San Antonio, TX—The Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA) hosted more than 150 visitors from nearly 70 companies at its CIP Networks Conference and 10^th annual meeting, Nov. 15-19, at the Hilton Palacio del Rio. The event featured updates on CIP network protocols, including DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP, and ControlNet, as well as training sessions, implementers workshops, special interest group (SIG) and joint special interest group (JSIG) meetings, and presentations on solutions from some of ODVA's member companies:

Eaton/Cutler-Hammer showed that its Network Control MCC has a communication bridge architecture that can reduce network control installed costs by 20%; uses Eaton's plug-and-play QCPort Communication bus system; offers customizable I/O; and supports future expansion.

Frontline Test Equipment Inc. demonstrated its PC-based protocol analyzer/sniffer, NetDecoder, which helps troubleshoot control networks; provides statistics and decodes CIP and general control protocol messages into English; analyzes Ethernet, fieldbus, and serial data communication problems; and can be used to analyze general office networks.

Harting Electric and Alden Products Co. jointly introduced a quick-mating, multi-coupling connector system with backwards compatibility with the M12 threaded coupler for four-pin Ethernet-based applications. Marketed under the brand names Pulse Plus by Alden and Han QCS by Harting, the new receptacle is capable of hosting multiple coupling interfaces in the same space as a traditional M12 threaded coupler.

HMS Industrial Networks introduced its Anybus-CompactCom, which has modules that share a common interface to a host device. By using an intelligent object model, it's possible to support different net-works with one application program interface.

Omron Electronics LLC described the advantages of its Smart DeviceNet Slave technology, which reduces programming load, start-up, and maintenance time; aids preventive and predictive maintenance; and increases uptime. It also announced three DeviceNet Safety products: Safety Network Controller, Safety Input and Mixed I/O terminals, and Safety Input and Relay Output terminal.

Phoenix Contact discussed its Automationworx modular automation concept, which consists of PC-based control, Ethernet communications, and multibus connectivity; reported on its DeviceNet PCB and Through-Panel connectors, DeviceNet M12 cordsets and IP67 Plug connectors, and DeviceNet Media Converters; and introduced its new Inline Modular I/O Ethernet/IP bus coupler.

Rockwell Automation reported on using CIP networks for distributed motion control; added that ODVA's CIP Sync protocol provides time synchronization services to a common time base with sub-microsecond accuracy in a node-to-node setting; and introduced CIP Motion Controller to Controller, which is dedicated to distributing position and time information for coordinating multiple motion controllers in a distributed system, as well as CIP Motion Controller to Drive, which is dedicated to real-time control of drives from a motion controller over a CIP-based network.