Eiji Ikeno, general manager, Motion Control Division of Omron Corp., announced that Omron has selected EtherCat as its next Motion Bus System at a recent press conference with the EtherCat Technology Group (ETG).
Along with this step, Omron has also decided to take an active role in the EtherCat Technology Group within the Japanese and Asian markets to help customers there transition to EtherCat smoothly and seamlessly.
Ikeno stated that Omron will pursue the adoption of EtherCat as a National Japanese Standard. Omron will also establish an EtherCat conformance and interoperability test lab in Japan. According to Ikeno, Omron intends to develop EtherCat-based servo motors and inverters as well as motion controllers by the summer of 2009. These products will initially aim at the European market as well as at Japanese original equipment manufacturers exporting machines to Europe.
“We are thrilled that Omron has not just selected EtherCat as their next motion system bus, as many other leading companies already have, but that they have also decided to actively support EtherCat in becoming the leading motion bus in Asia. We consider this an important milestone and invite other ETG members to make a similar stance for EtherCat in their home markets,” said Martin Rostan, executive director of the EtherCat Technology Group.
EtherCat is a motion control-oriented, Ethernet-based fieldbus championed by Beckhoff Automation.
EtherCat Technology Group
www.ethercat.org
Omron Corp.
www.omron.com
