How to Benefit from Motor Management as Data Provider

Related Vendors

TURCK GmbH

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

ProMinent GmbH

Siemens AG

A Common “Language” from Field Level to Control Level

OPC UA communication is taking center stage for market participants from various industry sectors who wish to transfer information from the field level directly, i.e. without converters, to the control level. Components from different manufacturers are able to understand each other and exchange data via this communication channel.

As far as application of the Simocode pro motor management system is concerned, this means that control data as well as process and measurement data are acquired, and what is more, this is done independently of communication with the higher-level automation level. In conjunction with the integrated Web server, plant values or the status data of drives can be read out by maintenance staff using a standard browser and used as and when required. The plant electrical department, the maintenance department and service departments all appreciate this capability as it enables remote service activities. For example, in future, statistical data will be analyzed in the local system for the purpose of planning maintenance and making forecasts regarding the length of service life.

Gallery

Trend Toward Intelligent Motor Control Centers

Switchboards with motor control centers (MCC) are widespread throughout the process industry. Their task is to keep interruptions or even stops as short as possible or, ideally, to prevent them altogether. In this sector, motor feeders are set up in a standardized manner to run electric motors for pumps, fans and compressors. They give the field level a structure that proves advantageous both in local data acquisition, processing and transmission to the control level as well as during the replacement of a feeder. The control, switching and protection functions for motors are realized with electronic devices with function integration (“motor management devices”) instead of with several connected individual devices as was previously the case. This saves space in the switchboard, increases application flexibility, reduces engineering input and provides much more diverse data.

Plant operators use Sivacon S8 low-voltage switchboards from Siemens because they can integrate communication-capable switching devices with Ethernet connection into intelligent motor control centers (iMCCs) in their withdrawable units. In conjunction with the OPC UA communications interface, information can be exchanged directly between the field level, HMI, MES, ERP, Scada etc. without overloading existing communication structures.

Tamper-Proof Communication Channel

The trend toward using an ever increasing amount of information and meta data for process optimization is placing increasing demands on machine and equipment manufacturers. Communication is one of the four elements of the Digital Enterprise alongside software, security and services. Put another way: the field level is taking to the control level stage by the direct route, which is why the tamper-proof communication provided by OPC UA plays such an important role. According to the German Office for Information Security (BSI), this unified and globally recognized industrial protocol has built-in security functions and is regarded as a central component on the road to Industrie 4.0. According to their assessment, it contains encryption mechanisms and works without any systematic security vulnerabilities.

OPC UA enables implementation of vertical integration concepts without having to take the indirect route through a controller. Information is securely transported from the production level to the ERP system or Cloud through a cascade of OPC UA components. The OPC UA transmission protocol also permits a direct comparison of field data with the control level.

Using Simocode pro, energy data can be transmitted directly from the drives’ motor management system to a process engineering company’s central energy data management system. This function is supplemented by the transmission of information to other systems such as maintenance planning or condition monitoring systems.

OPC UA is able to transport machine data such as control variables, measured values, parameters, etc. and can also accomplish other important tasks such as providing protection against manipulation (security). Siemens’ Simocode pro motor management system uses the OPC UA data transmission protocol and is therefore in a position to provide a large amount of data, which can then be transported to wherever it is needed, thereby turning industrial switchboards into data providers in an increasingly digitized and networked industry.

* The author is a product manager at Siemens AG, Digital Factory Division, Fürth/Germany.

(ID:44222519)