THE much anticipated debate between Profibus and Foundation Fieldbus proponents in Perth last month failed to materialise when FF members were unable to attend the Australian New Zealand Profibus seminar and exhibition.
Meeting organiser Dr Andrew Janiak, from Fieldbus Specialists, conceded that Profibus did not cover everything, but assured those present that “Profibus is here to stay”. Of course, FF and Profibus only attack a small part of the market and do not often compete head to head. Reflecting this, Ethernet was the hot topic of discussion. Janiak reported that Profibus was actively promoting the implementation of transparent communications between Profibus and Ethernet. “PROFINet permits both vertical and horizontal integration and facilitates expansion of existing systems,” Janiak told the 50 attendees.
Held at SMC’s headquarters in the FF heartland, exhibitors included Burkert Fluid Controls, Festo, Siemens, Micromax, NHP, Pepperl + Fuchs, Schneider Electric, HWT Paklog, Fieldbus Specialists and SMC Pneumatics.
Frank Noakes