Posted on Monday, April 27th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Safety Network `War` Will Fuel 40% Growth Rates
Drives & Controls
Safety networks are emerging as the next battleground in the automation network wars, says the market analyst, ARC. This competition will fuel a growth in the global market for factory automation safety networks that will average 39.3% a year in the five years to 2013. In 2008, the market totalled less than 700,000 nodes but, by 2012, the figure will be more than 3.6 million, according to ARC. The growth in the safety network market will parallel that of serial-based device networks from the perspective of the savings compared to hard wiring of safety components. The increasing availability of light curtains, safety switches, and other components with network interfaces will boost the potential cost savings.
