Membership benefits
FDT Group Membership
FDT Group membership is the right first step to get started with FDT Technology. The membership gives you access to tools, information, and technical support for implementing FDT into your products. Membership entitles you to voting rights at the General Assembly and the option to participate to the technical and marketing Working Groups. Join the FDT Group and take advantage of the various benefits.
Please <click here> for a definition of members’ categories and the corresponding rights.
Technology
As a member you are eligible to participate to the technology development project groups and to the technology marketing Group.The development program is defined yearly by the executive committee. As an example, in 2008 the active projects were on FDT specification maintenance, annexes for communication protocols, IEC specification, DTM style guide and PLC tools.
Technology marketing writes market requirements for products developments, reviews the development status at project milestones and manages release plans.
Marketing
The FDT Group organizes many marketing activities worldwide where members have access, at very low cost, to a wide and global audience; participation to fairs and trade shows, seminars and events. Communication involves newsletters, presence on the web site, advertising and promotional activities.
Articles on the technology and success stories are regularly published in the international and local trade publications.
Members’ Logos are displayed in all the FDT Group communication and promotional activities giving them a global visibility.
Members’ products can be included in the FDT demo systems that are used in our customer events and seminars.
Certification
Product certification is a strong end user requirement. By combining a rigorous certification process with exhaustive interoperability tests checking the interactions between systems and devices, you can weed out potential problems and offer your end user maximum assurance of problem free implementation for their FDT/DTM applications in automation projects.
Members are entitled to significant discounts for the certification and registration process.
Tools and Services
Many companies offer tools and services to help you learn the FDT Technology and develop the products. These include development and test tools, application assistance and training. For use of these tools, FDT members have discounted fees which vary with the supplier.
Additionally, the FDT Group regularly organizes for its members developers’ workshops where they can learn from experts the best practices for product development.
FDT Test sites and Interoperability test systems allow members to test their FDT products in a very diverse environment with many different frames and devices.
A permanent interoperability test bed is available for on-line testing with the support of specialized staff.
Our members' DTM developers have access to a support "hot-line". The "hot-line" provides free services such as addressing technical questions through email and phone, setting up an issue data base and a "technology forum" on the FDT Group share point server.
Intellectual property
Access to the FDT specifications is free. As a member, you can use FDT and DTM name marks and FDT logos to name your products and register them. You are entitled to use them as long as you are a member of the Group. You can use the FDT logo to advertise your membership and product compliance. The FDT and DTM name mark and FDT logos remain the intellectual property of the FDT Group, as specified in the FDT Group by-laws.
