Endress+Hauser’s increased participation in Odva builds on its long-term support of open industrial networking technologies, including the company’s portfolio of mass flow meters designed for the EtherNet/IP network.
“Odva is one of the world’s largest consortiums advancing open, industrial networking standards through commercially-off-the-shelf technology and a media-independent network protocol,” said Katherine Voss, executive director, Odva. “We welcome Endress+Hauser in this consortium as we have a shared vision for leveraging EtherNet/IP to simplify an end user’s network architecture.”
With leading industrial automation suppliers, such as Endress+Hauser, as principal members, Odva is one of the first associations that strives to support Industrial Ethernet down to the field level in process automation. This will help provide manufacturers with a complete, plantwide network infrastructure for process, motion, safety and discrete applications, and from plant-floor to IT systems.
Traditionally, devices measuring and controlling process variables rely on a field network to transfer information, while other devices within the plant use completely different networks for data communication. By replacing this complex multi-tier networking strategy with one standard network architecture, namely EtherNet/IP, users have a simplified network structure as well as better access to plant-floor information. This enhances the ability to monitor overall performance, troubleshoot out-of-margin conditions and minimize downtime.
“Our customers demand open, interoperable solutions, such as EtherNet/IP, as it enables higher-level software such as ERP systems, process historians, control loop tuning programs, and asset management systems to access data from process instrumentation,” said Raimund Sommer, managing director of Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG. “We look forward to continue working through Odva to help users achieve seamless integration of our instruments into system architectures.”
Endress+Hauser made its first major commitment to Odva technologies in 2009 when the company launched the Promass 83 – the world’s first Coriolis mass flow meter with EtherNet/IP connectivity – capable of measuring mass flow, density and temperature, featuring an integrated Web Server that allows authorized users to remotely conduct diagnostics, configure the instrument or perform process optimization. The company also recently launched its Promag 53 Magnetic Inductive flow meter with EtherNet/IP connectivity. By using EtherNet/IP, up to 10 measured variables can be configured and transmitted including volume flow, calculated mass flow and totalized flow.
Odva will introduce Endress+Hauser as a principal member at its 2012 Industry Conference and 15th Annual meeting, to be held Oct. 16-18, 2012, in Stone Mountain, Ga., USA.
