The European programmable logic controllers (PLC) market witnessed a heavy decline in growth in 2009, owing to the recession of 2008. However, it made a strong recovery in 2010 with all major market participants in Europe experiencing high growth.

The sovereign debt crisis afflicting the Eurozone will determine the future prospects of the European PLC market. In the meantime, however, the market is likely to grow steadily over the forecast period aided by the emergence of major Eastern European economies as manufacturing hubs for the rest of Europe. The EU PLC market will add over €1B in revenues, reaching €2.6B in 2017 from its 2010 €1.6B base.

The research firm Frost & Sullivan explains their enthusiasm:. “The global economic crisis and the sovereign debt crisis of Europe have created an atmosphere of uncertainty, with fewer projects expected in the next 2 years,” begins company representative Karthik Sundaram.

But the major trend defining the market will be increasing end user concerns over cyber security.

“Cyber security is expected to be the key parameter in safety regulations and standards that are about to be introduced in January 2012,” explains Sundaram.

On the competitive front, intense competition between tier-1 companies is causing dramatic improvements in the PLC market, leading to the emergence of new products with improved design and control capabilities that surpass traditional definitions.

Ingenia Motion Control has introduced the VENUS digital servo drive, an integrated motion controller and digital servo drive in a convenient stand-alone package up to 2 kW without the need of any additional heat-sink on its whole operating temperature range.

This little servo can control brushless DC, brushless AC, DC brushed, steppers and voice coil motors with build-in motion controller and high level motion language. It can control either rotary or linear motors and operates in many modes including Profiled Torque, Profiled Velocity, Profiled Position, Interpolated Position, Cyclic Sync Position and Homing, and contains a wide range of feedback and on-board I/O options.

The Venus includes RS232 interface (with daisy-chain option) and CAN interface with CANopen protocol (CiA-301, 402 and 303) for configuration and distributed motion control functionality and can operate with a wide choice of feedback devices supporting by default Incremental Encoder, Digital Halls, Analog Halls, Analog Input (Potentiometer), PWM sensor and DC-Tachometer.

It accepts a wide set of command reference sources and can also execute pre-stored programs from its non-volatile memory. It comes with a complete set of software tools that helps user to configure, tune and operate their motion systems and can be used standalone for single-axis or distributed intelligence motion control applications, from performing simple moves to complex motion tasks.

Steady growth in the European control valves market was derailed by the global economic recession, resulting in a significant decline in sales in 2009. Fears of a double-dip recession caused sales to slump in 2010 as well.

The market has experienced a sluggish recovery in 2011, powered by demand from the food and beverage and power generation sectors. Promisingly, however, projects that had been put on hold during the recession are back on track. These, together with newly initiated projects, are expected to drive growth.

An increased focus on reducing maintenance costs and tighter pro-environment regulations are the two factors poised to boost market prospects.

“There is heightened emphasis on incorporating a diagnostic tool within the control valve, which would eliminate the need for periodic services as well as downtime due to maintenance problems,” explains Frost & Sullivan Program Manager Ashwin Annareddy. “This would also result in a revamping of the basic design of control valves, leading to a significant increase in sales.”

Regulations regarding environmental pollution are poised to become tougher in the coming years. This will impact the design of control valves and boost the sales of valves that promote environmentally sustainable practices across various end-user industries.

Investments in the food and beverage as well as the power generation industries are also set to fuel the uptake of control valves. At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe are anticipated to emerge as the primary geographical markets.

“Manufacturers should develop broad product portfolios that would satisfy the requirements of these end-user and geographical segments,” advises Annareddy. “This strategy would enable them to broaden their market reach as well as increase their penetration of these emerging geographical markets.”

A key challenge for European market participants has been pricing due to intensifying competition from Asian low-cost alternatives. This situation has been aggravated by budgetary limitations that have affected R&D initiatives.

“To assert their competitive dominance, European control valve manufacturers have to focus on developing innovative, high-quality yet cost-effective designs that meet end-user requirements,” advises Annareddy. “Value added services that would generate valuable income and enable companies to differentiate themselves from the competition would also be critical to long-term success.”

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.industrialautomation.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of Control Valves in the European Market, finds that the market earned revenues of €496.5 million in 2010 and estimates this to reach €676.3 million in 2017. Rotating shaft and sliding stem-type control valves are the product segments covered in the research.

The five major automation foundations, including the FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, and OPC Foundation have developed a single common solution for Field Device Integration (FDI). These foundations have combined their efforts to form a joint company named FDI Cooperation, LLC. The organizations is headed by a “Board of Managers”, which is composed of the representatives of the involved organizations, as well as managers of global automation suppliers including ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens, and Yokogawa.

FDI’s mandate is to develop a single technology for the management of information that comes from all intelligent devices throughout all areas of the plant. The mission of FDI LLC is to do the following:

• Complete the standardization of FDI under the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission).
• Manage the FDI Specification.
• Finalize the FDI tool kits for system and device manufacturers.
• Promote and provide high quality technology support for FDI, independent of and common for the respective communication protocols.
• Preserve end users’ and automation manufacturers’ investments by providing state-of-the-art technology that is fully backward compatible.
• Ensure stability, interoperability and compatibility of FDI-based products.

In the past, the development of such uniform technology was inhibited by too many different interests from organizations and automation manufacturers, resulting in the creation of disparate technical solutions. The current solutions – EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) in various formats and FDT (Field Device Technology) – have their strengths and weaknesses, but also overlap to a large extent and thus lead to additional expense for users and manufacturers. Efficient and economically viable device integration requires multiprotocol, standardized technology that makes device information available across systems and applications from different manufacturers.

FDI technology will provide a scalable solution that users can deploy in applications ranging from simple configuration to complex management of the most sophisticated field devices for the various tasks associated with all phases of their lifecycle, from configuration, commissioning, and diagnostics to calibration. This makes different solutions for different devices obsolete. FDI is a unified solution that addresses end user requirements across the spectrum.

FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS, and HART all use EDDL as a core technology, but they all use slightly different variations of the technology. The FDI Cooperation has harmonized EDDL across communication protocols. This enables FDI to provide single cross protocol FDI Design and Test Tools including a common EDD Interpreter. EDDL harmonization is now complete, and this facilitates the second step -- harmonization between EDDL and FDT technologies. This is the ultimate goal of FDI.

In November of 2011 at the NAMUR meeting in Germany, FDI device packages were used for the first time to integrate FOUNDATION Fieldbus, HART, and PROFIBUS field devices from various manufacturers within an ABB process control system. Typical applications, such as parameter assignment, configuration, diagnostics, and maintenance, were demonstrated. The purpose of the working prototype was to verify the FDI concepts, apply the standard host components in a system context, and demonstrate FDI functionality. This successful demonstration leads to organizations' next steps:

• First draft of the FDI specifications was published at the end of 2011.
• Completion of Conformance test concepts to occur mid-2012.
• Completion of the validation and release of the FDI specifications for member review within the foundations (mid-2012).
• Completion of the FDI standard host components, such as EDD Engine and User Interface (UI) Engine by the FDI Cooperation (end of 2012).

The primary benefit of FDI is that end users with either an FDT or EDDL-based host will have a single source solution for managing the wealth of functionality and information from intelligent field devices. Users will no longer need to manage disparate device descriptions, which will reduce the costs associated with maintaining assets in the field.  FDI combines the advantages of FDT with those of EDDL in a single, scalable solution. FDI is applicable to a wide range of tasks over the entire lifecycle of the plant for both simple and the most complex devices, including configuration, commissioning, remote diagnostics, calibration, and more.

Technosoft has announced that their iPOS line of highly flexible intelligent drives has been expanded with a new, micro-sized pluggable servo drive: iPOS3602 MX. Well-suited for motion control applications where space is critical, this drive can be integrated – within seconds — to a motherboard or PCB machine. All basic motor control functions and motion control and PLC features are embedded onto this remarkably small package (55 mm x 26 mm x 13 mm, 10 g).

The drive's setup, tuning and motion programming is fast with EasyMotion Studio and Technosoft Motion Language (TML). Thanks to its embedded intelligence, iPOS3602 MX is able to run complex motion commands directly at drive level. Using the TML language, multiple operations can be executed: setting of various motion modes (profiles, PVT, PT, electronic gearing or camming, etc.), change of motion modes and/or parameters, execution of homing sequences or program flow control. At the same time, iPOS3602 MX can handle digital I/O and analog input signals, execution of arithmetic and logic operations, and transfer of data between axes. The iPOS drive accepts incremental (quadrature or sine / cosine) encoders and digital or linear Halls signals as position feedback. SSI, BiSS, EnDAT absolute encoders and resolver interfaces are available through an additional extension. 

iPOS3602 MX can be set to operate in various communication modes: CANopen, EtherCAT and TMLCAN. When CANopen or EtherCAT mode is selected, the drive may be controlled via the appropriate masters. As a bonus, iPOS offers to the master the option to call complex motion sequences pre-stored in the drive's memory. When TMLCAN mode is used, iPOS3602 MX operates in standalone mode, and may play the role of a master. If higher level coordination is needed, then iPOS3602 MX can be controlled through a PC or a PLC using one of the available TML_LIB motion libraries.

Equipped with CAN / CANopen and optionally with EtherCAT interfaces, iPOS3602 MX provides a flexible, compact solution adapted to the decentralized control of any rotary or linear brushless, DC brush or step motor up to 75 W (36 V, 2 A).

Technical details are available here: http://www.technosoftmotion.com/products/OEM_PROD_iPOS3602_3604.htm.

Timing the announcement with the AHR show this week in Chicago, Danfoss has introduced the VLT® HVAC Basic Drive - a small, full-featured variable speed drive that promises reliable, low-cost HVAC performance for basic fan and pump operations.

“In some fan and pump operations advanced drive features are unnecessary and, because they are superfluous, simply add to overall costs.  The VLT HVAC Basic Drive is an ideal solution that strikes the optimum balance between price and variable speed drive performance in these straightforward HVAC installations,” says Ed Smith, a company representative.

VLT HVAC Basic Drives minimize wear on HVAC equipment and maximize system up-time, while reducing HVAC system operating costs up to 15%. 

The company says that the VLT HVAC Basic Drive is the most compact drive in its class and with its specifications to reduce panel space requirements. Numerous built-in features reduce, and in some applications may even eliminate, the need for additional external equipment such as gateways, PI controllers and PLCs.  An Automatic Energy Optimizer function reduces energy consumption by up to 15%, while “sleep mode” functionality can help further reduce operating costs and extend drive life.  Bypass frequencies minimize operating noise, vibration and resonance issues.

VLT HVAC Basic Drives also feature a “start up wizard” that makes drive set-up fast and simple, and easy tool access further aids fast and effective commissioning and operation.  A robust single-piece enclosure provides reliable, maintenance-free operation in ambient temperatures up to 50 degrees C, with no external cooling required.  A unique cooling concept provides problem-free performance, even in harsh environments, without forced air flowing over the electronics.

Industry Research Series - Current Focus: Batch and Specialty Chemicals

DrivesMag is working hard to better understand how automation, control and drives are currently being designed into and used in key industrial and manufacturing markets, assessing impact that they might have on the processes and value that they bring to users. Our focus this month is on the Batch and Specialty Chemical Markets.

If you are an expert in the field of chemical production, we'd like to ask you a few questions and will pay you for your time. Of course, we'll share our findings with you.

If you would like to participate in this study, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for a link. The survey should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. When you have finished, you can choose to be paid $45 for your time, or to give the $45 plus a $10 matching donation from DrivesMag to one of three great charities. Your answers will remain anonymous and combined with answers from others in a final report that you can choose to receive. Nobody will contact you afterwards to sell anything.

Until 2009, Asia Pacific was still the smallest regional DCS (Distributed Control Systems) market, but it has grown quickly in the last few years, particularly in China and India. Although DCS revenues in EMEA and the Americas fell in the 2009 recession, the market in Asia Pacific still managed to continue to grow, despite a decline in Japan.  In this market, much of the revenues from Asia can be attributed to DCS hardware bought for greenfield projects, such as for addressing the energy and infrastructure needs of a growing population with more disposable income, and of continued urbanization in India and China.

An Analyst at IMS Research explains “Governments have been addressing the needs of the population with investment in various large-scale projects designed to provide more power and energy. This will be reflected in the above-average growth in DCS product revenues in the petrochemical, oil & gas, and power industries of the region. Plans in Asia Pacific to expand or install nuclear power capacity were much less affected than those of other parts of the world, by 2011’s Fukushima disaster in Japan. With higher disposable incomes, the demand for processed food and drink is projected to increase; thus sales of DCS for food and beverage processing equipment are also projected to grow at an above average rate. The investment in China is centered on its 12th Five Year-Plan, which addresses the growing need to shift China’s dependency on export to the development of an internal market.  In 2013, revenues in China from DCS products are projected to higher than those in Japan.”

If you are in the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) business, the recovery from the downturn happened much earlier than had been generally expected. Most PLC suppliers were pessimistic on their future business after the economic crisis of 2009 and thought their business would not recover to the level of 2008 until 2013. However, in the event, their business was back on track three years earlier than they had expected; in some countries in developing regions, such as China and India, revenues had grown even in 2009. Overall global revenues from PLCs in 2010 were nearly 30% higher than in 2009, reaching an estimated at 8.2 billion US dollars.

“Although the recovery was unexpected, it is not hard to explain,” said Alex Hong, market research analyst in IMS Research’s industrial factory automation group, “The demand for automation products in many ongoing projects stagnated when investment funding dried up in the economic downturn.  However, government economic stimulus in several countries helped to make money more available at different levels of industry.” The customers for PLC manufacturers, mostly builders or users of industrial machinery, had more access to funding to purchase more PLCs and other automation products to continue with their projects. Both the restart of projects discontinued in 2009 and the start of new ones contributed to the high growth of the PLC market in 2010.

Moving forward growth continued in 2011, though at a lower rate than in 2010. Global PLC revenues have remained high in 2011. However, the industrial markets differed by region. In Europe, despite the continuing and worsening Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, the most important market for industrial automation products – Germany - continued to grow at a healthy rate. In the Americas, large projects from some end-users and growing domestic demand enabled the PLC market to grow, though the market in Latin Americas is still underdeveloped. In Asia, the markets in the growing economies of China and India have performed quite well, though that of Japan was hit by the consequences of the earthquake earlier in the year. In general, the growth of the global economy in 2011 underpinned the global growth of the PC market.

However, PLC suppliers and their industrial customers are currently very uncertain whether growth will continue into 2012, considering the risks to the world economy. Many factors, such as Europe’s unresolved sovereign debt crisis, tightening economic policy in China, and the consequences of the earthquake in Japan and the recent floods in Thailand, are affecting the market.  However, IMS Research believes that the PLC market will still grow in 2012, mainly because many large and important PLC markets, such as Germany, France, China and the US, are still performing well at the turn of the year. In addition, emerging markets, such as Brazil, and India, which already account for half the entire PLC market, will be the main driving force for future growth.

Global AC drives manufacturer Vacon has delivered new variable-speed AC drives with a total power of 58 megawatts to Indian-based AnRak Aluminium Ltd. The AC drives are for a new aluminium refinery which is being built near the City of Visakhapatnam in India's southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh.

More than 300 AC drives ranging from 2.2 kW to 1.5 MW will be used to control the aluminium refining process. The factory is to be completed in March 2012 with a total production capacity of 1.5 million tons of refined aluminium per year.