ODVA Turns 10

After two days of technical and marketing sessions highlighting the successes of DeviceNet and common industrial protocol (CIP) networks, Katherine Voss, executive director of ODVA, called the 10th anniversary general meeting to order in San Antonio on November 18. ODVA is the acronym for the Open DeviceNet Vendors Association. Interestingly, this year’s conference and meeting was titled the “2004 CIP Networks Conference & 10th Annual Meeting.” The organization is now emphasizing the CIP protocol.

协会主席戴夫Quebbemann回顾了association’s progress during the year. He specifically pointed to the continued implementation of ODVA’s global business plan and building on the establishment of the conformance testing lab and testing services in Ann Arbor, Mich. The association has transitioned from a “virtual organization to bricks and mortar,” noted Quebbeman, who is director of automation marketing at Omron Corp., Schaumburg, Ill.

Steve Biegacki, vice president of commercial marketing for the Automation, Control and Information Group at Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation, presented a 10-year retrospective from the beginnings of the development of the DeviceNet network through initiation and organization of the independent vendors association that assumed control of it.

Mike Wehrenberg, automation sales engineer for Rockwell distributor Kendall Electric, in Battle Creek, Mich., described a successful networking application at one of his customer’s locations. His advice for others—take time for the network design phase on projects—don't just plug in wires and see what happens.

Scott Bump, director of fieldbus technology development with Invensys Foxboro Systems, in Foxboro, Mass., and a member of the steering committee of the FDT Joint Interest Group, described for the ODVA members what FDT is and how it will work with CIP networks. FDT (Field Device Tool) is an open standard technology for managing field devices. Device manufacturers add to their individual field devices a piece of software called Device Type Manager or DTM. The FDT message would ride atop the CIP stack in a DeviceNet or EtherNet/IP message. FDT and ODVA have established a joint committee to develop the interface.

New products introduced at the event included:

Sick Inc., Minneapolis, announced the upcoming release of its line of Intelliface products for DeviceNet Safety—a new technology that allows standard and safety devices to operate on the same network and to seamlessly communicate. The release is targeted for April 2005 at the Hannover Messe tradeshow in Germany.

The Sick DeviceNet Safety line will include:

IP 67 / IP 20 bus nodes featuring dual-channel safety capable inputs, test/signal outputs and dual-channel bipolar safety capable outputs with quick disconnect field signal connectors.

The company also introduced Safety Network Controllers that are definite-purpose, safety-rated programmable logic controllers capable of integrating a combination of safety inputs and controlling safety outputs locally and through the DeviceNet Safety network.

Phoenix Contact, Harrisburg, Pa., announced the addition of an EtherNet/IP interface to its Inline Modular I/O family. The Bus Coupler provides complete 10/100 Mbps EtherNet/IP connectivity to Inline stations of up to 63 modules and 128 Ethernet connections. Graphics and plain English descriptions in the Web pages provide pinpoint diagnostics such as bus coupler operating status, module by module station configuration status and application faults such as overloads.

Harting Inc. of North America, Elgin, Ill., introduced a full range of connectors, cable assemblies, hubs and switches that are specially designed for the factory floor. The Han-Max RJ45 Connector is a metal bayonet style RJ-45 connector that provides protection for factory environments. The field-terminable M12-D HARAX connector provides quick installation and reliable termination. Pre-assembled cables are also available in standard and custom lengths. Ethernet switches provide flexible mounting outside the control cabinets and are available with several different Ethernet interfaces including M12-D and RJ45.