Networking: Profibus, Profinet included in China standards

By Control Engineering Staff December 26, 2006

Scottsdale, AZ — Profibus and Profinet received a boost in China, as they were recently named among national standards for networking platforms there. These standards provide a critical degree of official preference, which will influence end-users as they select products for domestic applications, say Profibus-related network organizations.

These standards are issued by the China Technical Committee of Industrial Process Measurement & Control, and the China Association for Mechatronics Technology & Application. The groups have created a hierarchy of standards, each establishing a level of preference and requiring specific participation from the vendor. Each company applying for standards has to fulfill extensive mandates for product technical support with documentation, and test and training facilities.

Profibus has standard GB/T 20540-2006, said to be the highest classification for this type of product. Profinet now holds standard GB/Z 20541-2006, which is a level lower. As products gain acceptance and the support network grows, they can move up the steps. Profibus received its first classification in 2001 and now claims 1.5 million installed nodes in China, about 10% of the worldwide total. These standards are not exclusive, and other network platforms have also received various classifications.

For related reading, also see ” China adopts ControlNet .”

—Peter Welander , Control Engineering process industries editor