The branch held its April technology event at Zutari’s Cape Town offices in Century City. The event was broadcast on Microsoft Teams as well as attended by some local members. The topic of the presentation delivered by RJConnect’s Robert Wright was ‘Optimisation of control systems through the flexibility of multi-protocol IO’.
The presentation started with an explanation of different industrial communications protocols and their differences. He introduced the concept and covered the advantages of using media converters to simplify protocol requirements. This solution allows manufacturers and developers to develop standard solutions that can be easily adapted for different protocols and equipment. This opens up opportunities to reduce the development time for larger systems and also reduces the rework required for changes imposed by supply chain constraints or project requirements.
By using the media converter option, systems can be created to accommodate different PLCs and equipment, opening the way to solutions that would not previously have been possible. This is a viable approach that can be used to overcome the constraints presented by the global IC shortage that will be felt in the industry for months and years to come.
The SAIMC Cape Town management team would like to thank Robert Wright and RJConnect for the great presentation and hopes to hear from him again in the future. Covid restrictions permitting, the aim is to host several more of these in-person events throughout the year. Readers are invited to monitor the SAIMC website or LinkedIn page for details of these events (https://saimc.co.za/ and www.linkedin.com/company/saimc)
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