The September Technology Evening was kindly sponsored by Beckhoff Automation and managing director, Kenneth McPherson, presented on the topic ‘EtherCAT – The Ethernet fieldbus’.
Branch chairman Howard Lister (left) thanks Kenneth after the presentation.
Kenneth was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable presenter and the audience was absorbed by his interesting presentation. Beckhoff implements open automation systems based on PC-Control technology and Kenneth explained that his reason for presenting on this topic is that EtherCAT is the open, real-time Ethernet fieldbus originally developed by Beckhoff Automation. He pointed out that not only is the communication platform a central part of the system architecture, but its performance also determines whether the system is able to reach its full efficiency.
The bus system is a key determinant of system costs, commissioning time and overall robustness. With EtherCAT being the fastest industrial Ethernet technology available, backed by the largest industrial Ethernet organisation in the world, it is the engineer’s choice when it comes to selecting the right bus technology as the first step in system design. Everybody enjoyed Kenneth’s last slide: ‘Why go for something slower, just because it is more expensive?’
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The Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC hosted a successful Technology Evening on 10 September. The event was well attended and generously sponsored by Phoenix Contact.
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