For the 21st time now, the IO-Link community has met for a two-day interoperability workshop. The annual event, which took place in Bad Soden, Germany, saw a new participation record: 130 participants from 49 companies and nine different countries. “We were especially pleased that the newly founded Onsoon test center from China was also represented with a testing environment for the first time,” said Frank Moritz, Board Member of PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International). Onsoon is the first IO-Link test center in Asia, expanding the number of testing laboratories to three worldwide.
In addition to the introduction of new products and developments, the workshop primarily involved their rigorous testing with regard to quality, interoperability and day-to-day use, as well as their presentation. In addition to seamless interaction in the OT field, bridging to IT was also discussed. The interoperability workshop has also increasingly been developing into an information hub and cross-manufacturer exchange. Potential flaws and inconsistencies are identified and, ideally, even remedied right there on the spot. “Discussions between users and experts always create new ideas which lead to the expansion of the technology and evaluation of further areas of application,” said Moritz in pointing out another advantage. The large number of new developments revolving around IO-Link Wireless were of great interest to participants this year. The interaction between classic (i. e. wired) IO-Link and IO-Link wireless was a primary point of focus here.
Another important topic was the further development and increased acceptance of IO-Link in new applications, such as building management. Among other things, new sensors and measuring devices for energy monitoring and displays for smart signaling were introduced here.
The annual event has become an important fixture on the calendar of most manufacturers of masters, devices and tools. Next year’s Interop Workshop will take place on October 1 and 2, 2024 in Bad Soden. New users and participants are warmly welcome.
IO-Link is a globally standardized bidirectional communication technology (IEC 61131-9) for sensors and actuators. Its biggest advantage is that even the simplest sensors and actuators can be effortlessly integrated into any fieldbus system. IO-Link is the world’s fastest-growing technology in the industrial automation field, having since encompassed more than 22,000 different products with more than 36 million nodes installed around the world.