Research group supports Ethernet protocol for plant-floor vehicle assembly

U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) agreed to support EtherNet/IP as the industrial Ethernet network standard for plant floor applications in vehicle assembly facilities, says ODVA, the organization that manages the EtherNet/IP specification and related industrial protocols.

By Control Engineering Staff June 8, 2006

U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) agreed to support EtherNet/IP as the industrial Ethernet network standard for plant floor applications in vehicle assembly facilities, says ODVA , the organization that manages the EtherNet/IP specification and related industrial protocols. USCAR initiatives aim to accelerate EtherNet/IP adoption in the U.S. vehicle assembly operations of its three member companies: DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp., ODVA says.

USCAR is working with ODVA to identify aspects of network performance that have the most impact on real-time control applications typical in vehicle assembly operations and develop reporting network-performance criteria. Purchasers of EtherNet/IP devices will be able to make better purchase decisions by analyzing published performance parameters for specific devices and choosing the device that best meets an application’s performance requirements, ODVA says.

U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and ODVA agreed to research and develop industry standards and test methodologies for performance parameters of EtherNet/IP devices. USCAR member companies are expected to require certified performance test reports for EtherNet/IP devices in 2007. ODVA anticipates that the U.S. automotive industry will increase use of EtherNet/IP in PLC-to-PLC communications and robotics applications, such as welding, gluing, nut running, and clinching. ODVA calls EtherNet/IP, introduced in 2001, “the most developed, proven, and complete industrial Ethernet network solution available for manufacturing today,” supported by more than 150 vendors globally. It’s among a suite of industrial networks based on Common Industrial Protocol (CIP).

For more about related growth, read Control Engineering ‘s ” ODVA network standards ‘blossom’ in sunny Phoenix .”

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—Edited by Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering editor in chief, MHoske@cfemedia.com