CLPA Europe

The implementation of the smart factory concept is designed to deliver ever increasing efficiency and productivity. By providing a continuous stream of data flowing across an entire enterprise and beyond, it is possible to monitor and manage manufacturing processes in real-time. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology is bringing what was on the horizon for Smart Manufacturing closer by offering an increasingly holistic approach to industrial communications today. Here, John Browett, General Manager of the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) – Europe, looks at the key aspects of TSN that will change global industry and what to consider when adopting this technology.

The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) will showcase its latest open network technology, CC-Link IE TSN, in action at SPS - Smart Production Solutions 2019. By combining Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) with gigabit bandwidth, CC-Link IE TSN has been established as the pioneer in TSN adoption for open industrial Ethernet development. This leadership position will be clearly demonstrated via products and solutions from CLPA’s key technology partners on Stand 106, in Hall 5 from 26th-28th November 2019, in Nuremberg, Germany. 

As businesses are embarking on their journeys to build the Factory of the Future, Phoenix Contact is committed in helping its customers with reliable and futureproof components, systems and solutions to create interconnected businesses. Ensuring CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) conformance for their CC-Link IE compatible network devices and understanding the potential of innovations, such as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology, are two key aspects of Phoenix Contact’s strategy.

The focus of the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) at Hannover Messe 2019 was CC-Link IE TSN, an Industry 4.0 focused open industrial Ethernet that offers a combination of gigabit bandwidth and Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) in order to ensure maximum performance, open connectivity and system intelligence. By John Browett, General Manager of CLPA Europe

As we embark on the journey to Industry 4.0, it is becoming apparent that industry’s reluctance to move beyond 100Mbit Ethernet technology is a very real limiting factor. Here, CLPA-Europe General Manager John Browett argues that the transition to gigabit Ethernet networking technologies has to start now.

It has been announced that the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) will exhibit at the Hannover Messe 2019 for the first time, with the theme of this year’s event being, ‘Integrated Industry – Industrial Intelligence’. The association will present its latest CC-Link IE TSN open industrial networking solution for the integration of information technology and operational technology for Industry 4.0.

The factory of the future, taking into account Industry 4.0, is loaded with sensors and devices that record real-time processes and statuses across the factory floor. A fast, efficient and reliable industrial network is key to successfully sharing and utilising the data being generated. The network architecture should be designed as an interconnected platform, able to link all the nodes together and provide upstream and localised communication.

When Dansk Træemballage A/S (DTE) looked at how to increase the precision and productivity of its sawmill, one of the major challenges was to establish the right automation control network. As the biggest producer of wooden packaging in Denmark the plant includes over one hundred inverter drives, all of which needed to be controlled simultaneously and in real-time. 

  When the management at Toyota’s engine and power transmission manufacturing plant in Wałbrzych, Poland, looked to increase the availability of its production lines and improve the transparency of data, it faced the challenge of not only ensuring the implemented network would offer the necessary performance, but also of integrating multiple devices from a range of different vendors. 

As part of the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), a group of technology companies will be announcing a significant step toward the future of open industrial Ethernet at SPS IPC Drives 2018. Prominent members of the CLPA including Analog Devices, Balluff, CKD, FESTO, Hilscher, Hirschmann, HMS, Mitsubishi Electric, Molex, Renesas and Security Matters will together be announcing a significant new Ethernet technology that the group predicts will fundamentally change the landscape for Industrial Ethernet.

SPS/IPC/Drives Italia has become a must-attend event for industrial automation network specialists like the CLPA. The eighth edition of the fair hosted over 800 exhibitors and 35,000 visitors. “This is our third year at SPS/IPC/Drives Italia and we are proud to have been part of this event. It has grown tremendously over the past few years to the point that it has become our second most important fair in Europe. This shows the importance of Italy for the European automation market,” John Browett, General Manager of CLPA Europe, commented.

The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) described the recent SPS Drives show as a great success this year, as the level of interest from visitors was a high testament to the increasing global acceptance of CC-Link IE and CC-Link. Double-digit growth year on year for the last decade has seen the installed base of CC-Link IE and CC-Link devices approach the 20 million mark, and the number of partner companies has now passed 3,000, making CLPA one of the largest open network associations worldwide.

Underlining its position as a leading open network organisation, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) will be on Stand 431, Hall 2 at SPS/IPC/Drives 2017, with introductions to various developments that will further cement CC-Link IE’s position as an open network technology company. 

Even though there may still be debates on what Industry 4.0 actually means, you cannot deny that greater interconnectivity of devices and increased network capability will be the key drivers behind achieving the goals it sets out. John Browett, CLPA Europe General Manager, here outlines the network requirements that will enable Industry 4.0.

A working group on industrial Ethernet security has been established by the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), with the aim of providing a guideline document for users looking to build secure networks around the open gigabit Ethernet CC-Link IE technologies. In particular, the document will cover strategies for users adopting the CLPA’s Seamless Message Protocol (SLMP) and CC-Link IE Field Basic where general IP communication is used for both cyclic and transient communications.

Further strengthening its position in the Asian market, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) has announced an additional GB/T Chinese national standard. GB/T 33537.1 ∼.3-2017 is related to industrial communications networks and establishes CC-Link IE as a recommended standard in the Chinese market. This means that companies adopting the use of CC-Link IE in their machines and systems could gain a significant competitive advantage in this vital market.

A lot of the promise on Industry 4.0 is based upon seamless interconnectivity between production machines, enterprise systems and sources of data in the wider world. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a key foundation of that interconnectivity, providing low cost, easily integrated sensors, actuators and systems.

The ARC Industry Europe Forum 2017 in Sitges, Spain, which took place in May, annually attracts a large audience of top level management from a spectrum of European manufacturing companies.

It has become clear that the plant communications network will be the key enabler, as interest grows in the concepts of Industry 4.0. It relies upon the integration and optimisation of communications between field devices, production control systems, enterprise level IT systems and beyond.

  Opening its doors in Parma from 23rd to 25th May 2017 is the SPS Italia event, which is now in its seventh year running, and is expected to improve once again on the number of visitors looking to meet with leading automation experts and suppliers.