The Continuing, Critical Role of Industrial Ethernet

Because the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) leverages so many existing technologies, it seems that everybody and their mother can claim to have the necessary expertise. But let’s not forget that IIoT roots are firmly planted within industrial Ethernet.

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Welcome to Automation’s Evolution

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.

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The Data-Driven Factory

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.

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The Social Engineer

How can you tell an engineer has social skills? When he’s talking to you, he’s looking at your shoes. Actually, he’s probably messaging you on his smartphone, even if he’s sitting beside you.

The electronically-social engineer has many non-face-to-face options for communications. Here are some suggested sites for the electronically-social engineer.

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No-charge North American PROFINET Classes

Lunch for 1,263 please. In 2015, PI North America fed 1,263 students lunch at the 17 PROFINET one-day training classes. A similar crowd is expected in 2016. Industrie 4.0, Internet of Things, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are everywhere now, including these PROFINET classes.

Additional classes and events include the fee-based PROFIsafe Designer Training coming in March. Become a “Certified PROFIsafe Designer” by passing the tests there.

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A Year of Collaboration

PI’s strength has always been to provide more than technology. We provide a community. A community of experts, vendors, and even users are tightly integrated in our worldwide network. So it is no surprise that PI announced major cooperations at this year’s SPS/IPC/Drives Press conference.

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PROFINET and OPC UA Cooperation

PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) and OPC Foundation have been working cooperatively for years. This cooperation is being intensified in order to systematically continue the integration of OPC UA into the system architecture of PROFINET.

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CC-Link IE and PROFINET Cooperation

The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) and PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) are announcing a close collaboration with the objective of promoting and disseminating the use of open industrial networks. As users aspire to be ready for Industry 4.0 or Industrial Internet of Things based manufacturing systems, easy integration of various networks, such as CC-Link IE and PROFINET, is essential for this.

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