Extension delivers `first real-time Ethernet`

Profibus International has launched a real-time extension for Profinet, which it is hailing as "the industry`s first real-time solution for Ethernet users". The extension, called Soft Real Time (SRT), is compatible with TCP/IP and is said to achieve cycle times of 5-10ms, making it suitable for general automation applications.

PI has also announced the first products to receive Profinet certification. Two of them - an Ethernet-Profibus link and a communications processor - are made by Siemens, while the third, a Profinet gateway, comes from Hilscher.

PI is also working on another extension, which will be suitable for high-performance motion control applications. This version, called Isochronous Real Time (IRT) will be able to control up to 150 axes with a cycle time of 1ms and a jitter of less than 1µs. But IRT is not expected to become available until mid-2005.

PI has recently published a Profinet Technology and Application Guide which can be downloaded from www.profibus.com