Rockwell Automation PLC-5 Fieldbus Solutions for Integrated Architecture User Manual - Manual (Page 15)

1 Publication 1757-UM006A-EN-P - May 2002
Chapter
1
The Fieldbus Communication Model
Fieldbus Organization About the Fieldbus Foundation
The Fieldbus Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation made up of
nearly 120 leading suppliers and customers of process control and
manufacturing automation products. Since its inception in 1994, it is
totally dedicated to developing one standard, “open,” interoperable
field communication model known as F OUNDATION ™ Fieldbus
(1)
.
Want more information?
Visit the Fieldbus Foundation web site at www.fieldbus.org, or the
following address, for more information:
9390 Research Blvd.
Suite II-250
Austin, TX 78759-9780
What is Fieldbus?
There are many digital communication technologies being promoted
as the future replacement for the venerable 4–20 mA analog standard,
and most are self-described as fieldbus. With the exception of
FOUNDATION fieldbus, virtually all of these technologies were
developed for non-process environments such as automotive
manufacturing, building automation, or discrete parts manufacturing,
and later adapted to process control.
Generally, they are well suited to the applications for which they were
originally developed. Some of these technologies are open, some are
proprietary. Every communication technology provides a method for
transmitting data between various devices and a host, and some
provide communications directly between devices. The various
schemes differ in how well they are optimized for moving data
quickly, their suitability for real-time control, the cost of hardware
implementations, their networking capability for branches, spurs and
long distances, and for how power is distributed.
(1) Sections of this publication has been provided by FOUNDATION Fieldbus.