CC-Link is open industrial network that enables devices from numerous manufacturers to communicate. It is predominantly used in machine, cell or process control applications in manufacturing and production industries, but can also be used in facilities management, process control and building automation.
CC-Link is an open-architecture network that was originally developed by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1997. In 2000 CC-Link was released as an “Open” network so that independent automation equipment manufacturers could incorporate CC-Link compatibility into their products.
In the same year the non profit organization CLPA (CC-Link Partner Association) was formed to manage and oversee the network technology and support manufacturer members. More than 1200 CC-Link compatible products from hundreds of automation manufacturers are now available. CC-Link is available in multiple different formats. CC-Link, CC-Link LT, CC-Link Safety, CC-Link IE (Industrial Ethernet) - Control and CC-Link IE Field. Compatible products include industrial PCs, PLCs, robots, servos, drives, valve manifolds, digital & analogue I/O modules, temperature controllers, mass flow controllers. There are now over 9 million installed CC-Link nodes worldwide.