IO-Link is a field bus-neutral interface, which makes the point-to-point connection between I/O modules and sensors able to communicate. The existing 2/3 wiring can be used. So any additional core for diagnosis and parameter settings of sensors becomes unnecessary. With analogue sensors IO-Link saves the analogue boxes. Also the screened cable often necessary with analogue sensors is omitted.
To these benefits of IO-Link 71% of the machine-builders gave a positive feedback according to a survey by Quest TechnoMarketing, comprising over 300 machine-builders. The results of this survey from the year 2007 are available in the Quest Trend Magazine as download on http://www.quest-trendmagazin.de/...
However, the economic crisis, broken off at the end of 2007, curbed the interest of using IO-Link at first. So only 7% of the machine-builders planned to change to IO-Link in 2009.
This year the trend to IO-Link has again slightly improved. As the Quest Trend Magazine further publishes, 10% of the machine-builders are now ready to implement IO-Link this year. Also the broadness of this implementation has increased. In eight out of ten investigated sectors machine-builders want to introduce IO-Link. Last year just five sectors had been concerned.
In addition to these trends the Quest Trend Magazine publishes an interesting application report, how the benefits of IO-Link in connection with Profibus become effective in full. The link to this article is http://www.quest-trendmagazin.de/...
All articles are published in German and English language.
So the Quest Trend Magazine makes the machine-builders’ decisions easier. Now the machine-builders can compare their intended changes with the trends in their own sector confirming or adjusting their intentions.
The suppliers of automation technology are learning beyond their constituency, which changes in IO-Link the machinery industry as a whole is aiming for this year. This enables the suppliers to meet the demand trends in time and purposefully.
The trends from the users’ point of view are based on market surveys of Quest TechnoMarketing, Bochum, London, with the title “What the machine-builders want to change in the automation technology 2010”. This survey was carried out in January/February and covered scarcely 250 representative machine-builders. Highlight, table of contents and budget of the study are on http://www.qtm.de/...
Quest TechnoMarketing is specialised in market surveys regarding the automation technology for more than 20 years and is the publisher of the Quest Trend Magazine.