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FDT specification extension expands the functionality of SERCOS III

7th December 2010

ES Admin

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At the recent SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010 show, the SERCOS vendor organizations announced the availability of the FDT specification extension for the SERCOS III Real-time Ethernet Communications System. Thus, SERCOS III is the first high-performance real-time Ethernet communication standard to support FDT Technology, used by many manufacturers to connect field devices to a wide range of software environments.

FDT technology standardizes the communication interface between field devices and engineering tools. It includes the FDT tool which already contains annexes for a range of different fieldbus systems. Extending the FDT specification to SERCOS III allows users to configure SERCOS III devices via FDT's powerful DTM device drivers. DTMs offer special functionality for detailed device configuration and analysis via a graphical user interface. The DTM application opens a window for the start-up, parameterization and diagnostics of field devices, thus reducing the complexity of the application and increasing transparency for users and service technicians.

The FDT/DTM specification is another important step on the way to making SERCOS III a universal real-time network for all automation applications. The combination of these two open standards, supported by many manufacturers, reduces start-up times and increases the security of investments, states Peter Lutz, Managing Director of SERCOS International e.V.

The FDT/DTM specification for SERCOS III was developed by a joint working group of SERCOS International and the FDT group and has been verified by two independent implementations of SERCOS III manufacturers.