2017 PROFIBUS, PROFINET and IO-Link Node Count numbers released

The installed base of devices with interfaces of the communication technologies of PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) continues its very strong overall market position. Against the background of Industry 4.0 incorporation into the automation of production systems, this is a clear sign of the acceptance of PI technologies in this innovative domain.

PROFINET

The development of PROFINET is very encouraging. In 2017, a record 4.5 million PROFINET devices were put on the market. This brought the total number to 20.9 million at the end of 2017, which represents an increase of 27.5% over the previous year.

PROFIBUS

2.3 million PROFIBUS devices were produced in 2017, only slightly fewer than the previous year. However, the total of 58.4 million devices across all years still represents a record.

PROFIsafe

The development of PROFIsafe is still very encouraging: with 1.95 million nodes put on the market, it has been able to achieve above-average growth again of nearly 28% and can now boast 8.9 million installed nodes.

IO-Link

IO-Link, in turn, experienced the largest increase of  52.8 % over the year in 2017. This brings the total number of installed IO-Link devices to more than 8.1 million.