I'm blogging live from the PTO general assembly. Great to have wireless Ethernet (but the cheapskates at this hotel charge $9.95 for it).
The discussion today centered on ProfiNet, the Ethernet implementation of Profibus. This is a growing area for Profibus. Still a little way from achieving a critical mass, but it is coming. ProfiNet, much like EtherNet/IP (I'm not digging deep into the protocols right now), does not require any custom chips to implement. This is a definite plus in my book. Custom chips are a help for specialized applications--motion control being a primary one. No doubt but that ProfiNet is beginning to grow.
Dave Deibert of Air Products and Chemicals and Scott Hauslee of the Tennessee Valley Authority described successful Profibus applications to the assembly.
It appears to me that Profibus is achieving a mature status with lots of products from many suppliers available for sale and not as much new development. On the other hand, investment in ProfiNet is on the rise.
ARC Advisory Group analyst Harry Forbes reported on the most recent study he has done on Industrial Ethernet revealing huge growth over the past three years (35% to 45% compound annual growth rate). He predicts about 50% CAGR for the next few years. This is bound to raise the ProfiNet boat with this tide.
1:52:39 PM 
|
