New-Tech Europe | June 2017

PKZ manual motor starters, DIL contactors and electrical connectors from Eaton’s standard range of products. The communication system is not only used in the switch cabinet, but also with peripheral devices: over 50 command points on the machines are connected via I/O assemblies with a high degree of protection (IP65). The wiring workload was reduced to one-eighth thanks to the intelligent wiring system. Cross-wiring dropped from a good kilometer to just 50 meters and the wiring workload for the command devices on the machines was reduced by approximately 40%. Troubleshooting during commissioning also significantly decreased, as errors were quickly found using the data supplied by the connected devices. Instead of two weeks for commissioning a sorting plant of a similar age, Gormanns needed just 1.5 days for the new plant. The entire complex project was completed in just four months. Summary An intelligent wiring system at device level makes it possible to equip each connected component of a machine with communication capabilities and decentralized intelligence in an effective and cost-efficient manner. As a result, even data from simple automation components can be sent to the superordinate control system or even directly to the local or supra-regional control level. The provision of comprehensive data from the machine leads to a high degree of data transparency, which can be used to optimize productivity and availability. Flexibility, preparation for the future and ‘IoT readiness’ are additional arguments for using intelligent wiring systems when designing or modernizing machines and systems.

Amongst other things, a check can be carried out to determine whether each connected component is ready for operation. If an error occurs, target troubleshooting eliminates the previous need to search for the cause of the fault on site. Thanks to the simple wiring, it took just three months to modernize the entire system. Conventional wiring alone would have taken at least one month. Thanks to SmartWire-DT, however, all the components were installed within just a week. Tedious troubleshooting was eliminated, since a large part of the potential sources of error during installation and commissioning were prevented from the start by the plug-and-play technology of the wiring system. Using automation components with an integrated interface to the intelligent wiring system makes it possible to reduce the number of components and interfaces overall and integrate hardware and software quickly, effectively and without errors. Effective wiring – significant time savings As part of an extensive new construction project for a fully automated potato sorting plant, Schaltanlagenbau Gormanns GmbH wired the 250 drives for conveyor belts, pumps, fans and machines using the SmartWire-DT technology. With conventional point-to-point wiring, an estimated 32 km of cable would need to be laid for the entire plant, with at least another 1 km of cable for traditional cross-wiring within the switch cabinets. Today, the control system, variable frequency drives and touch panels communicate via a conventional fieldbus. Motor starter combinations networked with SmartWire-DT take over the switching and protection of all drives. These combinations are connected to the control system via one gateway per cabinet and comprise

be on call 24 hours a day. This fault correction procedure often impaired the productivity of the treatment plant in the past and incurred significant personnel costs as well as causing disruptive downtimes. For this reason, the company chose to implement the PKE electronic manual motor starter from Eaton in combination with SmartWire-DT. Thanks to this technology, the technicians now receive detailed information on the plant by text message or email. They can then interact with the machinery remotely using a remote connection via virtual network computing (VNC) and monitor the current consumption of each motor in real time, for example. If the cause of an overload or a technical fault is determined and corrected, the drive can be recommissioned via the touchscreen of a tablet or smartphone. Installing this solution has greatly simplified plant operation for Acque del Basso Livenza. Today, most problems can be resolved remotely and the technicians have time to concentrate on other tasks. The result: increased efficiency and productivity. Modernization – quick installation and flexible upgrades At Germany’s oldest gold and silver refinery, Heimerle + Meule, a new automation concept for the refining process was implemented after a fire. Six Eaton control units with touch panels (HMI/PLC) from the XV-102 and XV-152 series were used. These units communicate via SmartWire- DT with switchgears such as the PKZ motor starters, the DIL contactors or the DS7 soft starter, as well as various pushbuttons from the RMQ Titan series. The network comprises a total of about 300 SmartWire-DT devices. All HMI/PLCs can be accessed directly via Ethernet from a central PC.

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 37