5-2016 PROCESS Worldwide 25 P arameters, operating states, quantities and masses have always played a vital role in the process industry. It is always the case that the more detailed the data available, the better the processes can run. However, not every single piece of information always flows to the plant’s control system for processing as the engi- neering and control input would be too complex and ultimately redun- dant. That is where “Industrie 4.0”, or the fourth industrial revolution, comes into play. The trend toward smart systems right down to the lowest field level is intended as an elegant solution to the problem of data reduction. If information is preprocessed and exchanged on parallel communication channels, the strain on the process control system can be eased although, in total, more data from the process is taken into account. The role of low-voltage switchboards is changing along with increasing digitalization in industry. Whereas switchboards were previously mainly used for power distribution and protection, nowa- days process technicians and switchboard manufacturers are looking for ways of developing them into intelligent subsystems. This step can be made by using motor management systems such as Simocode pro from Siemens. Such systems not only record elec- trical variables such as current, voltage, power, etc. but also statis- tical information with the aid of operating hours and switching counters. Such devices serve as data suppliers, whereby the actu- MOTOR MANAGEMENT AS ALINA FLEER* * The author is a product manager at Siemens AG, Digital Factory Division, Fürth/Germany. Contact: Phone +49-800-2255336 Motor management system for communication-capable switchboards in the process industry — The trend toward linking up the production and control levels in a network is now making itself felt in low-voltage switchboards in the process industry. The critical point in this field is that the communication-capable switching devices are able to provide direct and secure exchange of data. The OPC UA protocol helps to make the data of the loads and the motors accessible via the switchboard. DATA PROVIDER Sources: Siemens
Transcript
5-2016 PROCESS Worldwide 25
Parameters, operating states,quantities and masses havealways played a vital role in
the process industry. It is alwaysthe case that the more detailedthe data available, the better theprocesses can run. However, notevery single piece of informationalways flows to the plant’s controlsystem for processing as the engi-neering and control input would betoo complex and ultimately redun-dant.
That is where “Industrie 4.0”, orthe fourth industrial revolution,comes into play. The trend towardsmart systems right down to the
lowest field level is intended as anelegant solution to the problem ofdata reduction. If information ispreprocessed and exchanged onparallel communication channels,the strain on the process controlsystem can be eased although, intotal, more data from the processis taken into account. The role oflow-voltage switchboards ischanging along with increasingdigitalization in industry.Whereas switchboards were
previously mainly used for powerdistribution and protection, nowa-days process technicians andswitchboard manufacturers are
looking for ways of developingthem into intelligent subsystems.This step can be made by usingmotor management systems suchas Simocode pro from Siemens.Such systems not only record elec-trical variables such as current,voltage, power, etc. but also statis-tical information with the aid ofoperating hours and switchingcounters. Such devices serve asdata suppliers, whereby the actu-
MOTOR MANAGEMENT AS
A L I N A F L E E R *
* The author is a product manager at SiemensAG, Digital Factory Division, Fürth/Germany.Contact: Phone +49-800-2255336
Motor management system for communication-capable switchboards in the processindustry — The trend toward linking up the production and control levels in a networkis now making itself felt in low-voltage switchboards in the process industry. The criticalpoint in this field is that the communication-capable switching devices are able toprovide direct and secure exchange of data. The OPC UA protocol helps to make the dataof the loads and the motors accessible via the switchboard.
ator, that is to say the motor feed-er, becomes the sensor. Put briefly,a motor management systemknows key characteristic valuesconcerning drives in the processindustry and shares themwith theswitchboard. From the switch-board, the system controller orcontrol system receives relevantinformation whenever it is re-quired. This makes it an importantlink in end-to-end networking aswe head toward Industrie 4.0.Smooth-running data exchange
requires communication technolo-gy at machine level. This is calledOPC UA (Unified Architecture)—also known as the IEC 62541standard—and has been estab-lished for around ten years. Thisarchitecture is service-oriented(SOA); its structure consists of sev-eral layers, and the communicationstandard offers independence froma specific platform, scalability, ahigh level of availability and Inter-net capability. This provides uswith the basis for an intelligentlink-up of information which eventransmits meta-information to con-trollers, servers as well as MES andERP systems, thereby taking intoaccount different needs and situa-tions. Data rates are high andtransmission is tamper-proof.With its pumps, compressors,
fans, etc., the process industry isone area in which a high-perfor-mance motor management systemsuch as Simocode pro from Sie-mens plays avital role. It cancapture infor-mation on cur-rents, phaseangles, motortemperature,ground faultsand a whole lotmore. Further-more, the devic-es possess fea-tures such as teleservice, networkintegration and Web capability.The critical point is that the largeamount of measured data availableneeds to be used effectively—thatis to say, if necessary, it has to findits way to the plant control systemor the control level. The motormanagement equipment helpshere by providing data via Ether-net with the aid of the OPC UA
server function integrated into theswitching device.
On the one hand, this allows par-allel M2M (machine-to-machine)communication to be established,which puts no extra load on theactual plant control system, and onthe other hand it opens up a directinformation channel to the controllevel.
A Common “Language” fromField Level to Control Level
OPC UA communication is tak-ing center stage for market partic-ipants from various industry sec-tors who wish to transfer informa-tion from the field level directly, i.e.without converters, to the controllevel. Components from differentmanufacturers are able to under-stand each other and exchange
data via thiscommunica-tion channel.As far as
applicationof the Simoc-ode pro mo-tor manage-ment systemis concerned,this meansthat control
data as well as process and meas-urement data are acquired, andwhat is more, this is done inde-pendently of communication withthe higher-level automation level.In conjunction with the integratedWeb server, plant values or the sta-tus data of drives can be read outby maintenance staff using astandard browser and used as andwhen required. The plant electrical
department, the maintenance de-partment and service departmentsall appreciate this capability as itenables remote service activities.For example, in future, statisticaldata will be analyzed in the localsystem for the purpose of planningmaintenance andmaking forecastsregarding the length of service life.
Trend Toward IntelligentMotor Control Centers
Switchboards with motor controlcenters (MCC) are widespreadthroughout the process industry.Their task is to keep interruptionsor even stops as short as possibleor, ideally, to prevent them alto-gether. In this sector, motor feedersare set up in a standardized man-ner to run electric motors forpumps, fans and compressors.They give the field level a structurethat proves advantageous both inlocal data acquisition, processingand transmission to the control lev-el as well as during the replace-ment of a feeder. The control,switching and protection functionsfor motors are realized with elec-tronic devices with function inte-gration (“motor management de-vices”) instead of with severalconnected individual devices aswas previously the case. Thissaves space in the switchboard,increases application flexibility,reduces engineering input and pro-vides much more diverse data.Plant operators use Sivacon S8
low-voltage switchboards from Sie-mens because they can integratecommunication-capable switchingdevices with Ethernet connectioninto intelligent motor control
• Meet the Siemens expertsand learn more aboutSimocode pro at thisyear’s SPS IPC Drivesshow in Nuremberg(November 22–24):Hall 11.0, Stand 100
PROCESS-Tip
>>With its pumps, compres-
sors and fans, the process
industry is one area in which
a high-performance motor
management system plays a
vital role.
Simocode pro is integrated viaEthernet in the withdrawable unit ofthe communication-capable Sivacon S8low-voltage switchboard.
centers (iMCCs) in their with-drawable units. In conjunctionwith the OPC UA communicationsinterface, information can be ex-changed directly between the fieldlevel, HMI, MES, ERP, Scada etc.without overloading existing com-munication structures.
Tamper-Proof CommunicationChannel
The trend toward using an everincreasing amount of informationand meta data for process optimi-zation is placing increasing de-mands on machine and equipmentmanufacturers. Communication isone of the four elements of the Dig-ital Enterprise alongside software,security and services. Put anotherway: the field level is taking to thecontrol level stage by the directroute, which is why the tam-per-proof communication provided
by OPC UA plays such an impor-tant role. According to the GermanOffice for Information Security(BSI), this unified and globally rec-ognized industrial protocol hasbuilt-in security functions and isregarded as a central componenton the road to Industrie 4.0. Ac-cording to their assessment, it con-tains encryption mechanisms andworks without any systematic se-curity vulnerabilities.
OPC UA enables implementationof vertical integration conceptswithout having to take the indirectroute through a controller. Informa-tion is securely transported fromthe production level to the ERPsystem or Cloud through a cascadeof OPC UA components. The OPCUA transmission protocol also per-mits a direct comparison of fielddata with the control level.
Using Simocode pro, energy datacan be transmitted directly from
the drives’ motor management sys-tem to a process engineering com-pany’s central energy data man-agement system. This function issupplemented by the transmissionof information to other systemssuch as maintenance planning orcondition monitoring systems.OPC UA is able to transport ma-
chine data such as control varia-bles, measured values, parame-ters, etc. and can also accomplishother important tasks such as pro-viding protection against manipu-lation (security). Siemens’ Simoco-de pro motor management systemuses the OPC UA data transmis-sion protocol and is therefore in aposition to provide a large amountof data, which can then be trans-ported to wherever it is needed,thereby turning industrial switch-boards into data providers in anincreasingly digitized and net-worked industry.
