At the last technology evening, Frederik Langenhoven, solutions manager at Pepperl+Fuchs presented on ‘Keeping up with the demand for high-speed communication in modern process plants’.
Ann de Beer (left) thanks Frederik Langenhoven after the presentation.
Globally, the manufacturing industry is in the throes of a digital transformation.
Companies and their industrial processes need to adapt to these rapid changes, or they will be left behind by their competitors who embrace exponentially growing technologies.
Internet of Things (IoT) is a term from information technology. It is a network of physical devices and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors and actuators enabled to connect and exchange data. IoT for the manufacturing industry is called the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things or Industrie 4.0).
Industrie 4.0 includes cyber-physical systems, cloud computing and data analytics. It is commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution that will transform the future of manufacturing.
Process control architectures such as NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA) and Open Process Automation (OPA) are approaches to establish Industrie 4.0. However the challenge remains a direct need for speed and availability, considering the limitations of the Internet to meet these automation requirements. Topics covered by Frederik
included:
• How to migrate existing plants to Industrie 4.0.
• Field instrumentation technology today.
• Industrie 4.0 with conventional barriers.
• Industrie 4.0 using Wireless HART parallel architecture.
Outgoing chairman Mike Banda (left) congratulates Ann de Beer.
• Industrie 4.0 with remote I/O.
• Industrie 4.0 and fieldbus.
• Advanced physical layer.
• Requirements of NAMUR.
• Ethernet for process automation.
The branch thanks Frederik for his informative presentation.
New chairman for 2018
Ann de Beer was nominated chairman for 2018 at the branch AGM. Other committee members that will be serving are Cheryl Hird, Elri Klee, Andrew Bharath, Tebogo Mulauzi, Jabulani Radebe, Laura Dorrington, Kudzai Mberi and Dean Floyd.
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