Vol.1 CC-Link and CC-Link IE The Most Widely-Used Networks in Asia
Special Report
Review of FPD International China 2012/Beijing Summit
CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA)
CC-Link Continues to Grow from its Stronghold in Asia
CLPA Showed its Superiority in the FPD industry
CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), a supporter of the "FPD International China 2012/Beijing Summit" technical sessions, gave an overview of CC-Link and CC-Link IE promotional activities, its recent activities to extend applications of the standard and also explained the key points of the technology. CLPA showed that CC-Link technology, originally from Japan, has been widely adopted in many flat panel display (FPD) factories throughout Asia.
CLPA was represented by Ms. Naomi Nakamura, global director of CLPA, and Mr. Chen Jie, of CLPA-China. Ms. Nakamura first introduced an overview of the CC-Link family of technologies. Several protocols are available, such as the "CC-Link" fieldbus, "CC-Link Safety" fieldbus, and "CC-Link/LT" bit level fieldbus, as well as the "CC-Link IE Control" and "CC-Link IE Field" Gigabit Ethernet versions. Said Ms. Nakamura, "Every protocol can be used to establish seamless communication with the others by using a concept called SLMP (SeamLess Messaging Protocol). In other words, a seamless network that connects the whole factory including devices and information systems can be established."
Following the overview, Ms. Nakamura talked about CLPA's activities and the spread of the CC-Link family of technologies. CLPA is running its business globally with eight branches: Japan, Europe, North America, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and newly added India. "As of September 2012, 1742 companies have joined us as CLPA partners, and we are the world's largest industrial open network standard association", she commented. As of September 2012, the number of CC-Link-compatible products is 1253.
In addition, CC-Link has obtained the dominant market share in the FPD industry, which was the target of this event. "CC-Link is employed by 80% of the factories of panel manufacturers in the world. Most of the manufacturers of OLED displays, whose market is expected to expand as a next generation FPD, have also employed CC-Link", she concluded.
Explanation of key points of CC-Link
Mr. Chen followed Ms. Nakamura, to explain problems related to automation of FPD production lines and solutions provided by the technical features of CC-Link and CC-Link IE. A key issue is the need for a communication network in which multiple large manufacturing machines operating in dependently can collaborate with each other in a highly precise way. "For CC-Link and CC-Link IE, a real time peer-to-peer network can be established by multiple controllers sharing a common virtual memory", he said. He continued, "The technology is also suitable for building a network in a manufacturing machine. In large FPD manufacturing machines, a network which integrates and controls internal sensors and actuators is now indispensable. Further, the network shared memory technology makes creating control programs easy", he concluded.
Another significant problem he pointed out is the need for a mechanism to send large amounts of transient (asynchronous) data generated by production lines to upper level information systems. "In FPD manufacturing lines, the linkage with the information system that controls production, product quality, and energy is becoming more important than ever", he said. To respond to this demand, CC-Link IE, which has a high-speed data transmission speed of 1Gbps, has a function that divides the transmission band between cyclic communication for control and transient communication for production control. Features like these are highly suited to the FPD manufacturing process, meaning CC-Link IE will becoming stronger and stronger in the FPD industry, following the success of its predecessor, CC-Link.
Ms. Naomi NakamuraGlobal Director
of CC-Link Partner Association
- CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA)
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