Profibus profile for pumps

Epsom, UK -- Profibus International (PI) has introduced a Profibus/Profinet profile for vacuum and hydraulic pumps in conjunction with the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and the NAMUR (User Association for Automation in Process Industries). The launch is intended to ensure the interoperability and interchangeability of pumps from different manufacturers, said the UK-based Profibus Group.

Members of VDMA’s Pumps + Systems, Compressors, Compressed-air and Vacuum Technology groups began developing a general device profile in the spring of 2005. Their target was to facilitate access to pump data for operational process control, energy management and asset management of systems.

The results form the basis for specifying a profile for Profibus and Profinet for vacuum and hydraulic pumps within a PI working group, said a Profibus statement. Implementation of the device profile on the Profibus and Profinet communication systems is planned for early 2007, it added.

“The standardisation work should lead to specifications for pumps that span type and application on the one hand and on the other, specify profile extensions for mapping the functionality of pump types in various industrial application areas,” the group concluded.