ADI joins a board member of the CLPA

The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), which promotes the widespread usage of the CC-Link open industrial network family, announced that Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) has become a CLPA Board Member.

Through active participation in CLPA management, ADI aims to expand its business globally, especially in the Asian region, where the CC-Link family is a de-facto standard. The company expects to now be fully involved with CLPA board activities and will join promotional activities to increase their presence and sales to the world from the vital Asian manufacturing market.

Background on ADI-CLPA cooperation
ADI is a leading global high-performance analog technology company that enables customers to interpret the world around us by intelligently bridging the physical and digital with unmatched technologies that sense, measure, power, connect and interpret. Recently, ADI introduced a Scalable Ethernet Switch for Industrial Ethernet in response to increasing demand for this technology in the global automation market. As part of their commitment to the CLPA, ADI plans CC-Link IE TSN implementation on their Scalable Ethernet Switch.

The CLPA’s key technology is CC-Link IE TSN, which is the first open Industrial Ethernet to combine gigabit Ethernet with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology. ADI has maintained a leadership role in the development of TSN technology for automation applications. Hence their decision to join the board of the CLPA indicates the company’s belief in the potential of CC-Link IE TSN globally. CC-Link IE TSN implementation on their Scalable Ethernet Switch will further increase the range of development options available to vendors looking to add the protocol to their portfolio. The CLPA expects that this in turn will further contribute to their rapidly increasing global market share. Working with their partners, the CLPA is continuously promoting CC-Link IE TSN to increase its adoption globally.

CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA)
The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) is an open network organization established in 2000 and celebrates its 20th anniversary. The mission of CLPA is to increase the adoption of the CC-Link family of open automation network technologies worldwide. CC-Link is the open fieldbus network standard which originated in Japan, after being developed by industry leaders such as Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. The year 2007 saw the release of CC-Link IE as the first 1Gbps Ethernet-based open industrial network. Subsequently, the year 2018 saw the release of CC-Link IE TSN, a network which significantly improves the performance and functions of the current CCLink IE. The main activities of the CLPA include the development of the CC-Link family of technical specifications, conducting conformance tests, development support and user support for device selection and application. In addition, the CLPA conducts promotional activities on a global basis in order to achieve wider adoption of the CC-Link family. The CLPA, which began with 134 corporate members, has expanded yearly and, as of the end of October 2020, boasts
over 3,800 members, of which 80% are overseas corporations.

CLPA Board
The CLPA Board takes a leadership position in decisions regarding CLPA activities. Aiming for acceptance of CC-Link IE TSNat the global level, the Board is becoming an increasingly globalized management organization. After adding ADI as the latest member, the Board now consists of
following ten firms.

CLPA Board Members (alphabetical order)
3M Company,
Analog Devices, Inc.,
Balluff GmbH,
Cisco Systems, Inc.,
Cognex Corporation,
IDEC Corporation,
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation,
Molex Inc.,
NEC Corporation,
Schneider Electric Japan Holdings Ltd.

CC-Link IE TSN
CC-Link IE TSN combines the gigabit bandwidth of CC-Link IE with TSN to meet future automation market demands, such as Industry 4.0. This provides flexible integration of Operational Technology (OT) and IT while further strengthening performance and functionality. A comprehensive portfolio of device development options also ensures that any vendor can easily add this technology to their product line-up. The aim is to improve efficiency and reduce time to market for Smart Factories utilizing the IIoT and the products they manufacture. As of November 2020, two years after the announcement of the CC-Link IE TSN specifications, more than 100 models of partner products have been released or are under development.