March 6, 2007 - Scottsdale, AZ - The PTO (PROFIBUS and PROFINET North America) and the PIC (PROFI Interface Center) announce new free webinars and the fifth consecutive year of free one-day training classes held in various cities throughout North America.
Three webinars will be held this year, designed to give a basic overview of all types of Industrial Ethernet. The first webinar will be hosted on April 10 and will deliver an introduction to Industrial Ethernet, including standards, ISO/OSI model, and Ethernet, TCP and IP frames. The second webinar will be hosted May 8 and will discuss Ethernet Network Architecture, including office vs. factory requirements, network considerations and Ethernet switch functions, including quality of service, port mirroring and IGMP. A third webinar on June 5 will discuss more details on Ethernet network architecture, including Ethernet addressing, subnets and routers. Each webinar will begin at 2 pm ET. The webinars will also be archived at on the website for later reference.
The one-day training classes will focus on three different curricula, including PROFIBUS, PROFIBUS for the process industries, and PROFINET. Each training class provides prospective and existing PROFIBUS and PROFINET users with an in-depth technical overview and implementation information for each technology. Participants earn 5.5 professional development hours for each class. Currently, 26 locations are scheduled throughout the US and Canada, with more being added.
Participants in the one-day training classes will also experience a Multi-vendor Product Fair with representatives from industry-leading product vendors, plus a hosted lunch and after-class reception. As a special bonus, the PTO will raffle a week-long Certified Network Engineer Class (a $2695 value) at each PROFIBUS and PROFINET one-day training event.
“The objective of the webinars is to teach the basics of all types of Industrial Ethernet. The objective of the free classes is to help take interested users a step closer to implementing PROFIBUS and PROFINET technology in their factories,” said Carl Henning, Deputy Director of the PTO. “The training gives existing and prospective users an overview of these all encompassing technologies, covering all aspects of automation from the field level to the MES interface, from standard control level to high-end motion control, as well as the integration of safety and security. Attendees will be able to immediately use the knowledge gained in the webinars and in the classes.”
The PTO is the non-profit, member-supported automation organization for communication solutions. It is dedicated to supporting the discrete and process industries in achieving beneficial results using fieldbuses, specifically PROFIBUS and PROFINET. The PTO also assists device manufacturers in the development and marketing of PROFIBUS and PROFINET products. Covering North America, PTO is one of 25 regional associations that make up PI (PROFIBUS and PROFINET International). Established in 1989, PI has over 1400 members, who have developed and now supply more than 2500 types of devices. To date, more than 18,000,000 devices have been installed.
