What are profiles
Profiles used in automation technology define certain characteristics and responses for devices, device groups or whole systems which specify their main and unique properties. Only devices with manufacturer-neutral, identical profiles can "interoperate" on a fieldbus and thus fully exploit the advantages of a fieldbus for the user.
Profiles are specifications defined by manufacturers and users for certain characteristics, performance features and behaviors of devices and systems. They aim to ensure that devices and systems which belong to one product family by virtue of their "product-compliant" development are interoperable and, to a certain degree, exchangeable in bus operation.
Profile types
Different types of profile can be distinguished as so-called application profiles (general or specific) and system profiles:
- Application profiles
mainly refer to devices (drives) and contain an agreed selection of bus communication modes, as well as specific device applications. - System profiles
describe system classes and include the master functionality, program interfaces and integration methods.
PROFIdrive
The PROFIdrive profile is a specific application profile.