The annual determination of the installed base of PI technologies show a significant growth in market acceptance. The numbers for PROFINET and PROFIsafe are particularly strong. IO-Link is also exhibiting a strongly accelerated growth.
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is expected to be the next big advancement in standard Ethernet. This set of standards will allow deterministic performance as part of IEEE-standard Ethernet. Some of the standards will not be finalized for quite some time, but PI has begun a Working Group to determine how best to leverage TSN in PROFINET. Note that PROFINET already provides deterministic, high-speed performance, but as TSN starts to appear as part of the Ethernet infrastructure, PROFINET will use it. Initial results from the working group are expected in November.
If you do nothing else, read this! Can’t make it to one of the hundreds of PROFIBUS or PROFINET training events going on around the world? Need a point of reference at the tip of your fingers? Many new documents are available, some with important updates.
Hannover Fair will be held April 25-29 with the theme “Integrated Industry – Discover Solutions.” This year’s partner country is the USA and President Obama will be there for the opening ceremony with a large contingent from the US. PI will present PROFINET, PROFIBUS, and IO-Link at Hall 9, Booth D68 under the banner “PROFINET – The Backbone of Industrie 4.0.” Stop by to see how PI technologies can already fulfill the requirements of Industrie 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things.
The new guideline, “Recommendation for Design and Implementation of PROFINET Devices,” addresses technological aspects as well as organizational issues such as certification and marketing when developing a PROFINET device. It guides vendors through this process from initial questions to market launch of a product.
With Hannover Messe around the corner, there are many new products to announce including a flowmeter from Bronkhorst with PROFINET, PROFIsafe from Murrelektronik, four new products from Siemens, a miniature PROFIBUS master from Softing, and five new products from Turck.
PI Chairman Karsten Schneider shares his observations on the importance of communications – not just in bits and bytes, but person-to-person and organization-to-organization.
The huge success of PI technologies is based on communication. The quality and widespread global use of PI technologies would never have been possible if the PROFIBUS and PROFINET developers had not had an outstanding character trait – the absolute determination to communicate with one another.
PI sponsors a range of classes: free one-day training classes, PROFIBUS & PROFINET Certified Network Engineer classes, and the newly created PROFINET Developer Classes. Globally, there is a five-city series in France featuring PROFIBUS, PROFINET, and wireless PROFINET and in Germany there’s a plugfest.
