September 2019

Welcome to the PLCopen® electronic newsletter.

For comments or additional information check either www.PLCopen.org or send an email to Wendelien@PLCopen.org.
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PLCopen Newsletter - Issue September 2019

1. Changes PLCopen Board of Management
2. PLCopen Benchmarking
3. Meet us IAS Shanghai
4. Meet us at PACK EXPO Las Vegas
5. PLCopen welcomes new member
6. New PLCopen Motion Control certification

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1. Changes PLCopen Board of Management

On June 7, PLCopen had a very successful annual General Meeting in Amsterdam. Part of the meeting related to changes in the Board of Management.

In view of his changed responsibilities within Siemens, Dirk Vielsäcker proposed to transfer his Board membership to his colleague Steffen Stang.

Steffen Stang is the head of Product Management Simatic Engineering & Control within SIEMENS. He joined SIEMENS in January 1998 after he got his master degree as Dipl.-Ing. Electrical Engineering (Automation Technology) from the University of Applied Science Ernst-Abbe Jena/Germany. In the past Steffen Stang worked in many different roles and responsibilities e.g. Process Control Industries and in Factory Automation. The past five years Steffen was in charge of the SIEMENS MindSphere Development and Product Management. Since February 1st Steffen Stang runs the SIMATIC Product Management.

David Tobon withdrew from the BOM because his new employer is not a PLCopen member (yet). Achim Koch of the SMS Group stated his interest to join the Board of Management as a new member.

Achim Koch is the Head of System Technologies within the Business Unit Electric & Automation of SMS Group. With more than 30 years of in depth experience in metallurgical process and automation technology he will put the focus on the user perspective and benefits of the ongoing standardization efforts in these challenging times of changes.

PLCopen sincerely thanks the parting members for their work as member of the Board of Management, and is glad to announce that Steffen Stang and Achim Koch were elected as new members of the Board of Management.  We wish them a good start in this new role and a successful period with our Board of Management.

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2. PLCopen Benchmarking

In April PLCopen held a successful kick-off meeting on benchmarking.

PLCopen did benchmarking in the past with a focus to different user applications, including motion control. However the network seemed to be the decisive factor and further development was stopped. Today Benchmarking is back on the drawing board, but with a slightly different scope.

A gap currently exists in the PLC industry between the product requirements of component providers and of control suppliers. Due to the lack of a “common language” between these two groups for measuring the performance of PLC processors, component providers are not able to meaningfully benchmark their processors for the applications that control suppliers are targeting. As a result, control suppliers must rely on internally-developed benchmarks in order to compare the processors of various component providers, which these component providers do not have access to. Because they do not know the details of the control suppliers’ requirements, component providers also do not have a method of justifying specific design improvements generation over generation in their processors.

Creating a “common language” or series of metrics between component providers and control suppliers would enable control suppliers to relate processor performance gains to their own use cases and assist component providers in driving improvements in their processors that match the industry’s needs. Thus, the PLCopen benchmarking initiative aims to deliver a suite of benchmarks for determining the performance of a PLC in a variety of industry-defined use cases. The benchmarks are to be collectively defined by component providers and control suppliers.

PLCopen expects to show the first results of this initiative at the SPS event in Nuremberg, Germany, later this year.

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3. Meet us at IAS Shanghai

The Industrial Automation Show (IAS), the industry barometer for the China automation market, takes place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) during September 17–21.

PLCopen has a booth in hall 5.1H # A015 and the Managing Director Eelco van der Wal will attend. Come and meet him there.

Or visit our conference “PLCopen Technical for Smart Manufacturing” on the first show day September 17, from 13.00-16.00 (meeting room M7-03).

Check: www.industrial-automation-show.com to find out more about this show.

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4. Meet us at PACK EXPO Las Vegas

PLCopen returns as a Tier One Partner in the PACK EXPO Las Vegas Partner Program for PACK EXPO Las Vegas and the co-located Healthcare Packaging EXPO (Sept. 23-25; Las Vegas Convention Center).

Come and meet us at our Booth #C-1254 in the Association Partner Pavilion, located in the Central Hall.

The three-day event offers a projected 30,000 attendees—including international visitors from more than 125 countries — access to over 2,000 exhibitors over more than 900 million net square feet of exhibit space.With such a diverse exhibitor base, the PMMI owned and produced show presents PLCopen members unparalleled access to the industry and an unmatched opportunity to explore a wide range of industries across 40 vertical markets.

“Year in and year out, the Partner Programs at the PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows provide access to leading industry associations from all segments of the packaging industry in one location,” says PMMI’s vice president of trade shows, Laura Thompson. “The Partner Pavilion at PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO is no exception as the amount of industry knowledge, and expertise is unmatched at other industry events. It serves as one of the many important resources available to attendees and exhibitors participating in the show.”

In addition to the technology on display on the show floor, PACK EXPO Las Vegas will offer a host of educational and networking opportunities, as well as industry specific events.

The Forum, a growing staple in the PACK EXPO portfolio of trade shows, makes its PACK EXPO Las Vegas debut in the Central Hall with its interactive industry knowledge exchange. The Forum offers free, 45-minute learning sessions on the latest industry trends, including hands-on activities, small group discussions and Q&A each day of the show. Both PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO will also feature 30-minute seminars at the Innovation Stage, offering a look at breakthrough technologies, innovative applications and proven techniques from industry experts.

PLCopen is offering complimentary registration  to you.

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5. PLCopen welcomes new member

PLCopen is very pleased to announce a new member:

pbsControl, based in Malaysia, a professional SCADA solution provider.

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6. New PLCopen Motion Control certification

We are glad to announce that three of the PLCopen members have been awarded the PLCopen Motion Control certificate:

Advanced Motion Controls for version 5 of their product Click&Move (C&M) (PLCopen Motion Control Part 1 and 4);

Beckhoff Automation for their products

  • TwinCAT Motion (PLCopen Motion Control Part 1), and
  • TwinCAT Motion PLC Library ‘Advanced Homing’ (PLCopen Motion Control Part 5). This is the first certification for PLCopen Motion Control Part 5.

Stöber Antriebstechnik for their product 5th Generation of STÖBER Inverters, version 5.7-A (PLCopen Motion Control Part 1)

This brings the total number of certified companies to 32 and of certified products to 67.

For more information please check our website www.PLCopen.org.

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