The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) has taken its biggest ever exhibition stand at this year’s SPS/IPC/DRIVES/ ELECTRIC AUTOMATION show - held in Nuremberg on 27-29 November - to showcase the benefits of open communications for industrial control systems. Showcased will be the first European presentation of CC-Link IE, a deterministic 1Gbps Industrial Ethernet version running on an optical fibre network, and scheduled for full launch in early 2008.
CC-Link is an open network protocol that allows control equipment and field devices from different vendors to be used freely together within a control system. With the new CC-Link IE, it is now a full family of products that allows seamless communication, from the sensor level on the shopfloor, through various management levels to comprehensive enterprise reporting. Alongside these are specialist versions such as safety, which ensures safe operation of machinery and plant and compliance with all relevant safety standards.
A number of working demonstrations can be seen on the stand, which at 50m², is twice the size of last year's. There will also be an increased display of CC-Link compatible products from worldwide CLPA members. CLPA membership is approaching 1000 companies, over half of whom are non-Japanese manufacturers. CC-Link was developed in Japan by Mitsubishi Electric, and Asia remains its strongest territory. However, all rights to the underlying technology have been placed in the international public domain so that companies anywhere in the world are free to develop compatible products.
Services offered on the stand will be consultancy and advice on all aspects of CC-Link connectivity, software configuration tools, optimising network performance and general installation advice, including free parts kits which can be made available to assist regular members with the development of compatible products.
Visit the CLPA on stand number 323 in hall 6 from 27th until the 29th of November 2007, at the Exhibition Centre, Nuremberg, Germany. At 11:40 on the 27th at stand 8-420, CLPA will also make a presentation entitled “The development of high speed open Ethernet networks for improving automation and productivity”, at which time they will explain their new integrated network concept in more detail.