The CC-Link Partner Association (www.cclinkamerica.org) announced on Aug. 25 that the Control and Communication Link (CC-Link) open fieldbus network has exceeded 6.5 million nodes worldwide.
In addition, the Association said that new research from IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com), based in Wellingborough, England, finds that CC-Link is the predominant open network in Asia. The Association cited the IMS report: “The World Market for Industrial Networking—2009 Edition”
“The unmistakable conclusion of the new research is that device manufacturers, machine builders, system integrators, and multi-nationals that wish to do business in Asia should be formulating a CC-Link compatibility strategy if they have not already done so,” said Charles Lukasik, director of the CC-Link Partner Association. “Having CC-Link product and system expertise will demonstrate seriousness about exporting to or manufacturing in the Asia Pacific region.”
Growth stimulation
Lukasik said that the performance features of CC-Link have stimulated strong growth of this open networking solution not only in Asia, but also in the Americas and Europe. Key features, said Lukasik, include:
• High noise immunity compared to other networks
• Simple installation, configuration, and commissioning
• High network availability with floating standby master capability
• Hot swap of stations
• Fast transfer speeds for large amounts of data
• Determinism
• Widespread support from hundreds of automation equipment suppliers.
Hundreds of automation equipment manufacturers have gone through the comprehensive process of certifying more than 1,000 products for CC-Link compatibility, according to the CC-Link Partner Association. The global CC-Link Partner Association manages the certification process and the introduction of new technology such as CC-Link IE, which the Association said is the world’s first gigabit industrial Ethernet controller network.
CC-Link Partner Association
www.cclinkamerica.org
IMS Research
www.imsresearch.com
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