The SAIMC Bus Breakfast
April 2002
SAIMC
A full conference room of guests enjoyed three interesting and informative talks on the morning of the last day of Electrex. Hosted by Richard Teagle of Festo, the speakers delivered presentations on their experiences had while working with different industrial data bus systems. The delicious three-course breakfast was enjoyed in stages, during intervals between the presentations, with a question and answer session after the last talk.
Richard Teagle hosted the event, standing in for Graeme Bell, who had pneumonia
First up was Paulo de Sousa of Ram-Tec Systems, who discussed an application using ASI BUS network connected to a DiviceNet network. An advantage of ASI BUS is that no terminating resistors are required, this making it easier to make quick changes to the sub network. Paulo concluded that no bus system is necessarily better than another and that each application needs to make use of the bus system/s that best suits the different requirements.
Paulo de Sousa
The second speaker was Altus Mostert from SAR Electronics. His application involved an InterBus network on a BMW automotive assembly plant. BMW had made a corporate decision to use InterBus on all its plants, worldwide, as after much deliberation concluded that it was by far the best option for their specific needs. The requirements were low data overhead and the resultant high effective data transfer rate on a network with many devices. The nature of InterBus made possible the virtually instantaneous indication of fault location, and the problem (essentially always a damaged cable/connector) is very quickly rectified. This is particularly crucial in BMW's case, where downtime on a production line brings with it huge financial implications.
Altus Mostert
Finally, Ricky Heiser from AST MSI spoke about his experience with Profibus. One of the deciding factors in this project was the need to have the system completely installed and running within three months. An advantage of Profibus is that the continuous loop structure of the system means that the network cable would have to break in two different places in the loop before any devices would no longer be able to communicate. Ricky pointed out that regardless of the bus systems used, it is important that the system is set up so that all device configuration and diagnostic screens work in a uniform manner. This plays an important part in the installation being easy to configure, operate, maintain and extend.
Ricky Heiser
John Gibbs, Associate Editor
[email protected]
Further reading:
SAIMC: Johannesburg
SAIMC
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.
Read more...
SAIMC: From the office of the COO: A call to action: Elevating our profession through ECSA registration
SAIMC
SAIMC
The engineering landscape in South Africa is evolving rapidly, and with it, the expectations placed upon us as practitioners. At the heart of this evolution lies a critical imperative: registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Read more...
SAIMC: Durban branch
SAIMC
SAIMC
At SAIMC Durban’s October Technology Evening, Nico Erasmus delivered a thought-provoking presentation on a topic close to every automation professional’s heart: PLC and Drive Manufacturer Generational Hardware - UpGrades, UpGates or UpRates?
Read more...
SAIMC: Johannesburg branch
SAIMC
SAIMC
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.
Read more...
Why ECSA matters
SAIMC
SAIMC
I always knew I had to register as a Professional Engineer. Then I opened the registration guidelines.
Read more...
Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry event
SAIMC
SAIMC
The last of SAIMC’s Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry (KS4I) events for 2025 will be held in September.
Read more...
SAIMC: From the office of the COO: Enabling AI-ready manufacturing in South Africa
SAIMC
SAIMC
Last month, I wrote about the ethical use of AI in our daily lives. This month, I want to explore two concepts, backed by different architectures and technologies, that can assist our manufacturing facilities to exponentially increase the pace of their digital transformation.
Read more...
SAIMC: Johannesburg branch
SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg branch hosted its June Technology Evening at the Bryanston Sports Club, where attendees explored a topic beyond the usual scope of process automation.
Read more...
SAIMC: Zambia branch
SAIMC
SAIMC Zambia recently facilitated an industrial visit to the Zamefa Cable Manufacturing Company in Luanshya for twenty automation students from Sinozam. The visit gave students valuable exposure to the advanced technology used in copper and aluminium cable production.
Read more...
SAIMC: Michael Brown named Honorary Senior Member of SAIMC
SAIMC
SAIMC
Michael Brown, a recently retired specialist in control loop optimisation, has been named an Honorary Senior Member of the SAIMC, a rare distinction held by only a handful of individuals.
Read more...
printer friendly version