There are three versions of Profibus:
- Profibus FMS (Fieldbus Message Specification), primarily for communication between controllers. FMS is supported by the Beckhoff Bus Couplers BK3000 and BK3100.
- Profibus PA (Process Automation) is based on an intrinsically safe physical transmission process, and was developed for process automation.
- Profibus DP (Distributed Peripherals) is designed for fast data exchange at the sensor/actuator level. In addition to this, there are implementations appropriate for safety-critical areas (PROFIsafe), drive engineering (PROFIdrive) and for distributed automation techniques.

Independence through a proprietary Profibus ASIC
The wide range of Profibus products concentrates particularly on solutions for Profibus DP with the DP-V1 and DP-V2 standards. Because of the large number of Profibus devices, Beckhoff implemented Layer 1 and Layer 2 of the Profibus standard in a chip solution, and so have their own Profibus ASIC, providing independence from other manufacturers.

Profibus DP-V2 in particular was essential, so that the very fast synchronous pulses and equidistant drive systems (PROFIdrive 3.0) required for cascading electronically controlled drives (Motion Control) could be achieved. Fast drive solutions are thus one of Beckhoff's specialities, and for this reason Beckhoff are to date the only supplier, other than Siemens, of Profibus-conform MC drive solutions.

The Beckhoff solution for Profibus Motion Control (MC) permits a number of Profibus bus systems to operate in parallel and to be synchronized by software. This allows several fast drives to be operated simultaneously with synchronized pulses, while maintaining a constant and fast cycle time. This Profibus MC solution has already been applied in practice, and has yielded outstanding results in fast process applications, such as in the tire making machines at Continental AG or the multiple spindle lathes at the Schütte works.

Further informations: www.profibus.com