Functional Safety Progress

It is great pleasure for me to give you the PROFIsafe Technology updates and its strong position in the market after the first introduction around 15 years ago. Functional safety gets more attention and provides the feasibility to implement safety in machines and at plants. Safety fieldbus communication makes the engineer’s life easier by reducing the complexity of safety engineering and electrical wiring. With more than 4 million installed nodes PROFIsafe technology has established itself in the leading position in the network safety market.

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  • Post category:PI NEWS
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Taking Responsibility for Safety and Security

The term 'security' alone causes a media storm – one glance at newspapers and online news sites is all it takes and everyone is in the thick of the discussion around cyber security. Automation and communication technology are not spared from this. This can sometimes create the impression that issues surrounding IT security are a new phenomenon. The experts of PI have concerned themselves for many years with the issue of secure operation of communication technology components, which by nature have always been tightly networked. Also new to the discussion is that the areas of safety and security are moving closer together.

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Wireless Safety along the Ride Flight Path with PROFIsafe

Flying machines built according to plans devised by Leonardo da Vinci centuries ago are one of the latest attractions in Germany's largest amusement park, Europa-Park, in Rust outside of Freiburg. Industrial automation technology with wireless and fail-safe Industrial Wireless Local Area Network (IWLAN) and PROFINET communication provides the required safety for the rail-guided "sightseeing flight." Da Vinci would be impressed!

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Easy PROFIsafe integration for Fortress Interlocks

UK-based Fortress Interlocks manufactures premium safety interlock systems for industrial applications. These interlocks are used to help prevent a machine from harming its operator or damaging itself. The interlocks stop the machine whenever certain states occur such as the opening of a door or the push of a button.

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Tech Tip: DHCP and PROFINET DCP

We often get the question: Why doesn’t PROFINET use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for IP address assignment as DCHP is used extensively in the office? Answer: DHCP could be used, optionally, but there are some differences you should know between DHCP and PROFINET DCP.

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  • Post category:TECH TIPS
  • Reading time:4 mins read

PROFINET – Backbone of IIoT and Industry 4.0

In August 2015, Rafael Koenig, Chairman of Profibus Australia, presented at the Future Networks Forum, part of the Westwick Farrow ACI Connect event, to an audience of automation, control, and instrumentation professionals, about Profinet’s role in Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things.

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  • Post category:AustraliaPI NEWS
  • Reading time:5 mins read

IO-Link: Did You Know?

Did you know that IO-Link protects against incorrect device replacement? If a sensor has to be replaced, this is usually done at a hectic pace since the machine must go back into operation as quickly as possible. Often, there is no specially trained staff available for this task. For this reason, IO-Link takes a different course. Developed as an interface "by practitioners for practitioners", it has a variety of integrated options to maximize the ease and reliability of device replacement.

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  • Post category:TECH TIPS
  • Reading time:2 mins read