POWERLINK is celebrating a milestone birthday this year. It was ten years ago - back in 2003 - that the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group (EPSG) was formed. This organization safeguards the vendor-independent openness of this advanced technology and promotes its use around the world. Since then, the user group has grown to include more than 3,100 equipment manufacturers from all areas of industrial automation.
For applications with hard real-time requirements
Due to its specific characteristics - particularly minimal jitter and top perfor-mance - POWERLINK is perfectly suited to industrial applications with hard real-time requirements. In addition, its communication management prevents collisions from occurring while ensuring uncompromising determinism.
The POWERLINK protocol was introduced at the SPS/IPC/Drives trade show in 2000 and was already being used in serial-produced machinery by the following year. In complex packaging machines with over 50 synchronized axes driven by servo motors, this new solution provided proof of its superiority over all fieldbus systems of the day.
In 2003, the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group was established and the POWERLINK protocol extended to include CANopen. This provided several benefits for users as it enabled POWERLINK to use proven CANopen profiles that are accepted and supported by countless manufacturers.
Open-source software boosts growth
Five years ago, the POWERLINK stack was published as open-source soft-ware, facilitating another growth spurt of this advanced communication stand-ard that has continued ever since.
This is evidenced by more and more manufacturers who have been integrating POWERLINK into their products, including ABB, Baumüller, B&R, Danfoss, Infranor, KEB, Lenze, Nord Drivesystems, Schneider Electric and Yaskawa, to name just a few.
About EPSG
The Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group (EPSG) is an independent organization founded in 2003 by leading companies from the fields of motion control and automation technology. Its aims are the standardization and further development of the POWERLINK protocol first introduced by B&R in 2001. This high-performance real-time communication system is an advanced protocol based on the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard designed to ensure real-time data transfer in the microsecond range. The EPSG cooperates with leading standardization organizations such as CAN in Automation (CiA) and the IEC. Anton Meindl, business manager of Controls at B&R, is the organization's CEO.
For applications with hard real-time requirements
Due to its specific characteristics - particularly minimal jitter and top perfor-mance - POWERLINK is perfectly suited to industrial applications with hard real-time requirements. In addition, its communication management prevents collisions from occurring while ensuring uncompromising determinism.
The POWERLINK protocol was introduced at the SPS/IPC/Drives trade show in 2000 and was already being used in serial-produced machinery by the following year. In complex packaging machines with over 50 synchronized axes driven by servo motors, this new solution provided proof of its superiority over all fieldbus systems of the day.
In 2003, the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group was established and the POWERLINK protocol extended to include CANopen. This provided several benefits for users as it enabled POWERLINK to use proven CANopen profiles that are accepted and supported by countless manufacturers.
Open-source software boosts growth
Five years ago, the POWERLINK stack was published as open-source soft-ware, facilitating another growth spurt of this advanced communication stand-ard that has continued ever since.
This is evidenced by more and more manufacturers who have been integrating POWERLINK into their products, including ABB, Baumüller, B&R, Danfoss, Infranor, KEB, Lenze, Nord Drivesystems, Schneider Electric and Yaskawa, to name just a few.
About EPSG
The Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group (EPSG) is an independent organization founded in 2003 by leading companies from the fields of motion control and automation technology. Its aims are the standardization and further development of the POWERLINK protocol first introduced by B&R in 2001. This high-performance real-time communication system is an advanced protocol based on the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard designed to ensure real-time data transfer in the microsecond range. The EPSG cooperates with leading standardization organizations such as CAN in Automation (CiA) and the IEC. Anton Meindl, business manager of Controls at B&R, is the organization's CEO.
