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Rockwell Automation supports IO Link - ARC Europe

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Home > Regions > ARC Europe > Posts > Rockwell Automation supports IO Link
Rockwell Automation supports IO Link

By Florian Gueldner and David Humphrey, ARC Advisory Group

 

What has long been the source of rumors is now official:  Rockwell Automation will support IO-Link.  At the Hanover Fair next month, the Rockwell Automation logo will be displayed for the first time at the IO-Link booth.

This is a important step forward for
IO Link (see also here), a sensor-actuator protocol based on a standard 3-wire cable that offers additional communication modulated over a standard 24 volt connection.  The IO-Link specification is finished and first products have appeared in the past year, but mostly from European suppliers.  Having North-America-based Rockwell Automation on board will help to boost IO-Link's crticial mass.

Since IO-Link is managed by Profibus International (PI), there is no additional membership fee for IO-Link  for companies that are already PI members.  For non-PI members, the fee would normally be €10,000. However, since PI membership is not exactly in Rockwell's interest due the conflict of interest with Rockwell's own network strategy, PI has made an exception in this case and waived the IO-Link membership fee - a politically correct solution that appears to be satisfactory for both sides.

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