June 11, 2012 - The MMA is now the largest motion control networking group in Asia as MECHATROLINK becomes the de-facto motion network in Asian markets. The Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA) announced that its membership topped 1,000 in March 2012, and continues to increase. Recently, memberships from the four countries of China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan have been increasing at a particularly fast rate. At this point—42% of all members are Japanese companies, 26% are Chinese companies, 20% are Korean companies, 6% are European companies, and 6% are American companies, for a current total of 1,015 companies. The rapid spread of MECHATROLINK has been especially remarkable in China, where 260 companies have joined the MMA.
The MMA is now the largest association in Asia promoting and supporting an open motion control network. The MMA was established in October 2005 to promote the open motion network MECHATROLINK, with 124 original member companies. Since then, 900 companies joined the MMA in the first six and half years, with 115 more joining in the past year. The MMA exhibited MECHATROLINK compliant products at SEMICON China 2012 in Shanghai for three days from March 20-22, 2012. As a result, 37 companies joined the MMA during this exhibition, which made the MMA an association of more than 1,000 member companies.
The 1,000th member is a CNC controller manufacturer in Beijing, and the MMA secretariat, Takeshi Tanaka, visited Beijing in May to welcome its 1000th member. The MMA will further accelerate the promotion of MECHATROLINK, and cement its status as the de-facto motion network in Asian markets. With strong growth anticipated for the foreseeable future, the MMA expects to reach the next milestone of 2,000 members by the end of 2014.
About Mechatrolink
The MMA promotes two communication standards: The most popular MECHATROLINK-II, and the Ethernet-compliant, high-speed MECHATROLINK-III. MECHATROLINK-III, with its minimum transmission cycle 31.25 μsec, is an excellent solution for ultra-high-speed applications. Mechatrolink is the most widely used motion control network in Asia. The certification of the Mechatrolink field network for safety makes it possible for MMA members to build motion control and machine control systems for use in applications that comply with safety standards.
Mechatrolink connects devices such as servo motors, servo amps and I/O to each other and to motion controllers such as PLCs, PACs and motion controllers. Mechatrolink is available in both RS-485 and Ethernet versions, operates at speeds up to 100 Mbps, and can support up to 62 simultaneous devices. Over the last 20 years since the Mechatrolink network was established, more than two million Mechatrolink devices have been shipped, and more than 300 different products have been certified to Mechatrolink specifications. Device profiles for motion nodes have been clearly defined and proved effective over two decades of development and use.
About the MMA
MMA membership has reached the 1,000 member plateau, including 61 companies in North America. The MMA is a group of Mechatrolink product developers and users who promote the use of Mechatrolink, an industrial network optimized for motion control. The MMA is an independent non-profit organization that makes Mechatrolink specifications and operating parameters available to all. The organization also works to ensure that products labeled as MMA-compatible meet the relevant specifications. The MMA is continually improving network performance and actively recruiting new members.
