CLPA Global Activity Report Vol.3

Pioneering the Possibilities
for Automation
with CC-Link & CC-Link IESpecial Interview
CC-Link Partner Association and Beijing BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.
An 8.5th-generation Factory Leading the FPD Industry in China Looks Forward
to the Future Development of CC-Link and CC-Link IESpecial Interview
CC-Link Partner Association and Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co., Ltd.
Chinese leading heavy industry manufacturer working on enhancementof energy conservation achieves advanced energy management with CC-Link IESpecial Interview
CC-Link Partner Association and Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co., Ltd.
Strengthened Cooperation between AS-International and CLPA:
Joint Promotional Activities in ProgressSpecial Interview

CC-Link Partner Association and Beijing BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.

An 8.5th-generation Factory Leading the FPD
Industry in China Looks Forward to the Future
Development of CC-Link and CC-Link IE
CC-Link and CC-Link IE are used in production lines for flat panel displays（FPDs）including liquid crystal displays（LCDs）.
Ms. Naomi Nakamura, global director of the CC-Link Partner Association（CLPA）, and Mr. Haruyuki Otani, technical task
force chair person of the CLPA, interviewed Mr. Cheng Chang, vice factory manager of Beijing BOE Display Technology
Co., Ltd., about their actions and the latest needs for factory automation. Beijing BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.
operates the most-advanced 8.5th-generation factory in China, where the FPD industry has been growing rapidly.
Ms. Nakamura（hereinafter: N） I would
like to hear about Beijing BOE Display
Technology Co., Ltd. and the 8.5thgeneration factory.
Mr. Cheng（hereinafter: C） Our company
is one of the affiliated enterprises of BOE
Technology Group（BOE）. BOE has beenleading the liquid crystal display industry in
China from the early stages of the industry.
BOE entered the LCD industry in Chinaaround 2003.After that, BOE has beensteadily and continuously increasing thenumber of production bases; the 5thgeneration factory in Beijing, the 6thgeneration one in Hefei, and the 4.5thgeneration one in Chengdu. The latest

Ms. Naomi Nakamura
Global Director
CC-Link Partner Association

2

factory of BOE Technology Group is the
8.5th-generation factory in Beijing, which isoperated by Beijing BOE Display
Technology Co., Ltd. Beijing BOE Display
Technology Co., Ltd. started the mass
production of LCDs at the 8.5th-generation
factory from September, 2011.
From touch-panel LCDs of 7 inches formobile devices to the largest LCDs of 110
inches for large-screen televisions, various
types of liquid crystal display panels arebeing produced in this factory. The
current production capacity is 110,000
LCDs per month. We are planning to
improve the manufacturing facilities toincrease the production capacity to

Mr. Haruyuki Otani

Technical Task Force Chair Person
CC-Link Partner Association

120,000 LCDs per month.

Seamless connection with information
systems is important

Mr. Otani（hereinafter: O） Would youtell us what is your company doing for the
automation of production lines?
C We consider that the advancement of
automation is one of the key issues for us.
According to Mr. Dongsheng Wang,president of BOE Technology Group, ourmanufacturing technology needs toconstantly innovate. Automation is themain pillar of this innovation. This is being
driven by increases in employment costs.
Unless we increase the rate of automationo f p r o d u c t i o n l i n e s t o r e du c e t h eemployment costs, we would lose ourcompetitive strength in the FPD market.
The technologies of CC-Link and CC-Link IE
have already been used in our production
systems. Their roles will become more
important in the future.
Furthermore, we are promoting the
introduction of Computer Integrated
Manufacturing（CIM）, which is intended to
improve production ef ficiency bymanaging all the various data generated in
the manufacturing facilities. The CIM
concept uses advanced technologies suchas cloud computing and communication
systems that connect the network of the

CLPA Global Activity Report 2013

manufacturing facilities with the hostinformation systems so as to enable thequick-processing of vast amounts of datacollected from the facilities. We will use thetechnologies of CC-Link and CC-Link IE forthis system as well.
O What is the reason why your company
is strengthening the communication
system between the information systemand the manufacturing facilities?
C This is because the amount of data
coming from the production lines to theinformation system is exponentially
increasing. There are two reasons for theincrease. One is the growth of the factorysize. The more manufacturing machines
we have, the more data we have toprocess. The other reason is that the
number of product models produced in
one manufacturing facility is increasing.
The trend of many models being producedin small quantities is getting more common
as consumer needs diversify. Thus overall,
the amount of data to be processed isincreasing.
O Of course we also think that thecommunication between manufacturing
facilities and the host information systems
is an important factor. CLPA developed the"Seamless Message Protocol（SLMP）", acommon protocol for connecting
information systems where Ethernet is
us e d t o t he C C -L ink IE ne t w or k o f
manufacturing facilities.
Using SLMP enables a simple connection
between the factory and information
systems' networks.

"Reliability" and "Interoperability" aremandatory

N CC-Link and CC-Link IE are already usedin your company's factories. Would you tell
us what features are required when yourcompany chooses which industrial network
standards to use?
C We pay attention to the following fivefeatures. The most important feature is"Reliability". If a production line stops, itcauses enormous losses. The second-mostimportant feature is "Interoperability"
among devices. This is important to build
networks flexibly using various different
vendors' devices together. The thirdfeature is cost efficiency and the fourth
one is the data transmission speed. The lastfeature is the communication distance andthe number of nodes that can beconnected.
N How does your company evaluate CCLink and CC-Link IE?
C We consider that CC-Link and CC-Link
IE meets all these requirements. However,
we hope that the data transmission speed
will increase.
N The data transmission speed of CC-Link
and CC-Link IE is 1 gigabit per second. Thisis the fastest speed among industrial
network standards. Why do you needfaster speed?
C We had considered that the datatransmission speed was enough, but wealso have to consider possible problems in
the f utur e. Man y r e quir ement s f orincreased production data are now
emerging.
For example, the size of LCD
manufacturing equipment is increasing.
The trend for the glass substrate size toincrease has stopped, but manufacturing
equipment may need to be operated at
higher speeds to improve its production
capacity. Thus, the amount of data to beprocessed will increase. Furthermore, if we
produce new displays with higher levels oftechnology in the future, themanufacturing process will become more

Mr. Cheng Chang

CF Factory
Vice Factory Manager
Beijing BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.

complex and the amount of data to beprocessed will increase further.
We measure the timing of the data
communication in production lines in one
hundredth of a second increments. This isbecause the timing affects production
cycle times.
O As you pointed out, we need to pay
attention to the market needs for the datatransmission speed.
C Our goal is that our 8.5th-generation
factory will become the highest revenue
producing LCD factory in the world. We
consider that industrial networks are an
important part of achieving this goal. CCLink and CC-Link IE are excellent
automation technologies and will be usedin many other industries. We look forward
to the future development of CC-Link and
CC-Link IE.

⃝ About this interview
This interview was conducted on thesite of the "FPD International China 2013/
Beijing Summit"（Host: China Optics andOptoelectronics Manufactures Association
LCD Branch and Nikkei Business
Publications, Inc.）, which was held in
Beijing from September 10th to 11th,
2013. CLPA had a booth in this event andparticipated in a round-table discussion.
Many k ey persons engaged in the
manufacturing technology of the FPD
industry in China and representatives ofautomation-related companies in Japan
gathered for the conference. CLPA spoke
about the benefits of CC-Link and CC-Link
IE there.

3Special Interview

CC-Link Partner Association and Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co., Ltd.

Chinese leading heavy industry manufacturer working
on enhancement of energy conservation achieves
advanced energy management with CC-Link IE
Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co., Ltd., a leading heavy industry manufacturer, is an affiliated company of
Shanghai Electric Group, one of the largest government-owned corporation group in China, and built a progressive
energy monitoring and control system using CC-Link IE. They strongly promote energy conservation in their factories.
Ms. Naomi Nakamura, the global director of the CC-Link Partner Association（CLPA）, interviewed Mr. Ye ZhiQiang, theVice-General Manager of Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co., Ltd. Ms. Nakamura asked him about their approach toenergy conservation and the background of CC-Link IE's introduction in China.
Ms. Nakamura（hereinafter: N） Would
you tell us about your products?

Mr. Ye（hereinafter: Y） We handle
thermal processing and machineprocessing of metal such as metallurgy,t w o y ear s sinc e 2009 t oge ther withenergy control systems and FA systems.（Forour demand, SERT suggested the adoption

Control Technology（SERT）, who handles

more information on SERT, refer to theassociated article.）

N What impact has the introduction of thissystem had?

Y One of the results is that we can now

analyze the status of energy utilization in

more detail by implementing a function that

displays data with various graphs. This

the ne w s y s t em, such de v ic e s w er eUsing this feature will lead to greater energy

IE-compatible devices are required to

information processing systems will be also

CLPA is always working with our partners

essential. For example, if converted intoknow the consumption of electricity,

Evaluating "high speed" and "high reliability"

Shanghai. Three of them are for thermalin our factories in 2011 reaches 180,000

At the same time, we built a system forprocessing, and the last one is for welding.

Group works on energy conservation, webillion yuan. We have high shares inconservation have a huge impact because

factories on the property of theheadquarters in the southwest area ofprocessing, four are for machine
The sales for 2011 amounted to 3.4

various fields in the Chinese market: 10%

the weight of coal, the energy consumed
tons. While the whole Shanghai Electric
think that our ef forts on energy

we consume the most energy in thegroup. This is why we focus on energy
conservation.

Integrated control by CC-Link IE

N One of the specific approaches is an

Mr. Ye ZhiQiang

Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co.,Ltd.
Vice-General Manager
Technology Center Director
Senior Engineer of Professor's Degree4

Fig.1：Energy monitoring control center（能源監控中心）of Shanghai Heavy Machinery
Plant Co., Ltd.

Y We have already started the construction

Global Director of CC-Link Partner
Association

factories such as boilers and furnaces.（Fig.

considerably miniaturized（Fig.2）.

processing, a large amount of energy is

your future plans?

Ms. Naomi Nakamura

points in the second term is to enhance a

recording devices were used. However, in1）. In the "energy monitoring control

turbines for power plants. We have eight"high reliability" are the key features of CC-

In the existing systems, many automatic pen

sensors installed on the equipment in the

better control of manufacturing processes.

Y In thermal processing and machine

products are large-size metalwork such as

two years since the system was started.

control allows data collection from various

focuses on energy conservation in yourfactories.

appreciated the reliability of CC-Link IE in therelated to working processes, leading toconsumed in the factories. Integrated

materials to finished products. Our main

T he high r eliabilit y is ano ther big

advantage of CC-Link IE. I have reallyThis system "visualizes" the energy

in China.

I have heard that your company

seconds in the actual system.

Link IE that we appreciate. Would you tell us

system that automatically accumulates dataNtransmission. A large amount of information

can be updated in a minimum of two

A further result is that we established athe system?
Yof CC-Link IE, which enables high-speed data

N Thank you so much. High speed andtechnology development center. I am surethat our technology is the most advanced

the energy control system. In response tofunction has optimized energy consumption

and reduced energy costs.

CC-Link IE. Would you tell us the outline ofReal time information was what weplaced importance on when we designed

energy monitoring control system using

casting. In addition, we have a national

Y

Shanghai Electric Ryoden Energy Saving andin metallurgy, 15% in forging, and 35% in

forging, and casting. That is, we have an

integrated system of production from raw

CLPA Global Activity Report 2013

center（能源監控中心）", we can promptly

natural gas, coal gas, oxygen, and steam.

the thermal management of boilers andN I would like to hear your evaluation of
the technology of CC-Link IE.

for the second term. One of the importantconsumed-power management feature.

conservation. The functions of theenhanced. Specifically, we will introduce amechanism that continually analyzes
collected data and promptly issues an alert

when a measured v alue goes nearexceeding the set threshold.

N I think that new CC-Link- and CC-Link

achieve these enhanced functions. The
to increase the capabilities of CC-Link- andCC-Link IE-compatible devices.Thank you
so much for your time today.

furnaces used in the factories. CC-Link IE isused in the network to collect informationfrom many sensors used in such a system.

The project was divided into two terms,

and the first term has been completed.
The current system has 667 nodes

collecting the data. This covers about 95%

of overall energy consumption in thefacilities. We developed this system overFig.2：Considerably-miniaturized process
management system for a forging furnace.

The equipment on the left in the picture is
the existing system with pen recorders.The
terminal of the new control system using CCLink IE is on the right in this picture.

Supporting development of the Chinese systems market
Shanghai Electric Ryoden Energy Saving
and Control Technology（SERT）, which
co-developed the energy monitoring
control system of Shanghai Heavy
Machinery Plant Co., Ltd., joined theboard of directors of the CLPA activity in
September, 2012. Mr. Yuji Watanabe, theGeneral Manager of the company,
expressed his intent to contribute to thepromotion of CC-Link and CC-Link IE in
Asia using his experience in the Chinese
market and his perspective of a systemvendor.
SERT was established in February, 2011as a joint venture company between
Shanghai Electric Environmental
Investment Co., Ltd., which handles
environment-related business under theumbrella of Shanghai Electric Group, andthe Chinese local corporation of

Mitsubishi Electric. The main businesses of
SERT are design and development of FA
systems and energy control systems.
The board of directors of the CLPA
consisted solely of FA device vendors
until SERT joined. I believe thatparticipation of SERT handling systems
business has great significance forpromoting CC-Link and CC-Link IE. This isbecause the industrial network
technology used in systems is constructedaccording to the user needs.
In addition, we will contribute to thepromotion of CC-Link and CC-Link IE in
Asia, which is a key focus for the CLPA.
SERT is the third foreign company on theboard of directors and is based in China.
We will willingly give feedback on market
needs to the CLPA to strongly support thepromotion of CC-Link and CC-Link IE in

China.
Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co.,
Ltd. was an early adopter of CC-Link IE
and is a good example of promotion in
Asia. Their CC-Link IE energy control
system clearly shows that it has potential
for spreading to various fields.

Mr. Yuji Watanabe

General Manager of Shanghai Electric Ryoden
Energy Saving and Control Technology Co., Ltd.

5

Special Interview

CC-Link Partner Association and Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant Co., Ltd.

Strengthened Cooperation between
AS-International and CLPA:
Joint Promotional Activities in Progress
The AS-International Association is a worldwide organization that is responsible for the promotion of"AS-Interface（abbreviated to AS-i）", a sensor level network system. The AS-International Association（hereinafter AS-International）and the CC-Link Partner Association（CLPA）have started to collaborate
on promotional activities. Ms. Naomi Nakamura, global director of the CLPA, interviewed Mr. Rolf Becker,
CEO of AS-International, about their organization and the future expectations for this collaboration.

Ms. Nakamura（hereinafter: N） AS-

depends on the region. For example, in

Profinet and Profibus, and in Asia CC-Linkof the 350 member companies freely

overview of your organization and its
activities?

AS-i is designed to be able to connect

with any of these fieldbus networks. That's

M r . B e c k e r（h e r e i n a f t e r : B） A S -one of the reasons why it acquired the

project begun by the Federal Ministry of

all over the world. As well as the actual

International was founded in 1991 after adominant market share at the sensor level

Education and Research of Germany. Our

performance,of AS-i and the development of AS-imany of our users chose it because oforganization is responsible for marketing
standards. Our headquarters are located in
Gelnhausen near Frankfurt. We have 350

member companies worldwide and we

AS-i also provides

without any problems. Users can therefore

The collaboration of the twoorganizations is accelerating

this collaboration are for yourInterface is suitable for any fieldbus

used in a manufacturing facility. If any

therefore not exclusive. However, I

organization?

certainly do see CC-Link and CC-Link IE as

were required.

cooperation we can clearly inform users

AS-i. It covers the whole system andadvantages of the AS-i.

AS-i has various excellent
characteristics

N

connects the slaves to the master. Thanks

to its simple wiring, sensors can be

What would you say are the main

repositioned easily and miswiring is

B One of the reasons is that AS-Interface

knowledge is needed for assembly. Hencegeneral, an industrial automation system is

To accelerate the promotion of thesereasons why AS-i has been widely used?

is suitable for any fieldbus network. In

broken down into control, field, andsensor actuator level. At the first twolevels, there are several market-leading
systems and each system's market share

6

physically prevented. No particular prior

the main market leading systems. By our

who use CC-Link or CC-Link IE of the

Furthermore, we will need to increase theWe will also be jointly offering seminars

CC-Link and AS-i not only in Europe but

the CLPA stand.

shares in Asia. I believe that thein many areas of the world. In thesestep to promote AS-i in Asia. We, theLink/CC-Link IE and AS-Interface can

AS-International will increase the portfolio

and how a plant can be equipped in this

CLPA, hope that the collaboration withof CC-Link- and CC-Link IE-compatible

products, especially in the area of sensors,

and will lead to CC-Link and CC-Link IE

seminars, we will explain the benefits CC-

provide, how both systems work together

way throughout. We have already done
two seminars in China and they were very
well received.

N What do you think is the next step ofsensors and actuators can be employed bypromotional activities together in the form

B The demands of the various markets

On the other hand, with CC-Link or CC-

appearances, and information brochures.

and this will continue to be the case foranother. On the one hand, with AS-i,the CC-Link/CC-Link IE solution effectively.

Link IE, AS-i systems can be connected toadvantages, AS-International has been

N Although both AS-International andinteroperability of AS-i products.

networks to our individual user

Specifically, our organization ensures that

N Exactly. CC-Link and CC-Link IE are the

AS-International will be represented on

being more widely used in Europe.

Both technologies complement one

you save installation time in this way.

carrying out actions to secure

application options there will be for thesecollaboration with CLPA will bring a big

additional cables had to be connected, an

However, a single cable is sufficient withinteroperability will become, and the more

network. The cooperation with the CLPA is

sensor level network market. There are

the field.

The more companies develop suchnetworks that have dominant market

Formerly, huge bundles of cables had to beenormous amount of work and expense

CLPA members and offer CC-Link/CC-Link

B I would again like to stress that AS-

product came onto the market in 1994.

the market and over 25 million devices in

Now our cooperation is becoming more

Would you tell us what the advantages ofcosts for wiring can be lowered dramatically.

more than 1,700 certified AS-i products in

the Asian market.

products.

and the USA. The first AS-i compatible
AS-i has an overwhelming presence in theaccess to European markets through AS-i.

decided to collaborate on promotional

involved in wiring can be reduced byabout 40% with AS-i. As a result, associatedof both associations and actually it brings

products, the more comprehensive

activities in many areas of the world.

AS-International Association
CEO

Therefore, we needed the cooperation

Strengthened cooperation throughmutual collaboration

AS-International and the CLPA

Mr. Rolf Becker

compatible products.

IE and AS-i compatible devices.

are also represented by regional branches

in countries such as Brazil, China, Japan,

products related to CC-Link, the market

leading system in Asia, offered AS-iof a replacement is easy.

these advantages.

For example, the time and work

us at that time that manufacturers ofintensive. Many of our members are alsoN

N Would you give us some examples?

cooperation in 2001. It was important tointerchange one product with another

having the same function, so procurement

considerable cost benefits. I believe thatBeven before the first discussions on our

And AS-International gains a big step topresence at the sensor network level. Mr.

IE Field and CC-Link.

CC-Link/CC-Link IE gateway functions

Therefore, users can mix the AS-i products

comply with the given specifications.

Becker, can you give our readers an

two networks.

B There were some AS-i products withus big advantages. The CLPA gains better

North and South America these are

Ethernet IP and DeviceNet, in Europe

to collaborate to inform them of theadvantages of the combined use of these

all devices of our member companies

Interface has already existed for morethan 20 years and has an overwhelming

CLPA Global Activity Report 2013

B

We have already started ourof joint trade fair and exhibition
Our first joint appearance at a trade fair

our collaboration?

marketing activities.

What is and will remain very importantis that plant and machine builders mustsee the benefit - with an integrated

solution from control level through to fieldlevel. Anyhow, the most important
objective must be to please the user, notourselves.

the time being. We need a wide selection

AS-i and CC-Link/CC-Link IE together andthe CLPA have shown the benefits of our

SPS IPC Drives in Parma, Italy. The next

Common specifications may be

communities, it is now important for us

November 2013 in Japan, where this time

step is the System Control Fair 2013 insupport manufacturers who develop CC-

Link and AS-i compatible products by joint

N I really agree with you. We need toof products to be able to cover all

Germany. We also exhibited jointly at thealso in Asia. For these objectives, we will

are very different depending on the region

was the Hannover Messe in April 2013 in

the higher level control systems.

number of products compatible with both

application demands.

important to improve compatibility

between AS-i and CC-Link/CC-Link IE.

show some application examples of using
what benefits this can deliver. The next

step is increase the support by users anddevice makers. We are ready to respondto market demands and to offer further

benefits to our users.

7

CLPA Office Locations
CLPA - Japan（Head Office）

6F Ozone-front Building,
3-15-58, Ozone, Kita-ku,
Nagoya 462-0825, Japan
Phone: +81-52-919-1588 Fax: +81-52-916-8655
E-mail: info@cc-link.org
URL: http://www.cc-link.org

CLPA - Americas

500 Corporate Woods Parkway,
Vernon Hills, IL, 60061, U.S.A.
Phone: +1-847-478-2341 Fax: +1-847-876-6611
E-mail: info@cclinkamerica.org
URL: http://www.cclinkamerica.org

CLPA - Europe（Germany）

Postfach 10 12 1740832 Ratingen Germany
Phone: +49-2102-486-1750 Fax: +49-2102-532-9740
E-mail: partners@clpa-europe.com
URL: http://www.clpa-europe.com

CLPA - Europe（U.K. Office）

Travellers Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 8XB U.K.
（P.O. Box 50, Hatfield, AL10 8XB U.K.）
Phone: +44-1707-278953 Fax: +44-1707-282873
E-mail: partners@clpa-europe.com
URL: http://www.clpa-europe.com

CLPA - China

Headquarters（Tongji University）:
School of Electronics and Information Engineering,
Jiading Campus, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R.China
Head Office: 4F, Intelligence Fortune Leisure Plaza, No.80 Xin Chang
Road,
Huang Pu district, Shanghai, P.R.China
Phone: +86-21-64940523 Fax: +86-21-64940525
E-mail: mail1@cc-link.org.cn
URL: http://www.cc-link.org.cn/

CLPA - Taiwan

6th FI, No.105, Wu Kung 3rd. Rd., Wu-Ku Hsiang, Taipei, Taiwan
Phone: +886-2-8990-1573 Fax: +886-2-8990-1572
E-mail: cclink01@ms63.hinet.net
URL: http://www.cc-link.org.tw/

CLPC - ASEAN（Singapore）

307 Alexandra Road #05-01/02,
Mitsubishi Electric Bldg., Singapore 159943
Phone: +656-470-2480 Fax: +656-476-7439
E-mail: cclink@asia.meap.com

CLPA - India

2nd Floor, Tower A & B, Cyber Greens, DLF Cyber City,DLF Phase-III, Gurgaon-122002 Haryana, India
Phone:+91-124-4630300
E-mail:clpa@mei-india.com

CLPA - Korea

2F, 1480-6, Gayang-Dong,
Gangseo-Gu, Seoul, 157-202, Korea
Phone: +82-2-3663-6178 Fax: +82-2-3663-0475
E-mail: clpakor@meak.co.kr
URL: http://www.cc-link.or.kr/
The articles included in this booklet are re-edited and translated from those published in a technology information site for engineers <Tech-On!>and its Chinese language site <Tech-On! Chinese>, both operated by Nikkei Business Publications.