PROFINET Commander is a vendor-independent PROFINET software utility which runs on a Windows PC and allows you to set up, test, and commission devices quickly without special programming (i.e. without a PLC) or additional hardware.
Recently on a LinkedIn forum, someone asked the following question: "I am a new instrumentation engineer. How does 4 - 20 mA technology work?" What followed was an in-depth analysis of the origins and history of the technology. Lost in the heat of the discussion, two people made almost the same comment: "We should leave that behind and just switch to fieldbus!"
Did you know that IO-Link drastically reduces the number of interfaces needed? Modern automation systems contain a variety of sensors and actuators from different manufacturers that are linked to controllers. IO-Link provides a universal physical interface for wiring and a uniform interface for configuration and parameter assignment.
PI is celebrating a number of social media milestones. Our YouTube channels have been producing useful videos for five years. @AllThingsPROFI has been tweeting since July of 2008. But the ten-year milestone (almost to the day!) goes to the PROFIblog.
This month's product highlights include two new IoT gateways for PROFIBUS / PROFINET from two different companies, flowmeters with PROFINET connectivity, new compact I/O, SmartLights, and much more...
An automation evolution exploration from industry veteran Carl Henning. I’ve been around PROFIBUS and then PROFINET for a couple decades now and I have to admit that I’m still excited by these technologies. It’s been fun to watch them mature and grow. I’ve been doing automation for decades before that so I’ve seen the long arc of automation’s evolutionary growth. Our evolutionary position is currently the Industrial Internet of Things. And it is an evolution I believe.
In North America, additional cities have been confirmed for no-charge PROFINET one-day training classes and additional Certified Network Engineer classes are announced. Free PROFIBUS and PROFINET training is coming to the UK. PI Australia formalizes its Automation Innovation Summit. In Germany IO-Link, PROFIBUS, and PROFIsafe training is scheduled.
Being in the business of moving data with PROFINET, references to the data-driven factory appeal to PI. Appealing as that is, it’s an incomplete story. Like a word-driven blog post. Random words collected do not a blog post make. Random data collected does not a factory drive. Data is the raw material.
