PROFIsafe Fieldbus Technology Now Extended To Profinet
Scottsdale, AZ (October 25, 2005) Â The PROFIBUS Trade Organization (PTO) has announced the complete functional extension of the PROFIsafe safety fieldbus technology to PROFINET, the open Industrial Ethernet standard for automation. PROFIBUS is the very first fieldbus technology to merge standard automation and safety automation into one platform, running on the same bus, using the same communication mechanisms, and thus providing the highest productivity to the end user.
"The extension of this proven technology to PROFINET means that PROFINET users will have access to the full functionality of PROFIsafe," said Carl Henning, Director of PROFINET Marketing. "This will undoubtedly bring a new level of productivity to systems integrating standard and safety automation technologies."
The final specification for PROFINET PROFIsafe was completed in September and products will be available before year end. Approvals from BGIA and TUV, the relevant safety authorities, are also expected this month. Provision for safety functions on a fieldbus were facilitated by changes to NFPA-79 in the US.
This announcement is particularly important to the automotive industry with their priority to integrate both safety and general automation functions and devices. These include products such as programmable and numerical controllers, remote I/O, laser scanners, light curtains, motor starters, frequency converters, drives, gas and fire sensors and more.
PROFIsafe is a proven fieldbus technology with more than 100,000 nodes installed in PROFIBUS applications worldwide. These nodes are now operating in more than 3,000 installations including both process plants and automated factories in companies and locations as diverse as Japan (Toyota), Australia (Ford) and Norway (Statoil). Brewing companies, semi-conductor manufacturers and packaging machines are also among the list of PROFIsafe successes. PROFIBUS is the world market leader in fieldbus systems, standardized in IEC 61158 and IEC 61784, with node installations now exceeding 12.6 million.
An engineer at an automotive plant described his PROFIsafe installation: "The system was started up and we just forgot about it because it was working so well. We did not experience any problems. Although we have to get used to the new philosophy, safety is actually integrated into this system."
The objective of the PROFIsafe profile is the co-existence of safety-orientated communication and standard communication on one and the same cable. Necessary safety on a single-channel communication system is possible, but PROFIsafe also allows an optional route to improved availability by redundancy of the message channels if desired.
PROFIsafe utilizes standard communication components such as cables, ASICs and software packages. The safety measures are encapsulated in the communications protocols. Benefits of PROFIsafe include safety-related communications using the standard PROFINET fieldbus with communication errors immediately detected in the system. Other benefits include the need for fewer components; coexistence of standard and safety programs on one CPU; one distributed I/O configuration for standard and safety I/O modules; fast system configuration and commissioning; better system integration; greater flexibility; uniform engineering for standard and safety control components; and logic for safety functions is software-based rather than hard-wired, allowing implementation of complex safety functions, faster reproducibility and investment security.
PROFIsafe provides innovative technology to deliver increases in reliability and safety while decreasing costs. By fully integrating safety and control in a process automation system, users can significantly reduce the risk of loss in injuries, production, equipment, resources, and profit. Integrated systems carry continuous self-testing and diagnostics for correct operations, and adjust the process to a safe status in the event of a hazardous situation.
"Mr. Henning concluded: "PROFINET now with PROFIsafe covers all areas and aspects of automation from the field level to the MES interface, from standard control level to high-end motion control, as well as the integration of safety and security. The industry will benefit greatly from this widely supported standard."
The PROFIBUS Trade Organization (PTO) is a non-profit corporation working to enhance the PROFIBUS and PROFINET standards while educating and assisting device manufacturers throughout North America on the latest extensions and conformance tests associated with PROFIBUS and PROFINET. For additional information contact the PTO at 16101 N. 82nd Street, Suite 3B, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. Phone: 480-483-2456; FAX: 480-483-7202. Internet: www.us.profibus.com.
