EuroWire November 2016

Feature Testing & measuring

Zumbach measuring instruments now with OPC UA standard

This means that the requirements for industry automation along with future semantic communication scenarios from Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) have already been met. OPC has the broadest circulation in the field of automation, but is technologically industry-neutral and can be run on all operating systems. Communication between plant equipment takes place reliably, securely and independent of the manufacturer.

Zumbach equips its powerful instruments with the recognised OPC UA standard. With this key technology, measurement solutions provide easy, scalable and secure information exchange with different systems in the production line – platform and manufacturer-independent data exchange. Prepare your dimension, profile and diameter measurement field data for new Industry 4.0 services. Instruments with the new OPC UA standard meet the technical requirements for intelligent data networking.

As one of the first equipment manufacturers for inline measurement and monitoring, Zumbach integrated OPC UA into its PC-based stems with host communications protocol (eg in the Profilemaster® profile measuring systems series, in measurement systems for hot rolling mills and Steelmaster cold processes as well as in the USYS IPC series for universal data recording,

▲ ▲ Data output, diagnosis and reactive actions occur on one platform. The transparency generated shortens the reaction times in case of deviations and ultimately results in important quality gains

processing and display systems and many more).

Zumbach has equipped its powerful measuring instruments with OPC UA which ensures a simple, scalable and secure information exchange between different production line systems – regardless of platform or manufacturer. One software enables all M2M (machine to machine) or M2H (machine to human) measurement data obtained to be interconnected on one output platform, collected, displayed and analysed. The OPC UA standard facilitates horizontal and vertical integration across various levels of the automation pyramid.

The OPC UA server is additionally available as external gateway software for measuring devices with microprocessor and host communications protocol (ODAC® laser diameter measuring instruments, MSD diameter and ovality measuring systems, spark testers, computer interface boxes, and more). Zumbach Electronic AG – Switzerland Website : www.zumbach.com

How to ascertain the conductivity/resistivity value of rods and drawn wires?

in [Ω/m at 20°C]). The length (l) is measured using a special ruler for long samples with all uncertain parameters taken into consideration. The section (S) is usually derived from the measurement of the conductor diameter. However, this approach is very time consuming given that a mapping of the sample on the full conductor length is necessary to reduce uncertainties. AESA proposes a novel approach based on volume measurement. The volume of the sample is determined in an inclined water bath through the weight measurement of a liquid whose density is known at a defined temperature. This new option fills a gap in the precise conductivity/resistivity measurement for all types of class 1 conductors (round, sectoral) with diameter of 8mm and larger. AESA Cortaillod – Switzerland Website : www.aesa-cortaillod.com

The conductivity ( s ) in [siemens/metre] is the reciprocal of resistivity ( s =1/ρ). Thus, the parameters to be measured for calculating the resistivity and the conductivity are the resistance (R) at a reference temperature, the length (l), and the section (S). AESA Cortaillod has developed a new option to measure the conductivity/ resistivity according to the norm IEC 60228. This option is user-friendly, fast and accurate and can be utilised with any of the AESA ResTest family equipment. The measured parameters are keyed-in via a user interface and the conductivity/ resistivity are then automatically computed and displayed. The resistance (R) at temperature (T) is measured with a linear resistance bridge. AESA Cortaillod offers a full range of high accuracy R-bridges (ResTest family). All of them are fully integrated to accurately measure R (directly displayed

This measurement is the first step of electrical cable production monitoring, but maybe the most critical. AESA Cortaillod is introducing a new true, straightforward, three-step solution to experimentally measure the conductivity and resistivity of class 1 sample conductors. Measurement uncertainties due to imperfections in sample dimensional geometric shape (that brings significant errors) are eliminated, leading to an accurate determination of these physical parameters. The resistivity ( r ), by definition, “is an intrinsic property that quantifies how strongly a given material opposes the flow of electric current”. For conductors of uniform cross-section such as wires, Pouillet’s Law gives the relation between the resistance R in [Ω] and the resistivity ρ in [Ωm] as follows:

where (l) is the length in [m] and (S) the cross-section in [m²].

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November 2016