IEC approves openSAFETY, bus-independent protocol

The fieldbus-independent openSAFETY protocol was tested according to IEC 61784-3 FSCP 13 and approved by national IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) committees, as a international standard.

August 11, 2010

The fieldbus-independent openSAFETY protocol was tested according to IEC 61784-3 FSCP 13 and approved by national IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) committees representing 27 countries including China, USA and Germany, and is released for international standardization, according to B&R Industrial Automation.

Because openSAFETY is bus independent, the company says, it can be used with all fieldbus or industrial Ethernet systems. At the HMI 2010 trade show in Hannover (Germany) openSAFETY was presented in applications using some of the following industrial Ethernet protocols: SERCOS III, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP and POWERLINK.

For the first time, users of an industrial Ethernet system other than POWERLINK  also have a complete, certified and open safety solution available to them. openSAFETY has been certified by TÜV Rheinland and TÜV Süd for SIL 3 applications.

"End customers have been requesting a uniform and manufacturer-independent standard for years, and openSAFETY is the response to those requests. It allows increases in productivity that are currently not possible with other safety protocols”, states Stefan Schoenegger, open automation business unit manager at B&R Industrial Automation.

B&R Industrial Automation Corp.

– Edited by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, CFE Media www.controleng.com