Vol.2 The New Frontier of FA with CC-Link/CC-Link IE
Special Report
CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA)
CC-Link Safety approved as Chinese National Standard
Large certification announcement event held in Beijing
The safety field network standard "CC-Link Safety", which is based on the technology of the industrial open network "CC-Link", was officially approved as one of Chinese National Standards "GB/Z" in May 2013. The announcement event for this approval was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on May 8th 2013. About 80 people attended the event, and persons from organizations involved with this approval, such as the Chinese government, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), user companies, and device vendors, made speeches.
CC-Link Safety, which was approved as a GB/Z standard, is an open safety field network standard which implements functions for detecting communication errors and for supporting communication of safety information such as an emergency stop request. The certification effort began around 2005, when the CLPA, the organization responsible for promoting CC-Link, started to acquire the GB/Z certification for CC-Link, which is the base of CC-Link Safety.
CLPA acquired the GB/Z certification ("National Standardization Guiding Technical Documents"), for CC-Link in December 2005. In June 2009, CLPA acquired the certification for the higher standard GB/T ("Voluntary National Standards") for CC-Link. Ms. Naomi Nakamura, global director of the CLPA, commented, "The GB/Z certification for CC-Link Safety following the GB/T certification for CC-Link will further strengthen the trend of using CC-Link Safety for safety systems in factories, and will increase its popularity in China. We also expect that the development of devices and systems compatible with CC-Link or CC-Link Safety in China will be further accelerated."
Many key persons related to the certification attended the event, which was hosted by SAC/TC124 (Industrial Process Measurement and Control). Chinese government officials including SAC/TC124 members involved with this certification were invited as guests.
Additionally, about 80 people including persons related to the Chinese FA industry and members of the industry press attended the session. (Fig. 1)
At the beginning of the session, Mr. Ouyang, Secretary General of SAC/TC124 and Director of ITEI (Instrumentation Technology and Economy Institute) in China, introduced the guests. Mr. Sun Wei, Standards Department II Section Chief of the Standardization Administration of the People' Republic of China Industrial, spoke first to make the announcement CC-Link Safety was approved as GB/Z (29496.-1 to 3-2013). (Fig. 2) Mr. Sun Weiwas followed by Mr. Wu Yan Yun (Deputy Director General of the State Administration of Work Safety, Department of Policies and Regulations and chairman of the Functional Safety Committee), Mr. Chen Qi Jun (professor of Tongji University and chairman of CLPA China), Mr. Wang Chun Xi (Deputy Secretary General of SAC/TC124), and Mr. Luo An (a representative of the Standard Drafting Workgroup and Chief Engineer of Beijing HollySys Co., Ltd.).
After the speeches and greetings from the Chinese officials above, Mr. Masaki Shiroshita, President of Mitsubishi Electric Automaton (China) Ltd., and Mr. Katsuyuki Tomizawa, Deputy General Manager of Mitsubishi Electric Nagoya Works, handed letters of appreciation to the members of the Standard Drafting Workgroup. Ms. Naomi Nakamura, global director of CLPA, and Mr. Mitsushiro Fujishima, Deputy Chair Person of the CLPA Technical Task Force and Manager of FA System Department II Safety Planning and Promotion Group, then appeared and explained the activities of CLPA for the certification and the outline of CC-Link Safety technology.
After Ms. Nakamura and Mr. Fujishima, Mr. Chen Gang, Technical Advisor to the Manufacturing Technology Dept. at FAW Car Co., Ltd., appeared as a CC-Link user and spoke about the background of their use of CC-Link. Last, Mr. Yasunori Kasho, Executive Officer and Vice President of the Sensing Control Division of Panasonic Industrial Devices SUNX Co., Ltd., appeared to represent the vendors of CC-Link Safety-compatible devices and presented the latest CC-Link Safety-compatible device.
Executive Officer
Sensing Control Division Vice President
[Closeup] Panasonic Industrial Devices SUNX Co., Ltd.
Presentation of the latest CC-Link Safety-compatible device
Mr. Yasunori Kasho, Executive Officer and Vice President of the Sensing Control Division of Panasonic Industrial Devices SUNX Co., Ltd. (SUNX), appearing as a representative of the vendors of CC-Link Safety-compatible devices, spoke about the profile of SUNX, and explained the feature and benefits of the remote I/O module "SF-CL1T264T", the latest CC-Link Safety-compatible device. This device can be a gateway for connecting several safety devices, such as light curtains, to CC-Link Safety-compliant safety networks. Up to two sets of the light curtain "SF4B series", which is one of the main products of SUNX, can be easily connected to the SF-CL1T264T. Additionally, the SF-CL1T264T has a 12 input terminal block, enabling several safety devices to be connected. This means that several safety devices, including light curtains, can be integrated together for reduced wiring.
SUNX develops industrial sensors and offers sensors for safety systems in factories, including their popular light curtains. SUNX also develops and sells FA devices, such as programmable logic controllers, and the "SF-CL1T264T" is a strategic product for creating further success in the Asian market.
Manufacturing Technology Dept. Technical Advisor
[Closeup] FAW Car Co., Ltd.
A leading Chinese automotive company presented its CC-Link applications
Mr. Chen Gang, Technical Advisor to the Manufacturing Technology Dept. at FAW Car Co., Ltd.(FAW Car), appeared as a CC-Link user and presented the applications of CC-Link at FAW Car. FAW Car is an affiliated company of China FAW Corp, which is the biggest Chinese automobile manufacturer.
According to Mr. Chen Gang, FAW Car has been aggressively adopting an automated production system to achieve both high quality and high productivity, and the technology of the automation system used by FAW Car is at the world's highest level. FAW Car is also a key Chinese user of CC-Link technology. For example, in their "First Factory", one of FAW Car's three main production bases, CC-Link is used for the welding process, all the assembly process, and the conveyor system. For only a few processes, such as painting and pressing, other network standards are used.
In his speech, he presented their history of automation, starting from the foundation of the company and explained the design concept of the automation system in FAW Car's main production process. He presented the outline of the actual automation system that is based on the concept and explained the role of the CC-Link-compatible devices in the system.
- CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA)
Members Site 