CLPA Europe

Offering a way of providing high speed Ethernet to the factory floor, CC-Link IE also brings Gigabit Ethernet to the field device level and allows seamless movement of data through one or more network levels. Industry 4.0, has spawned an industrial variant of the IoT, the Industrial IoT (IIoT), which offers real-time performance: many production systems have to deal with mission-critical data that require tight coordination of sensing and actuation to safely and efficiently perform closed loop control.

As we watch Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) grow, there are plenty of automation industry developments to excite machine builders and networking experts. Of particular note is the cooperation between the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) and PROFINET & PROFIBUS International (PI).This has produced an interoperability specification that is opening new pathways and possibilities for machine integration growth worldwide.

An addition to CC-Link IE, enabling device vendors to easily add CC-Link IE compatibility to any product with a 100Mbit Ethernet port, has been announced by CLPA. CC-Link IE Field Network Basic (or ‘Basic Mode’) is easily implemented on devices or master controllers by software alone, enabling compatibility to be added to existing products without any hardware modification. 

Total number of nodes around the world brought to almost 17m by the end of the financial year in March 2016, due to over two million CC-Link IE and CC-Link devices being installed in industrial automation applications during 2015.

Consumers generally take their water supply for granted, giving barely a thought to how it is extracted, filtered and delivered. One issue that arises for many distribution networks is the fluctuation in demand, which can be particularly marked when the local population temporarily increases, such as in holiday areas. Another is ensuring the control system works reliably over the wide geographic area of the whole network. 

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 the Industrial Internet of Things based manufacturing systems easy integration of various networks, such as CC-Link IE and PROFINET, is essential for this.

The collaboration project, which will be officially announced at SPS IPC Drives 2015, has been in discussion for a number of months and is expected to have a profound impact on European companies building machines and automation components designed for sale in Asia. It should also benefit European companies looking to integrate machines and devices from Asia that are built by default with CC-Link IE on-board.

In a recent video made with the CC-Link Partner Association, sensors and measurement specialist HBM Test and Measurement has developed a CC-Link gateway module, which allows a single PLC to collect live data from multiple load cells. 

CC-Link continues to strengthen its position as a leading global open automation network technology by announcing the appointment of another major global corporation to its board of directors.

A new indoor skydiving centre, just opened in Basingstoke, UK, uses cutting-edge CC-Link industrial communications to provide thrill seekers with an exciting, yet safe, aerial experience.

A new Chair of the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) has been elected, with Professor Fumihiko Kimura of Hosei University in Japan announced to take on the role. CC-Link is a global industrial open network standard used to provide communications around automated systems such as factories, machinery and high-tech buildings. Originally developed by Mitsubishi Electric, it was made an open technology in 2000 and is now supported by over 280 different companies. 

The CC-Link Partner Association has opened an office near the Indian capital of New Delhi to serve one of the world’s most exciting manufacturing economies. This expands the network of existing offices in the UK, Germany, North America, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan.

With consumers increasingly demanding food that is as fresh as possible while being free from preservatives, hygiene requirements are becoming ever more stringent. This is only possible if the design of all the production systems is geared towards hygiene. Gilbert Schwartmann from HBM and John Browett of the CLPA look at associated developments in hardware and control technology.

Product time-to-market for the CC-Link IE Field gigabit open industrial Ethernet standard will now be even shorter than ever before, following the announcement of support for the network by two major semiconductor industry players. Renesas and Altima will both showcase solutions for CC-Link IE Field at the SPS/IPC/Drives 2012 fair in Nuremberg, Germany on the CC-Link Partner Association booth (6-122).

Energy management functions have been added to CC-Link, the open automation network technology, to create a combined energy and production management control system. The new CC-Link IE Energy capabilities allow managers to easily monitor energy consumption by individual machines or processes over the same networks they are already using for general control purposes.

Major advances in open industrial communications will greet visitors to the CLPA (CC-Link Partners Association) booth, Hall 6 Number 122, at the SPS/IPC/Drives Fair. These will include a new Field Programmable Gate Array solution and the launch of CC-Link Energy.

Everyday, the news is full of more bad news about the worsening state of the so-called “Eurozone”. Businesses within the EU who depend on the Euro for economic survival have become increasingly pessimistic about trade with their counterparts in the region. The CC-Link Partner Association offers European companies a possible way out of the mess with “out-of-the-box” thinking – the Gateway to China programme.

China is set to be one of the major growth engines for manufacturing for decades to come, and many European companies are keen to access this vast market. It is also likely to prove to be a ‘hub’ from which neighbouring countries will also develop global manufacturing capabilities. The White Paper, entitled: “Gateway to China – Opening doors for manufacturers in the world’s fastest-growing economy”, has been published by the CLPA to help manufacturing companies and those that support them to formulate ideas on how to approach the Chinese market. It can be downloaded from their website.

“Industrial Communication with Fieldbus and Ethernet”, published by VDE Verlag in both English and German language versions, provides a concise explanation of the state of the art of data and information handling in manufacturing and production. Aimed at the widest possible audience, including developers, users and students, it presents information simply but thoroughly.

Engineers considering developing CC-Link Open Network enabled versions of their own products can now use starter kits developed by the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), designed to make the process simple.