ISA100 WCI, NAMUR, ODVA, PI, VDMA, and ZVEI plan to partner with FieldComm Group and OPC Foundation to collaboratively develop the Process Automation Device Information Model (PA-DIM) standard.

After almost four years of collaboration between the four leading standards development organizations, along with significant support from 12 major industry project partners, the participants are pleased to announce a successful completion of the APL Project.

With the completion of the work surrounding PA device profile 4, another milestone has been reached on the way to flexible and, at the same time, more secure process automation. In combination with PROFINET over APL and its high bandwidth, seamless integration from the field level into the entire PROFINET network is possible.

Supply bottlenecks, energy prices, staff shortages – the process industry is currently facing very significant challenges. This is where omlox can make a significant contribution, helping to locate objects in expansive and complex production facilities.

It is important to design the interaction between PROFINET and the OPC UA device integration models in such a way that it is easy for the user to get started. This makes it easier to implement data analytics and predictive maintenance scenarios or asset management in the plant, for example.

Many medium-sized companies, whether in the food+bev industry, the packaging industry or electronics suppliers, are increasingly turning to robot-assisted applications (pick & place). Here, the work to integrate robots from different manufacturers is overly tedious and time consuming. PI is looking to change all that.

Since the beginning of 2022, certification for the PROFIdrive and Encoder profile is mandatory. And so, the Profile Tester, a Windows-based tool with a graphical user interface, can be downloaded free of charge by all members to ease conformity testing to the specification.

The IO-Link Community came together in Frankfurt am Main, Germany for their annual Members' Assembly. A new Steering Committee was elected with participation by 18 active companies helping drive IO-Link success into the future.