In October, the IO-Link Consortium in the United States held its first user workshop in St. Paul, Minnesota. The workshop was hosted by Comtrol.

More than 100 people registered for the workshop, with around 90 individuals in attendance. About half of the attendees were from OEMs, machine builders and distributors/integrators. Most participants were from companies with local offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including representatives from United States Gypsum, General Motors, PepsiCo and Meier Tools.

Classroom-style presentations were given, including one of the value of IO-Link in reducing terminations and cables, as well as the ease of integration of various sensors, given by Balluff. Vendors also set up booths and were available to answer questions in the atrium. Presentations were mostly focused on the benefits of IO-Link.

“We had good turnout at the booths to discuss various IO-Link technologies and applications,” said Shishir Rege, marketing manager, networking and connectivity, at Balluff. Besides Balluff, ifm, Turck, Comtrol, Sick, Siemens, Banner Engineering, Leutze, Contrinex and Schmalz set up exhibits at the event. A venue and date for the next workshop is being discussed.