One thousand companies network on motion!

The MMA is now the largest motion control networking group in Asia as MECHATROLINK becomes the de-facto motion network in Asian markets.

The Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA) announced that its membership topped 1,000 in March 2012, and continues to increase.

Recently, memberships from the four countries of China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan have been increasing at a particularly fast rate. At this point—42% of all members are Japanese companies, 26% are Chinese companies, 20% are Korean companies, 6% are European companies, and 6% are American companies, for a current total of 1,015 companies.

The rapid spread of MECHATROLINK has been especially remarkable in China, where 260 companies have joined the MMA. The MMA is now the largest association in Asia promoting and supporting an open motion control network.

The MMA was established in October 2005 to promote the open motion network MECHATROLINK, with 124 original member companies. Since then, 900 companies joined the MMA in the first six and half years, with 115 more joining in the past year.

The MMA exhibited MECHATROLINK compliant products at SEMICON China 2012 in Shanghai for three days last March. As a result, 37 companies joined the MMA during this exhibition, which made the MMA an association of more than 1,000 member companies.

The 1,000th member is a CNC controller manufacturer in Beijing, and the MMA secretariat, Takeshi Tanaka, visited Beijing in May to welcome its 1000th member.

The MMA will further accelerate the promotion of MECHATROLINK, and cement its status as the de-facto motion network in Asian markets. With strong growth anticipated for the foreseeable future, the MMA expects to reach the next milestone of 2,000 members by the end of 2014.

Free membership upgrade on offer!

For a limited time, users, vendors, OEMs and systems integrators who want to reach the motion control market can join MMA for free.

The Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA) recently announced a membership drive with significant benefits for prospective members. Any end user, machine builder, robot builder, systems integrator or supplier of motion control systems and equipment can join the MMA as a Regular Member for free. Membership confers a number of benefits, chief among them preferred access to the fast-growing motion control markets of China and other parts of Asia.

Entry Level membership has always been free, but this drive allows companies to join at a higher grade of membership—as a Regular Member—with added benefits. An annual Regular Membership in MMA normally costs $1,500 (€1140.00), but until March 31, 2012, it’s free. The free membership is good until March 31, 2013, at which point it can renewed on an annual basis.

A Regular membership allows members to purchase Mechatrolink ASIC chips and sample kits, submit their products for certification test, and introduce and advertise their product on the Mechatrolink website. Regular members can also participate in subcommittees and general meetings, make technical inquiries by email and telephone, and receive product development support.

Mechatrolink is the most widely used motion control network in Asia, and is steadily gaining ground in the U.S. Mechatrolink connects devices such as servo motors, servo amps and I/O to each other and to motion controllers such as PLCs, PACs and motion controllers. Mechatrolink is available in both RS-485 and Ethernet versions, operates at speeds up to 100 Mbps, and can support up to 62 simultaneous devices. 

For any company who wants to participate in the Asian motion control market, membership in MMA can be very beneficial.

Motion control network certified safe!

TÜV Rheinland confirms that Mechatrolink satisfies the requirements of IEC61508 safety integrity level SIL3.

The Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA) has announced that its Mechatrolink motion control network meets industry safety standards. Certification was received after an independent third party, TÜV Rheinland, confirmed that these specifications satisfied the requirements of IEC61508 safety integrity level SIL3.

A safety system can be constructed using the Mechatrolink network by simply adding a safety master such as a safety PLC and safety slaves, such as safety I/O devices, to the existing system. No special cabling is required for connecting Mechatrolink Safety compliant devices; standard Mechatrolink cables can be used. Up to 61 safety slave devices can be connected.  The Mechatrolink Safety and standard protocols can co-exist on the same network.

Mechatrolink is the most widely used motion control network in Asia. The certification of the Mechatrolink field network for safety makes it possible for MMA members to build motion control and machine control systems for use in applications that comply with safety standards.

Mechatrolink connects devices such as servo motors, servo amps and I/O to each other and to motion controllers such as PLCs, PACs and motion controllers. Mechatrolink is available in both RS-485 and Ethernet versions, operates at speeds up to 100 Mbps, and can support up to 62 simultaneous devices.

The MMA’s Safety Working Group developed the specifications for the safety communications protocol. The Safety Working Group consists of seven corporate members: Inter Factory Partners Co., Ltd.; Digital Electronics Corporation; Nikki Denso Co., Ltd.; HIMA Japan; Magnescale Co., Ltd.; Yaskawa Electric Corporation; and Yokogawa Electric Corporation.

Asian motion control network makes strides in North America

Membership of The Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA) has reached the 900 member plateau, including 50 firms in North America. The MMA is a group of Mechatrolink product developers and users who promote the use of Mechatrolink, an industrial network optimised for motion control.

Mechatrolink is an industrial network optimised for motion control, and is the most popular motion control network in Asia. In fact, it’s getting to the point where, to sell machine controls and factory automation into the Asian market, a company’s best approach is to use Mechatrolink. It is an open fieldbus protocol originally developed by Yaskawa and now maintained by the MMA.

It is an independent non-profit organization that makes Mechatrolink specifications and operating parameters available to all. The organisation also works to ensure that products labeled as MMA-compatible meet the relevant specifications. The MMA is continually improving network performance and actively recruiting new members.

“Mechatrolink is the most widely used motion control network in Asia,” says Derek Lee, a representative of MMA North America, “We also welcome the relatively large number of North American companies to the MMA.”
 
Mechatrolink connects devices such as servo motors, servo amps and I/O to each other and to motion controllers such as PLCs, PACs and motion controllers. Mechatrolink is available in both RS-485 and Ethernet versions, operates at speeds up to 100 Mbps, and can support up to 62 simultaneous devices.

“It’s rapidly reaching the point where, to sell machine controls and factory automation into the Asian market, a company’s best approach is to use Mechatrolink,” says Lee.

North American members include Cleveland Motion Controls, National Instruments, Manufacturing Data Systems, Phoenix Contact, Red Lion Controls, Texas Instruments, Turck, Yaskawa and many others.

Over the last 20 years since Mechatrolink was established, more than 2 million Mechatrolink devices have been shipped, and more than 300 different products have been certified to Mechatrolink specifications. Device profiles for motion nodes have been clearly defined and proved effective over two decades of development and use.

MMA provides worldwide support for Mechatrolink with affiliates in Germany, Japan, China, Korea and the U.S.—and Mechatrolink is in the process of becoming an official international IEC standard for industrial communication networks.

See our Fieldbus Page for details of other fieldbus protocols