ODVA in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, has announced that Endress+Hauser, one of the world’s leading suppliers of measurement, automation equipment and solutions for the process industries, will become a principal member, joining leading suppliers Bosch Rexroth, Cisco Systems, Rockwell Automation, Omron and Schneider Electric.

Endress+Hauser’s increased participation in ODVA builds on its long-term support of open industrial networking technologies, including the company’s portfolio of mass flowmeters designed for the EtherNet/IP network.

“ODVA is one of the world’s largest consortiums advancing open, industrial networking
standards through commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology and a media-independent network protocol,” said Katherine Voss, executive director, ODVA. “We welcome Endress+
Hauser in this consortium as we have a shared vision for leveraging EtherNet/IP to
simplify an end user’s network architecture.”

With leading industrial automation suppliers, such as Endress+Hauser, as principal members, ODVA is one of the first associations which strive to support Industrial Ethernet down to the field level in process automation. This will help provide manufacturers a complete, plant-wide network infrastructure for process, motion, safety and discrete applications and from plant-floor to IT systems.

Traditionally, devices measuring and controlling process variables rely on a field network to transfer information, while other devices within the plant use completely different networks for data communication. By improving this complex multi-tier networking strategy with one
standard network architecture, namely EtherNet/IP, users have a simplified network structure as well as better access to plant-floor information. This enhances the ability to monitor overall performance, troubleshoot out-of-margin conditions and minimize downtime.
 
“Our customers demand open, interoperable solutions such as EtherNet/IP, as it enables
higher-level software such as ERP systems, process historians, control loop tuning programs, and asset management systems to access data from process instrumentation,” said Raimund Sommer, managing director of Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG. “We look forward to continue working through ODVA to help users achieve seamless integration of our instruments into system architectures.”

Endress+Hauser made its first major commitment to ODVA technologies in 2009 when the company launched the Promass 83 – the world’s first Coriolis mass flowmeter with EtherNet/IP connectivity – capable of measuring mass flow, density and temperature, featuring an integrated Web Server that allows authorized users to remotely conduct diagnostics, configure the instrument or perform process optimization. The company also recently launched its
Promag 53 electromagnetic flowmeter with EtherNet/IP connectivity. By using EtherNet/IP, up to 10 measured variables can be configured and transmitted including volume flow, calculated mass flow and totalized flow.

ODVA will introduce Endress+Hauser as a principal member at its 2012 Industry Conference and 15th Annual meeting, to be held 16-18 October 2012 in Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA. For more information about the ODVA event, visit www.odva.org.