry to become more competitive within the world scenario.

The program included relevant issues regarding the future of the industry, emphasizing the paths towards factory modernization, the role of a master plan to support this strategy, and the demands for the training of professionals.

Among the guests were Roberto Celestino, Watson Artificial Intelligence Sales Specialist at IBM and Nicollas Araújo, Head of Digital Business & Services at Festo Brazil. For the panel “Connectivity and Digitization”, Bruno Vath Zarpellon, of the Brazil Germany Chamber – AHK, moderated a fruitful discussion with Flextronics, Johnson & Johnson, Mercedez Benz, Pollux – ABII and SENAI (National Service for Industrial Learning). The event also had the support of ABIMAQ, PLMX, PI Brazil, VDMA, and Waggl Brazil.

Over 160 managers from different segments of the industry joined the event. Overall, the event was an absolute success and will have its second edition in 2020, at a place and date to be defined.

‘Industrial Communication with PROFINET’, by Manfred Popp, Will be Part of SENAI Anchieta

On January 31, the executive manager of PI Brazil, Silas Anchieta, met with the director of the Professional Training Unit of the Faculty of Technology SENAI Anchieta, Marcel Adriano Pereira Porto, to discuss partnership opportunities for 2020. The professor of Professional Practice, Ricardo Euler Zabuscka, and the head responsible for the School Library, Roseli Aparecida Costa, also joined the meeting. During the meeting, Silas Anchieta handed over two copies of the book ‘Industrial Communication with PROFINET’, by Manfred Popp.

The book, launched in 2018, was translated into Portuguese by Alexandre Baratella, professor at the PROFIBUS Certified Competence and Training Center – INATEL Santa Rita do Sapucaí. The content is aimed at technicians, technologists, and engineers already working or studying in automation and industrial control systems, with an emphasis on industrial networks. The book will be integrated into the bibliography of the College of Technology in Industrial Electronics and made available to students for consultation.

Usina São Francisco Hosts Workshop of PROFIBUS and PROFINET Technologies

The São Francisco plant, belonging to group Balbo, located in the State of São Paulo, hosted, on January 23 2020, the Workshop “Onsite Technologies PROFIBUS and PROFINET”, delivered by PI Brazil.

The event, exclusively for employees of the unit, started with an institutional presentation by PI Brazil covering topics of grounding and shielding. Then, it continued to cover the fundamentals of PROFIBUS DP / PA technologies, and analysis and diagnosis of PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies.

In the end, the participants were able to watch a practical demonstration with training kits and products, and interact with the speakers: Glauco Guaitoli, from DLG Automação Industrial; Felipe Rover, from Siemens; and Paulo Toledo, from Toledo & Souza Engenharia.

PI Brazil and INATEL: Last PROFINET and PROFIBUS Certifications of 2019

The National Telecommunications Institute – INATEL, with centers in São Paulo and Santa Rita do Sapucaí-MG, promoted, in partnership with PI Brazil, the last training of communication protocols of the year.

In November, from the 25th to the 27th, PROFINET Certification took place in São Paulo. From December 9th to 13th, it was the turn of the Certified PROFIBUS Engineer and Installer course, held at PITC – Certified PROFIBUS / PROFINET Training Center, in Vale da Eletrônica.

The two training classes were given by instructors Alexandre Baratella Lugli, professor and coordinator of higher courses in Control and Automation (Engineering and Technology) at INATEL, and João Pedro Paiva, Engineer with international certification for installation and configuration of PROFIBUS and PROFINET Industrial Networks. All the professionals attending the courses completed them successfully after passing both theoretical and practical tests.