The Open DeviceNet Vendors Association (ODVA, www.odva.org) announced on Aug. 21 that the first edition of the CompoNet Specification has been approved by its Technical Review Board.
Publication of the new specification is scheduled soon. The first CompoNet products are expected from Japan’s Omron Corp. (www.omron.com) in 2006, followed by products from other ODVA vendors in 2007.Complementary to the entire family of Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) Networks—DeviceNet, ControlNet and EtherNet/IP—CompoNet meets the require-ments of applications using large numbers of simple sensors and actuators by providing high speed communication with configuration tools. CompoNet is said to offer an advanced physical layer that minimizes signal degradation and transmission delays, while providing the user with a flexible network architecture offering a range of data rates—4, 3 and 1.5 megabits per second and 93.75 kilobits per second—along with overall network lengths up to 1,500 meters with repeaters.“CompoNet will provide users with a network that is easy to configure and maintain, with comprehensive built-in error detection functions,†states Katherine Voss, executive director of ODVA. “This makes CompoNet a high-availability network optimized for production efficiency.â€â€œCompoNet allows the user to send and receive bit- and byte-size data, efficiently and rapidly, to and from simple sensors and actuators,†states Jeff Jurs, a member of ODVA’s Technical Review Board. ‑“Combined with CIP’s distinctive advantages providing the ability to configure and collect data on the plant floor, information can be available throughout the enterprise.â€The CompoNet Specification was developed by the ODVA CompoNet Special Interest Group,which includes participants from control suppliers including Omron and Rockwell Automation Inc.(www.rockwellautomation.com), Milwaukee.‑The next step in creating the open standard is the release of the ODVA Conformance Test for CompoNet devices. CompoNet provides users with a bit-level network to control small, high-speed machines. It utilizes Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology in its network layer. This approach combines with a physical layer designed to minimize transmission delays and automatically compensates for potential collisions within the CompoNet hierarchy. The aim is to provide a deterministic network with the ability to update large numbers of nodes at state-of the-art update rates. In addition, CompoNet includes an option for power (24 volts, DC, 5 amps) and signal in the same cable with the ability to remove and replace nodes under power.
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