controldesign.com Change Is Natural Web-Based Product Research Expands Its Influence. Users Are Changing the Way They Get Information PC-Based Control Revival MARCH 2008 Motors: Inside the Insulation CD0803_01_CVR.indd 2 Purge or Explode? 2/22/08 9:57:45 AM CHECK OUT OUR PRICES AutomationDirect Price/Part Number Price/Part Number 309.90 A-24N24BLP 138.50 N1C242408LP $ $ 186.50 $ N12201608 A-201608LP $325.00 SDN12242508 $622.60 A24SA2608LP NEMA 1 wall mount 24 x 24 x 08” $ NEMA 12 wall mount 20 x 16 x 08” NEMA 12 DISCONNECT wall mount (24” x 25-3/8” x 8”) Hoffman Hubbell/Wiegmann Enclosures 397.60 NEMA 4 wall mount 20 x 20 x 06” $ 241.75 $ N4202006 A-20H20ALP NEMA 4X wall mount 20 x 20 x 06” $ 577.00 $ SSN4202006 A-20H2006SSLP NEMA 4/12 wall mount 36 x 24 x 08” $ 239.25 $ N412362408C C-SD36248 3-hole 30 mm NEMA 12 pushbutton enclosure $ 41.25 $ PB3 E-3PB 516.00 1,262.00 516.90 90.50 *All prices are U.S. published prices. AutomationDirect prices from October 2007 Price List. Hoffman prices are taken from Hoffman Price List dated January 15, 2007. Prices may vary by dealer. Many other part numbers are available from all vendors. AUTOMATIONDIRECT offers over 1,600 enclosures from Hubbell/Wiegmann across NEMA 1, 3S, 3R, 4, 4X, 6P, 12 and 4/12, and 13 ratings. Choose from a full line of metallic enclosures and operator consoles; our non-metallic line is designed for harsh outdoor environments requiring NEMA 3R or 4X ratings. A full line of accessories, including subpanels, locks and latches, and floor stand kits, is also available. Also get great prices on steel and stainless steel flanged enclosures for mounting disconnects from all the major manufacturers, including the Ferraz Shawmut line sold by AutomationDirect. CD0803_FPA.indd 2 30-day money-back guarantee Order with the assurance of our unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee on enclosures. For more information on our Enclosure products, visit: www.automationdirect.com/enclosures 2/25/08 10:53:12 AM Contrldes_0308.qxd:Control Design 2/21/08 6:11 PM Page 1 Need More Automation Options? Shop online at omegamation.com NEED SM MORE CARTOO 100,000 process control and measurement products (and counting) NS? Before there was OMEGAMATION TM there was Rube Goldberg Visit omegamation.comTM to request your FREE copy of the 1st Edition of the omegamation.comTM Complete Automation Handbook and Encyclopedia. It’s loaded with thousands of Automation products and over 200 pages of valuable technical reference! HOT OF THE PR F ESS! Go to: www.omegamation.com for your daily dose of RUBE GOLDBERG! Starts at Starts at 360 DLM-07M-12-12-P 110 71 *PATENTED Universal Verbalizer Comin g Soon! 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CD0803_FPA.indd 3 TM MADE MA DE IIN N All Stainless Steel Transducer USA Multimedia Compatibility High-Performance Silicon Technology Shop Online: dincontrollers.com *PATENTED Covered by U.S. and International Patents and pending applications Subminiature Industrial Compression Load Cell Very Low Profile MA DE M ADE IIN N USA Shop Online at omegamation.com sm © COPYRIGHT 2008 OMEGA ENGINEERING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2/25/08 10:53:43 AM “With NI LabVIEW, we finished nine months ahead of schedule.” Danny Hendrikx, Production Machine Designer, SLI Lighting For its next-generation production machines, SLI Lighting, one of the world’s largest integrated lighting companies, required high throughput, high accuracy, and a complex control system. With the reliability of a PLC, the performance of a PC, and the flexibility of custom hardware, National Instruments Programmable Automation Controllers (PACs) provided the ideal integrated NI CompactRIO Machine Control System >> solution. Using LabVIEW graphical programming, SLI Lighting completed the project in just 25 percent of the budgeted development time. Learn how to reduce your machine design time at ni.com/industrial 800 433 3488 © 2007 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. CompactRIO, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 2007-8742-221-101-D CD0803_FPA.indd 4 2/25/08 10:55:20 AM contents features March 2008 10 BEST Named one of the U.S. Trade Publications 34 Cover Story Change Is Natural by the American Society of Business Publication Editors — July 2005 Web-Based Product Research Expands Its Influence. Users Are Changing the Way They Volume 12, No. 3 Get Information Named one of the Joe Feeley, editor in chief U.S. Trade Publications 45 Drives & Motion Control The Not-So-Odd Couple 34 Like an Old, Married Couple, a Motor and Its Generator Are Bound + – Ernst Dummermuth + + – + Together. One Does Not Exist Without the Other + + 58 – Machine – Control A Machine Renaissance Shrink Wrapper OEM Maximizes Design Flexibility With a PC-Based Controls and Ethernet Solution That Teaches Users How to Operate – the Machines 45 Joe Morrissey, Conflex – + 65 Product Roundup – – + Positioning Solutions Abound Above-Average LVDT Growth Leads the Way in Sensor Market + Patti Pool, new products editor – + – 58 A Position of Rotor 10 + B C -10 + + CD0803_05_07_TOC.indd 5 B – www.controldesign.com + + + 0 + CONTROL DESIGN, (ISSN: 1094-3366) is published 12 times a year by Putman Media, 555 West Pierce Rd., Suite 301, Itasca, Illinois 60143. (Phone 630/467-1300; Fax 630/4671124.) Periodical postage paid at Itasca, IL, and at additional mailing offices. Address all correspondence to Editorial and Executive Offices, same address. Printed in the United States. ©Putman Media 2008. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced owner. POSTMASTER: Send address – in whole or part without consent of the copyright + + – SUBSCRIPTIONS: changes to Control Design, Post Office Box 3430, Northbrook, Illinois 60065-3430. To apply for a free subscription, fill in subscription form. To non-qualified subscribers in the United States and its possessions, subscriptions are $60.00 for Canada–and Mexico are $60.00. Foreign subscriptions – per year. Single copies are $15.00. Subscriptions – – outside of Canada and Mexico accepted at $99.00 per year for surface and $199.00 for airmail. Putman Media also publishes CHEMICAL PROCESSING, CONTROL, FOOD PROCESSING, industrial networking, PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING and PLANT SERVICES. CONTROL DESIGN assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40028661. Canadian Mail Distributor information: World Distribution Services, Inc., Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9A 6J5. Printed in the United States. – C A Time March 2008 Control Design 5 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 Phase Angle in Degrees 2/26/08 10:01:48 AM CD_Vision_0308_OL.indd 1 CD0803_FPA.indd 6 2/21/08 9:51:31 AM 2/25/08 10:55:41 AM contents Columns 8 ControlDesign.com Browse Constructively 19 Editor’s Page The Great Supplier Purge 29 Machine Builder Mojo Don’t Let the Media Get You Down 31 Embedded Intelligence IEC 61131 Cage Match—Prologue 33 Live Wire Teenagers Take Test Flights in JETS 64 TechFlash Make Controls Kaboom-Proof 78 OEM Insight 22 Do Your Duty Cycle Diligence Hot Buttons 21 Feedback 71 22 InDiscrete Hands Across the Water 71 Real Answers What Are the Choices on Enclosures? 73 75 Product Showcase control design exclusive 73 Balluff’s Tiny Sensors Bring New Possibilities www.controldesign.com CD0803_05_07_TOC.indd 7 2/26/08 1:24:48 PM CONTROLDESIGN.COM kbonfante@putman.net • managing editor, digital media • Katherine Bonfante Here’s what’s new this month at ControlDesign.com, the exclusive home of our virtual content. Browse Constructively Are you the type of person who enjoys browsing the Internet when your work flow is low? Looking for something to do online to ease your brain from your work tasks? If your brain needs a break, stop by ControlDesign.com this month and let us help you in your search for online work-related diversions. Innovator Awards If you know any industrial machine builders and system integrators who have used automation and controls technology in an innovative way, maybe they should be considered for Control Design’s Annual Innovator Awards. We are currently accepting nominations. Visit ControlDesign.com/innovator and fill out the online entry form. Poll: Test Your Safety PLC Knowledge Participate in our current web poll by answering the following question at ControlDesign.com/webpoll. What type of controller do you use as part of your machine safety system? You can also access our web poll from our home page, ControlDesign.com, just click on our Web Poll button and you will be redirected to take this poll. Multimedia Library Control Design has a fast-growing online multimedia library. This is New White Papers Internet Access in a Control Environment PLC technology allows you to accomplish almost anything via the Internet. Industrial Ethernet… more than just another fieldbus Ethernet-based fieldbus systems perform basic tasks and so much more. Removable Storage Media Add Flexibility to Modern Day PLCs Why can’t my PLC interface easily to off-the-shelf devices? Transient Surges and Surge Suppressor Technologies: Comparing Apples to Oranges Physical location influences the selection of a suppressor to protect a point upon an electrical distribution system. Download PDFs of these white papers at ControlDesign.com/ whitepapers. our latest addition to our web site, and it contains video demonstrations by and interviews with some of the biggest names in the Machine Builder Nation. Check out our video of the United States Bowling Congress’ robotic bowling ball thrower, and meet Harry, who Special to the Web Machine Builder Forum React to, comment on or disagree with postings from all the Control Design editors at ControlDesign.com/mbf. is part of the equipment testing and research effort at the USBC test facility in Greendale, Wis. Harry is a key contributor in USBC’s two-year study of bowling ball motion and how advanced, high-tech equipment could inf luence lane conditions and scoring in the sport. Log on to our library, ControlDesign.com/multimedia, and watch this video to see Harry in action. Browse our library and find out from this and other videos what the latest trends in the industry are. Do you have any machine builder video demonstrations that you’d like to see hosted on our site? Contact Managing Editor Mike Did you know you can receive Control Design electronically? Subscribe to the digital issue of Control Design and you’ll be able to download a high-quality PDF file of the magazine exactly as it appears in print. Not only that, we’ll send you an e-mail each month when it’s ready for you! Go to ControlDesign.com/ digital.html. Bacidore at mbacidore@putman.net to submit your video. 8 CD0803_08_WebTOC.indd 8 Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 1:25:42 PM 1:31 AM CD0803_FPA.indd 9 2/26/08 1:49:42 PM Quality. Producing only the highest Quality products has shaped our company for more than 100 years. Our strategy is “to produce the highest quality, most energy efficient products available and sell them to value-minded customers.” Quality is perceived differently from one customer to the next. Quality is measured in many ways, including the “quality of the information provided, the products supplied, the service offered and more.” Now we have brought three great companies together who share the same understanding of Quality. Providing consistent Quality, as perceived by our customers, is fundamental to our way of doing business. www.baldor.com Bringing the Best Together ©2007 Baldor Electric Company CD0803_FPA.indd 10 2/25/08 10:56:14 AM The Great Supplier Purge 555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301 Itasca, Illinois 60143 630/467-1300 Fax: 630/467-1124 Editorial team editor in chief Joseph Feeley jfeeley@putman.net The thing I learn from inter- 22% who said price caused them preting the results of our annual to change. No matter how much machine control professionals’ progress machine builders make research and buying habits study to teach customers about lifecycle for our cover story (p34) is that costs and the importance of flex- you never can ask too many ibility and configuration ease in follow-up questions. their machines, there’s still brutal There are dozens more ques- pressure to provide a low-cost participants. But you’re busy folks. of you simply have to change sup- managing editor Answering more of our questions, pliers to juggle the priorities of low however focused and subject-ex- cost and performance. So, I’m OK panding, just is not going to crack with that finding. mike bacidore mbacidore@putman.net managing editor, digital media senior technical editor Walt Boyes wboyes@putman.net the top of your to-do list. That’s a bit humbling for us. editor in chief Katherine Bonfante kbonfante@putman.net • machine that does all that. Some Jim Montague jmontague@putman.net There has to be more behind this 30% who dumped suppliers But, listen, I spent many years in for bad performance and qual- Dan Hebert dhebert@putman.net jobs very much like yours, so I ity. I need you to tell us more. contributing editor have a fair sense of time allot- I’ve made a posting on Machine ment. You don’t have enough time Builder Forum at ControlDesign. Patti Pool ppool@putman.net to do everything, by any stretch of com/buyinghabits, so there’s a editorial assistant the imagination. senior technical editor Joe Feeley tions we’d love to ask these study executive editor editor’s page www.controldesign.com • new products editor Lori Goldberg lgoldberg@putman.net columnist So, having just tried here to Jeremy Pollard jpollard@tsuonline.com ingratiate myself to your good Design/Production graces, I need to ask for more art director information from you. Derek Chamberlain multimedia director I was genuinely surprised that, Scott Babcock as you’ll see, half of the study Subscriptions participants changed a primary customer service supplier in one or more impor- 888/644-1803 circulation audited June 2007 Air & Gas Compressors 892 Engineering & Systems 8,180 Integration Services Engines & Turbines 1,754 Food Products Machinery 1,856 Industrial Fans, Blowers, & Air Purification Equipment 893 Industrial Heating, Refrigeration, & Air Conditioning Equipment 1,579 Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens 546 Machine Tools 4,731 Materials Handling, Conveyors, 1,895 Conveying Equipment Metalworking Machinery 3,154 Mining Machinery & Equipment 578 Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment 1,038 Packaging Machinery 941 Paper Industries Machinery 482 Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment 604 Pumps & Pumping Equipment 1,063 Rolling Mill Machinery & Equipment 182 Semiconductor Manufacturing Machinery 945 Textile Machinery 290 Woodworking Machinery 239 Other Industries & Special Industrial Machinery & Equipment NEC 13,177 TOTAL 45,019 tant product categories in the convenient place for you comment on this or any other part of the study. hat’s the conversation W like with a vendor that disappoints you enough to switch? What’s the conversation like past year. What’s more, 60% of with a vendor that disappoints these changers (31% of the total) you enough to switch? Did they did so in more than one product promise change for the better? category. That’s serious turnover Did they try to make it all better by anyone’s estimation. with a price cut? The machine builders we know Did you put them on notice, are, as a rule, pretty reluctant to continue to buy from them and change component suppliers. Their finally conclude improvement preference is to build long-term wasn’t in the cards? relationships with a limited cadre Maybe most importantly, did of vendors that don’t require them you end up better off with the to jump ship because of price, per- new vendor? formance or support problems. There’s a big disconnect here, don’t you think? Nearly 30% said Too early to tell? Are they likely to be that new, long-term partner or next year’s ex-supplier? it was product performance and quality problems that led them to dump a supplier. I can get my head around the March 2008 Control Design CD0803_19_Edit.indd 19 jfeeley@putman.net Loren Shaum lshaum@putman.net 19 2/26/08 1:26:47 PM ControlDesign.qxd:Layout 1 2/11/08 1:36 PM Page 1 Since 1976, c3controls delivers like no other. Frustrated by traditional distribution channels and online warehouses? Take control. Discover c3controls and the factory-direct difference that gets you what you want at a price that will surprise you — same-day shipping guaranteed! Choose from a wide range of 16A – 125A non-fused disconnect switches and enclosed non-fused disconnects factory-assembled in 3-, 4- and 5-pole configurations that satisfy Type 1, 2, 3, 3R, 4/4X, 12, 13, IP55 and IP65 ingress protection ratings. Backed by an unmatched lifetime warranty — our non-fused disconnects are certified manual motor controllers suitable as motor disconnects, ensuring circuit isolation with positive drive to open double-break contacts. We never compromise and neither should you. Join the growing list of control freaks that expect more and get it from c3controls. For the control freak. FACTORY-DIRECT PRICING LIFETIME WARRANTY GUARANTEED SAME-DAY SHIPPING 800.560.8560 WWW.C3CONTROLS.COM/CONTROLFREAK-DS CD0803_FPA.indd 20 2/25/08 10:56:40 AM Junk Mail Doesn’t Help Me I read Scott Gee’s OEM Insight column [“Why Is I can’t begin to estimate the time expended and Safety Information So Pricey?” Jan08, p 66, Contr- money I’ve wasted chasing standards, only to olDesign.com/payforsafety], and I couldn’t agree fi nd one paragraph or less that had relevance to more. I’m an electrical engineer for a packaging the work I was doing. This is an issue of signifi- machinery builder. Not only are the documents cance to any engineer trying to protect himself absurdly expensive, it’s extremely difficult to and his business. fi nd the information pertaining to the situation As to standards organizations, I’ve often felt under investigation. It’s not unusual for these some of them could significantly cut costs if they standards to refer to other would stop sending mail pushing their wares. standards that are, again, Think of the printing and postage that’s absurdly expensive and wasted. I order standards when I need them. difficult to navigate. All the junk mail goes to the recycle bin. It’s my understand- FEEDBACK Isn’t It Supposed to Be About the Safety? BRIAN WILLIAMS, principal member, ing that these standards B.R. Williams Control Services, williamscontrol.com are established so the equipment is safer. People Ukraine Has Problems, Too should be encouraged to The problem has international character. In use them. They should be Ukraine, to receive the standard is even more readily available at a min- difficult. Even having paid, it’s possible to run imal cost. They should be into the Internet of swindlers. The position of written and organized so the state in a question of safety standards is they’re easy to use. not clear. The safety standards certainly should MIKE DIMOND, electrical engineer, be public and free. They’re important not only Federal Engineered Systems, fesfillers.com for the manufacturer, but also for a customer. Now, someone makes business on the public New, But Not Improved interests paid by our taxes. Well put Scott, but don’t stop with UL. The IEC Electronic form standards (pdf file) has more standard business is just as bad! How have we convenient possibilities for search than looking at managed to get from a point where, for example, hundreds of paper pages. back in the early ’80s the British standards were available on microfiche. OK, they were hard to access. You had to get access to a reader, but you VOLODIMIR MAXIMOV, principal engineer designer of department computer-aided systems and control Khartep, khartep.com only paid a one-off license fee. But all of the information was available, and it was worth seeking out. Now we have a the absurd “improvement” brought by the Internet, which is GIVE US A PIECE OF YOUR MIND easy to access, but is a difficult-to-navigate, information lottery, where you pay exorbitant amounts for wordy documents that fail to provide value! WYN OWEN, senior electrical instrument engineer, The Savola Group, savola.com Government Subsidies Imagine how safety would improve if standards were available for little or no cost. The government can subsidize corn, but not safety. Why do we pay for an entire document when we only need a small portion? GLENN VIOLET, maintenance supervisor, WE WELCOME your comments, suggestions, criticism and praise. We’re particularly fond of the praise, but we really do value the criticism. E-MAIL US at CDFeedback@putman.net. SOUND OFF on our forum at ControlDesign.com/MBF. If you prefer, WRITE TO US at CONTROL DESIGN, 555 W. Pierce Rd., Ste. 301, Itasca, IL 60143 CALL US at 630/467-1300, or SEND A FAX to 630/467-1124. WE RESERVE the right to edit your comments for clarity and space considerations. Tooling and Equipment International, teintl.net www.controldesign.com CD0803_21_Feedback.indd 21 March 2008 Control Design 21 2/26/08 1:28:28 PM OEM Sp otlight indiscrETE Hands Across the Water Trumpf Uses Tele-Diagnostics to Fix 90% of Its Machine Problems The Trumpf Group finished its 2006-’07 fiscal year with worldwide sales of €1.94 billion. Founded 85 years ago in Stuttgart, Germany, when Christian Trumpf acquired Julius Geiger GmbH, the Trumpf Group (trumpf.com) is the parent of Trumpf Inc., Farmington, Conn., which manufactures fabricating equipment and inTRUMPF dustrial lasers for customers in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. In North America, Trumpf designs and produces precision punching machinery, laser machin- In-Sync ASSEMBLY Trumpf’s Synchro Laser Machine Assembly addresses the demand for shorter delivery times and keeps stock levels low. ery, laser diodes, and gas and solid-state laser resonators. to physically attend to the customer. “Tele-diagnostics blocked by a firewall. “For tele-diagnostics to work, Diagnose From Anywhere has become one of our most the customer must be at his Because of the global nature powerful tools to provide our machine to assist in estab- of Trumpf’s business, after- customers with very fast, real- lishing communication and sales support is more than time and extremely effective to ensure personnel safety,” an afterthought. “Service is a support” says Domingue. “It explains Peter Grollman, prod- clear indicator of a company’s enables our technicians to ex- uct manager, TruMark. “The commitment to its customers amine the customer’s machine Trumpf service technician dials and long-term growth,” says controls without traveling the number the machine is Kevin Domingue, vice president there. For the customers, it attached to, the machine con- of customer services. “Trumpf means reduced travel expenses nects, and the technician has sets itself apart in the market and waiting times. For us, it full access and control.” by supporting equipment with a means that we can serve more strong and committed customer customers in less time.” services and after-sales team.” A variety of sensors em- The exchange between technician and customer is supported through WebEx. bedded in each machine Through a graphing monitor technologies in all areas of the allow technicians to diagnose system, screen shots are taken company, including customer remotely. Trumpf’s TruMark and reviewed for deviations. “If services, explains Domingue. machines, for example, contain a problem is detected, the tech- Every contact with customers more than 240 sensors that nician can walk the customer is recorded in an expansive and gauge everything from electri- through fixing the problem,” customized database, so a full cal and laser power to water says Grollman. Trumpf can fix machine and customer history and air temperature. Data 90% of problems through tele- is available to every service is transmitted by an analog diagnostics, he says. technician, trainer, spare-part phone line, using the PCAny- administrator or CSR. Where software and through Trumpf embraces new If a machine problem oc- the Internet via WebEx, provid- curs, in most cases a service ed that the customer’s machine technician usually is required has Internet access that isn’t 22 CD0803_22_26_Indiscrete.indd 22 Control Design March 2008 More, More, More To read more about Trumpf, visit ControlDesign.com/trumpf. www.controldesign.com 2/25/08 12:56:02 PM CD0803_FPA.indd 23 2/25/08 10:56:55 AM INDISCRETE Milking Robot Uses Ethernet for Data DUTCH COMPANY Lely Industries’ (lely.com) Astronaut robotic milking system uses sensor technologies and integrated data management to create a total dairy farm management solution. The A3 model employs Ethernet to optimize data communication. Because a farmer can’t turn off LELY a cow’s milk production, reliability is a key issue. “Our robots work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and with our first implementation NON-STOP PRODUCTION Because a farmer cannot turn off a cow’s milk production, the Astronaut milking robot is equipped for reliability. of Ethernet networking in our environment applications.” Astronaut system, we wanted botic milking systems, at Lely, to have the highest levels of in Maasslius, the Netherlands. reliability,” says Sander J.P. van “Furthermore, it’s unmanaged, ernet switches are used for Leeuwen, product specialist, ro- so we chose switches for harsh real-time data communication Westermo’s SDW 550 Eth- management between the peripherals and the central supervision PC, where information about the cows, milking, milk quality, feed-take and machine setup is stored. The peripherals can include a direction system, which sends the cows to a paddock when they don’t need to be milked or to a separate area for veterinary checks; a cleaning system, which is used for hygiene and food regulations; a feeding system, which allocates feed to the cows; and an alarm system, which alerts the dairy farm manager of problems occurring with the cow or the robot that require immediate attention. When a cow enters the milking robot, an identification system recognizes the cow through its responder and retrieves data from the database to determine if the cow is due to be milked. A predetermined ration of concentrates www.controldesign.com CD0803_22_26_Indiscrete.indd 24 2/25/08 12:56:12 PM RL-214 Data Station Ad_Control Design.qxd 3/16/06 11:22 AM Page 1 let’s make this simple. Data Station. Protocol conversion. Ethernet gateway. IT-ready data logging. It’s all here. With the new Data Station Plus from Red Lion, getting all your devices on the same page is easy. First, the Data Station’s integrated protocol converter bridges the communication gap between disparate serial and Ether net devices. And that’s just the beginning. The “port sharing” facility allows the Data Station to act as a remote serial port to your PC, meaning you can reprogram any connected serial device from virtually anywhere in the world. An extensive selection of drivers allows easy mapping of PLCs, PCs, SCADA Systems and more. The Data Station Plus collects and stores values in “IT-ready” CSV (comma separated variable) files that can be immediately used in applications such as Microsoft® Excel. And a built-in CompactFlash® card slot provides unlimited data storage. Web-enable your process. A built-in web server enables devices for remote monitoring, operation, diagnostics and data acquisition via your LAN or the Internet. So now you can easily create a "virtual" HMI for realtime monitoring from a remote PC, a PDA, or even a mobile phone. Alarm notifications can be sent via email or text messages. Handles data like SCADA. For thousands less. Best of all, the Data Station series is remarkably affordable. Which makes the decision very simple indeed. See all the features at www.redlion.net/datastation trust+innovation® Red Lion Controls ph: (717) 767-6511 fax: (717) 764-0839 www.redlion.net CD0803_FPA.indd 25 2/25/08 10:57:16 AM indiscrETE then is allocated to the animal. ing process, allows regulation times the milk has to be trans- Subsequently, brushes ensure of each teat. The MQC-C sensor ferred to an external bucket thorough cleaning of the cow’s system, which establishes because the cow had antibiot- teats, as well as udder bottom, cell counts and checks milk ics or is producing colostrum, and the teat cups are attached. color, conductivity and flow, the first milk it produces for a Teat positions are established can detect and separate milk calf. This decision and the cor- by the TDS sensor, which containing blood. X-Link is an responding pumping have to produces a rapid and accurate ergonomically designed inter- be processed quickly to allow three-layer scan of the animal’s face display with touchscreen the next cow to be milked. udder. Stimulation of the teats control that allows on-machine All data related to each and udder during the cleaning data management. The milking milking also is processed in process initiates and acceler- box includes a rubber weighing real time, including informa- ates the onset of the milk flow. floor equipped with sensors for tion on milk quality, and are The Astronaut A3 milking determining the cow’s position registered in the T4C man- robot incorporates a variety and an open-air gate, so cows agement system, making it is of features. A robotic arm, ca- don’t feel separated from the possible to access and manage pable of withstanding a cow’s herd, which puts them more at the data of each individual cow weight if stepped on, conveys ease during milking. from any location. At the end of the milking, A cow is free to visit the cow so as not to upset the ani- every robot asks the PC if it is robot when it chooses and as mal. The 4effect pulsation sys- allowed to pump the milk to often as it likes, resulting in tem, which expedites the milk- the main milk tank. Some- yield increases of up to 20%. the teat cups underneath the YourTurn... Get Reliable Angle Control Without Contact The RSC 2800 rotary position sensor features non-contact technology, high accuracy and clearly defined specs for ultimate reliability and performance. As with all Novotechnik products, the specs tell the story. Novotechnik’s RSC 2800 Series sets the standard against which others are measured. • • • • • • • • Angle measurements to 360º Extended life >50 million movements 12-bit resolution Independent linearity ±0.5% Repeatability <0.1% Sealed up to IP 67 Housing diameter of only 28mm (0.66 in) Redundant output available For our free position sensor catalog, contact: CD0803_22_26_Indiscrete.indd 26 Novotechnik U.S., Inc. 155 Northboro Road • Southborough, MA 01772 Telephone: 508-485-2244 Fax: 508-485-2430 Web: www.novotechnik.com MERGERS,ALLIANCES, AND ACQUISITIONS The Automation Federation (automationfederation.org), comprising ISA, OMAC, WBF and WINA, has begun collaboration discussions with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (mep. nist.gov) on the identification of projects and opportunities to improve manufacturing productivity and competitiveness. The OPC Training Institute (opcfoundation.org) has selected Kepware Technologies as its preferred demonstration product for use in OPC hands-on training workshops. Wonderware (wonderware.com) signed a strategic agreement with Beijer Electronics and launched a bundled solution that includes a runtime license for a subset of Wonderware InTouch 10.0 software and Beijer Electronics’ operator panel hardware. www.controldesign.com 2/25/08 12:56:32 PM Mar08-Linecard (CD).qxd:ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS � 3M � Cera-Mite/Vishay � Chemtronics — See ITW/Chemtronics � Cherry Electrical Products, Inc. � Chicago Miniature Lamp — See � Aavid Thermalloy CML Innovative Technologies � Abbatron/HH Smith � CII — See Tyco Electronics � Abracon Corporation � Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) � Cinch � Agastat — See Tyco Electronics � Clarostat — See Honeywell/Clarostat � Agilent Technologies — � CML Innovative Technologies See Avago Technologies � Coleman Cable Inc. (CCI) � Agilent Technologies Test � Collmer.com — See HVCA Equipment � AIM Electronics — See Emerson � Comair Rotron � Condor — See SL Power Network Power � Akro-Mils � Contact Connector — See LAPP USA � Alcoswitch — See Tyco Electronics � Control Concepts — See � Allied Emerson Network Power � Alpha Wire � Conxall � Altech Corp. � Cooper Bussmann � American Beauty � American Electrical, Inc. � Cooper Tools � American Power Conversion (APC) � Copal Electronics — See Nidec Copal Electronics � American Zettler, Inc. � Corcom — See Tyco Electronics � Ametek — National Controls Corporation (NCC) — See NCC � Cornell-Dubilier � Cosel U.S.A. Inc. � Ametek/Pittman* � Ametek/TIP � Crouzet � Crydom Inc. � AMP® — See Tyco Electronics � Crystek Crystals Corp.* � Amperite � CSI/Speco — See � Amphenol Speco Technologies � Amprobe � Custom Connector � Analog Devices, Inc. � AND/Purdy Electronics � Cynergy3 Components � Anderson Power Products � Angstrohm/Vishay � APC — See American Power � Dale/Vishay Conversion � Dallas Semiconductor � API/Delevan � Danaher/Veeder-Root � APM Hexseal � Dantona Industries, Inc. � Arcotronics America, Inc. � Davies Molding � Areva/FCI — See FCI � Dearborn — See � Aromat — See Panasonic Manhattan Wire Products Electric Works � Desco � Aromat Controls — See � Dialight Panasonic Electric Works � Diversified Electronics — See ATC � Artisan Controls � Draloric/Vishay � ASC Capacitors � Duracell � Assembly Technologies — See � Dymo — See Also RHINO American Beauty � ATC � Atmel � Augat — See Tyco Electronics � Ault Incorporated — See SL Power � E-T-A Circuit Protection & Control � Automatic Timing & Controls — � Eagle Picher � EAO Switch See ATC � Eaton/Commercial Controls � Avago Technologies � Eaton/Heinemann � AVX � Axicom — See Tyco Electronics � ebm-papst � EBT Optronic — See � AZ Displays, Inc. CML Innovative Technologies � Ecliptek Corporation � Edwards Signaling & Security Systems � Banner Engineering � EIKO � BCcomponents/Vishay � BEI Duncan � Elco/AVX � Electrix � Belden � Electrocorp — See � Beyschlag/Vishay � BK Precision Honeywell/Electrocorp � Electronic Hardware � Bogen Communications, Inc. � Bomar Interconnect Products Corporation (EHC) � Bourns � Electroswitch Inc. � Box Enclosures � Elmwood — See Honeywell/Elmwood � Brother International � Buchanan — See Tyco Electronics � Elpac Power Systems � Emerson Network Power � Bud Industries � Energizer � Bulgin Components, plc � Bussmann — See � EnerSys (formerly Yuasa) Cooper Bussmann � ENM Company � EPCOS � EREM — See Cooper Tools � ETI Systems � Excelta Corporation � C&K Components � Extech Instruments � C.K Tools � Caddock � Cambridge Products — See Emerson Network Power � Carling Technologies � F. W. Bell (Sypris Test & � Carlo Gavazzi, Inc. Measurement) A D © Allied Electronics, Inc 2008 ‘Allied Electronics’ and the Allied Electronics logo are trademarks of Allied Electronics, Inc. An Electrocomponents Company. E CD0803_FPA.indd 27 B C F 2/4/08 5:29 PM � Fagor � Fair-Rite � Fan-S — See Qualtek Electronics Corp. � FCI � Fenwal — See Honeywell/Fenwal � FerriShield � Floyd Bell Inc. � Fluke � Foil Resistors/Vishay � Fox Electronics � Freescale Semiconductor � Fuji Semiconductor, Inc. Page 1 � Jonard — See OK Industries K � � � � � � � � � K-Sun KEMET Kester Solder Keystone Electronics Keystone Thermometrics — See GE Infrastructure Sensing Kilo International Kilovac — See Tyco Electronics Klein Tools Kroy, Inc. G � � � � � � � � � � � � Garrett Electronics Corp. GC Electronics GE (General Electric) Capacitors GE Infrastructure Sensing General Cable Corp. General Semiconductor/Vishay Global Specialties Globe Motors™ Grasslin Grayhill Greenlee Guardian Electric � � � � � � � Hammond Manufacturing Hammond Power Solutions HARTING Elektronik Hartman — See Tyco Electronics HellermannTyton Hermetic Switch, Inc. HH Smith — See Abbatron/HH Smith High Voltage Power Systems — See HVCA Hirschmann* Hobbs — See Honeywell/Hobbs Honeywell Honeywell/Clarostat Honeywell/Electrocorp Honeywell/Elmwood Honeywell/Fenwal Honeywell/Hobbs Honeywell/MicroSwitch Honeywell/Opto Products Honeywell/Sensotec* Honeywell/SenSym Hoyt Hubbell Wiring Device-Kellems Hurst HVCA L � � � � � � � � � � � L-com Connectivity Products Lambda Americas, Inc. LAPP USA Lascar Electronics Lattice Semiconductor Leecraft — See Lighting Components and Design Lighting Components and Design Linemaster Littelfuse Lumberg Lumex H � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ICC/Intervox Ico-Rally ICP DAS USA Ideal Industries IDEC Corporation Identification — See Tyco Electronics IEE igus Illinois Capacitor, Inc. Infineon Insultab Integrated Device Technology (IDT) Intel Interconnect Devices, Inc. (IDI) International Rectifier Intersil Itailiana/Vishay ITT/Cannon — See C&K Components ITW/Chemtronics J � JAE Electronics, Inc. � Johnson Components, Inc. — See Emerson Network Power M � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Macromatic Magnecraft/SE Relays Mallory — See Cornell-Dubilier Mallory Sonalert Manhattan Wire Products Marathon Special Products* Marsh Bellofram — See ATC Master Appliance Maxim/Dallas Semiconductor Measurements Group/Vishay Menda Merlin Gerin Metcal Meterman MG Chemicals Micro-Measurements/Vishay Microchip Microdot — See Tyco Electronics Micron Technology, Inc. Microsemi MicroSwitch — See Honeywell/MicroSwitch Midtex — See Tyco Electronics Mill-Max Modutec (Jewell Instruments) Molex Molex/Waldom Motorola Semiconductor — See Freescale Semiconductor Mueller � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � P&B — See Tyco Electronics PacTec Paladin Tools Panasonic Panasonic Electric Works Panasonic Electric Works/Sunx PanaVise Panduit Pass & Seymour* Patlite Payne Engineering Pepperl + Fuchs PerkinElmer Optoelectronics Phihong Philips Semiconductors — See NXP Semiconductors Phoenix Contact PICO Pilz Plato Products Platt Luggage Polycase Pomona Electronics Potter & Brumfield — See Tyco Electronics Power-One Power-Sonic Primary Power Components (PPC) — See Qualtek Electronics Corp. Products Unlimited — See Tyco Electronics P � � � � � � � � � � � � Q � Q-Cee’s — See Tyco Electronics � Qualtek Electronics Corp. � Quest Technology International, Inc. R RAF Raychem — See Tyco Electronics Recom* Red Lion Controls Redington Counters, Inc. RHINO — See Also Dymo Richco Roederstein/Vishay Rotron — See Comair Rotron Ruland � Nanonics — See Tyco Electronics � � National Controls Corporation (NCC) — See NCC � National Electronics � � National Semiconductor NCC � Neutrik � Nidec Copal Electronics � NKK Switches Northern Technologies � NTE Electronics, Inc. � NXP Semiconductors � � � � � OEG — See Tyco Electronics � Ohmite � OK Industries � OKW Enclosures � Olflex Wire and Cable — � See LAPP USA � Olympic Wire and Cable Corp. � Omron Automation � Omron Electronic Components SAIA-Burgess SanDisk Sanyo Batteries Schaffner Schrack — See Tyco Electronics Schurter Selco SemiKron Sensotec — See Honeywell/Sensotec SenSym — See Honeywell/SenSym Serpac Sfernice/Vishay Shurite Siliconix/Vishay Silonex Simpson SL Power SloanLED SMC Sola/Hevi-Duty Souriau, Inc. Speco Technologies Spectra•Strip/ITD — See Amphenol Spectrol/Vishay O � � � � � Omron STI ON Semiconductor Optek Technology* Opto 22 Orion (Knight Electronics Inc.) Osram/Sylvania, Inc. � � � � � � � � � � N � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Sprague/Vishay SRC Devices SSP/Vishay Staco Energy Products Co. Stancor/White-Rodgers Steinel Sti (Scientific Technologies Inc.) — See Omron STI STMicroelectronics Storm Interface Streamlight Struthers-Dunn Sunbrite — See Lumex Sunon Fans SunX/Aromat – See Panasonic Electric Works/Sunx Superior Electric SurgX — See Cooper Bussmann Switchcraft Sypris Test & Measurement — See F.W. Bell T � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Tadiran Tapeswitch Techspray Techno/Vishay TEKO Tektronix Teledyne Relays Telemecanique Texas Instruments Thermometrics — See GE Infrastructure Sensing Thin Film/Vishay Thomas & Betts Thordarson Meissner Time Mark Corporation Toshiba Triad Magnetics Tripp Lite TURCK Twin Industries Tyco Electronics Tyton Hellermann — See HellermannTyton U � Ultronix/Vishay V � Vector Electronics & Technology � Viewsonics — See Emerson Network Power � Vishay � Vishay Semiconductors � Vitramon/Vishay � Volex Power Cords S W � � � � � � � Waber by Tripp Lite WECO Weller — See Cooper Tools White-Rodgers Wire Pro, Inc. — See WPI Wiremold WPI X � Xcelite — See Cooper Tools � Xicor � Xilinx Y � Yuasa — See EnerSys Z � Zettler Magnetics *New Supplier Supplier Linecard Your first choice for world-class brands. 1.800.433.5700 2/25/08 10:57:32 AM www.eAutomationPro.com/US CD0803_FPA.indd 28 1-800-205-7940 2/25/08 10:58:12 AM Don’t Let the Media Get You Down tic sea ice last year reached the highest level ever recorded by satellites, it was pretty much ignored.” internationally? Should we invest in next-gen- He adds that Katrina in 2005 was a supposed eration automaton systems for our machines? harbinger of a coming stormier world. When the The answer to all these questions is “Not if you next two hurricane seasons were fairly calm, the read the headlines.” But letting media headlines alarmists changed the subject. “Droughts in Cali- drive business decisions is problematic as the fornia and Australia became the new harbingers of media feeds on greed and fear, two of the most climate change (never mind that a warmer planet visceral human emotions. is projected to have more, not less, precipitation During most of my lifetime and certainly this decade, the media focus has been on fear. It directly contradicts long and short-term historical evidence. History has been recorded with enough ac- over all),” writes Tierney. Tierney adds that Roger A. Pielke Jr., a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, recently noted the very different recepthe link between hurricanes and global warming. The U.S. stock market has risen by an average of “He counted 79 news articles about a paper in the about 10% per year since 1925. More recently, the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and global economy just completed its fifth straight only three news articles about one in a far more year of more than 4% growth, the longest period prestigious journal, Nature. Guess which paper of such strong expansion since the early 1970s. jibed with the theory — and image of Katrina — particularly long-term, reversals in these trends would be rare and require irrefutable evidence. Instead, the media takes the opposite tack and daily proclaims the imminent demise of society as we know it, unless we do something drastic. bleak future, wandering a barren Earth in a futile or every apocalyptic vision of the F future, why isn’t there a movie depicting a much more likely and dramatically better future? Gloom and doom is not limited to newspapers search for food and shelter. Who would hire any- and magazines; movies chime in. I don’t recall one or invest in anything, given such predictions? one movie released during my adult lifetime that Global warming is perhaps the best current ex- dhebert@putman.net take: it is already too late and we are doomed to a ues Tierney in his article. • Those are the optimistic articles. The pessimistic presented by Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth?” contin- portrayed the future in a positive light. For every ample of media gloom and doom. Temperatures Blade Runner-type apocalyptic vision of the future, on Earth have been going up and down since the why isn’t there a movie depicting a much more dawn of human existence, and our ancestors likely and dramatically better future? Shouldn’t the seem to have coped fairly well. But now, predicted burden of proof be on those who predict a radical rises of a couple of degrees in temperatures over reversal of undisputed historical evidence? the next century are supposed to bring us to our knees and destroy the global economy? Don’t expect any rational opinions from the Why is the media so relentless with unrealistic predictions of a dire future? My theory is secular types who don’t believe in an afterlife media in this area. Good examples of global are terrified they will miss an earthly future warming gloom and doom can be gleaned from better than the present. The only way to assuage a recent New York Times article, “In 2008, a 100 their fears is to convince themselves that the Percent Chance of Alarm,” by columnist John future will be downright awful. Tierney. Here’s an excerpt. “When the Arctic sea Believing headlines can lead to bad decisions. ice last year hit the lowest level ever recorded by In next month’s column we will show you how to satellites, it was big news and heralded as a sign get behind the headlines to source data and how to the whole planet was warming. When the Antarc- analyze these source data to get the real facts. www.controldesign.com CD0803_29_Mojo.indd 29 senior technical editor Knowing all this, any prediction of short, and • tion received last year by conflicting papers on improving dramatically for thousands of years. Dan Hebert, PE curacy to know that standards of living have been machine builder mojo Should I hire that promising new person? Should we push forward to expand our markets March 2008 Control Design 29 2/21/08 9:57:22 AM ESX10EDN_Single Pg Ad_v2 1/23/08 11:38 AM Page 1 “A predictable supply of power, protected from faults, is an essential ingredient of an efficient, sustainable, manufacturing process.” Control the future Welcome to a new era of Electronic Circuit Control Technology from E-T-A A new reality driven by the need to develop innovative circuit protection ideas for the future. E-T-A's newest innovation for the protection of 24VDC power supplies is the ESX10-T - an electronic circuit protection device with advanced control features and 35mm din rail mounting. It offers digital status output functions with remote ON/OFF and reset control. Integrating electronic circuit control technology into your next design will enable you to reduce downtime, selectively disconnect loads, connect inductive loads up to 20,000µF without nuisance tripping, and establish greater stability across ambient temperature variations. With E-T-A the future looks smart. ESX10-T Electronic Circuit Protector For more information go to: www.e-t-a.com/future CD0803_FPA.indd 30 2/25/08 11:08:00 AM IEC 61131 Cage Match—Prologue ISSC, knew what those advantages could be. But standard for industrial control programming of the reality didn’t live up to the claims. PLCs and embedded controllers. “This emperor OMAC promoted IEC-based programming for has no clothes,” stated Ken Crater, president of any controllers that were to be used. GM, one Control Technology Corp., in his remarks at the of the biggest contributors to OMAC, decided to ISA conference session I organized some 12 years standardize on Allen-Bradley hardware, and its ago, making an analogy to an age-old fable. software was not IEC-based. So much for that. Dick Morley, the consensus inventor of the IEC 61131 is an opportunity for vendors to use PLC, had mugs made that rather sarcastically words such as compliant and compatible, a mar- read: “IEC 61131 and MAP—Partners in Suc- keting tactic to gain some traction. It’s like high cess.” Clive Smith, then product manager for school: Even though you can’t dance, you still Schneider Electric, the developers of Concept need to be at the party. IEC 61131 programming software, broke one IEC-based software isn’t a requirement in the minds of most end users. Vendors have chosen that Morley was old school and off the mark. to support the specification because of percep- Schneider Electric had bought Morley’s old tions, global marketing and support for multiple company, Modicon, and developed an IEC 61131 hardware platforms. There’s also another impor- programming package for this product line. tant reason: They can buy a third-party devel- In several upcoming columns, I’ll let off a little opment package, tune it to their hardware and have a programming solution without a huge surrounding IEC 61131, particularly what it is, development effort. The success of OPC allows what it isn’t and what it really means to a user. a hardware vendor to develop a communication 2006, I was the North American managing director for PLCopen, the international organization “Standards are great. There are so many to choose from.” supporting IEC 61131. I learned a lot during that time about the document and its user and vendor driver, buy the development environment and support, and I made many presentations on the have a full software support system without technology and its applications. leaving its core competencies. One of the first vendor presentations on the But do we, the technology consumer, care about subject I witnessed was from a sales guy from having a standard? Is it important to be able to do what was then Moore Process Solutions. He held some things with Siemens software that we can up a floppy disk—yep, it was that long ago—and do with Rockwell software? said that a program from any IEC 61131 control- We are in the same pickle we’ve always been ler could be loaded into a Moore process system in—attempting to use proprietary software with simply by loading the program from the disk. proprietary hardware. That was wrong. I knew it, but no one else did. In that time and place of independent software I think the IEC 61131 specification is not a userbased spec or standard, but a vendor specification companies, there were many that grabbed the for software development. It is a standard much opportunity to develop and promote IEC-based like SQL and UNIX are. While a software method products, especially in the soft-PLC world. Many might be called a standard, it really isn’t. TCP/IP is product performance claims were made to pro- a standard—there’s no waffling from the design. mote the sales needed to recoup the development costs. These comments made the product seem complete and regularly promoted the future of portability and standardized programming. Those who had struggled with the transition between Modicon and Allen-Bradley, and maybe www.controldesign.com CD0803_31_EmbedIntel.indd 31 jpollard@tsuonline.com I’m not exactly neutral about it. From 1999 to • steam about this “standard” and bust some myths Jeremy Pollard, CET of these mugs with a hammer, suggesting embedded intelligence The topic was IEC 61131, the international Who was it that said, “Standards are great. There are so many to choose from.”? jeremy Pollard has been writing about technology and software issues for many years. Publisher of The Software User Online, he has been involved in control system programming and training for more than 25 years. March 2008 Control Design 31 2/22/08 10:03:09 AM CD0803_FPA.indd 32 2/25/08 11:08:31 AM WeC Teenagers Take Test Flights in JETS Students are invited to “try on” engineering in the Explore step. “Experience in our two com- education organization you might not know about. petitions has helped students make decisions About half of JETS’s 40,000 student participants about engineering careers,” says Yoder. Whether it’s through the National Engineering Design underrepresented in engineering and technology Challenge (NEDC), a team competition in which fields. And those students are reached largely students create a real-life, assistive-technology through 10,000 educators at 6,000 high schools. device to aid individuals with disabilities, or via While JETS might be relatively unknown by the TEAMS, a one-day, two-part-test competition for Mike Bacidore each year come from groups that typically are LIVE WIRE The Junior Engineering Technical Society (jets.org) is quite possibly the oldest engineering • high school students held on university and col- educational groups is what gives JETS its wings. lege campuses around the U.S., participants have “We attend various educator conferences,” says Leann Yoder, executive director of JETS in the opportunity to take an engineering career out for a test drive, of sorts. Alexandria, Va. “We’re well-known by our current Real World, Real Solutions ing out to other organizations. We’re developing JETS’s big payoff is NEDC. This year’s winner, new ways to get our university and professional Gardner Edgerton High School, in greater Kan- societies to become better advocates of what JETS sas City, designed and built the bag attachment does. We’ve also developed an alumni network and replacement technology (BART) for a real that we hope will get those people that benefited school custodian who has a disability. Real from JETS programs to become advocates of JETS.” world. Real solution. firmware designer at Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, where he first was exposed to JETS in high school at Boys Technology and Trade School. “Experience in our two competitions has helped students make decisions about engineering careers.” mbacidore@putman.net One JETS alumnus, Brian Cieslak, is senior • contacts, but we need to step it up when reach- managing editor general public, its longstanding affiliations with “JETS was the science club at Boys Tech,” explains Cieslak. “Being a child of the Space Race “He couldn’t tie the trash bags,” explains and Nuclear Age, I was always interested in sci- David Kling, Edgerton’s industrial technology ence, so when I learned about JETS from a friend and energy manager. “Our students analyzed of mine, I was excited to start hanging out with a the problem, modeled it, and went about finding bunch of fellow amateur scientists.” a solution. They tested and tested and reconfigured. It evolved from that. Steven, the custodian, Explore, Assess, Experience JETS encourages students to look at engineering now uses this regularly in his job.” Kling, who coaches the team along with and technology as career options by offering a chemistry and physics teacher Larry Ward, had three-step process of discovery. invaluable help from Stacey Heine, a retired Hon- In the Explore step, students go online, read sce- eywell engineer, who acts as the team’s advising narios, articles and profiles, watch videos and learn engineer. Kling explains that the recognition about the many areas of engineering. “By relating for winning the competition needs to go to the stories and scenarios to real life, young people can students, and how well they worked together in see where they might fit as an engineer,” says Yoder. a variety of disciplines. In the second step, participants take inventory of, or assess, current abilities in subject areas important to success in engineering. “This step doesn’t rule out or verify a specific area of engineering, but it lets students determine if they’re on the right path in subject areas important to More, More, More To read more about JETS, visit ControlDesign.com/jets. To read JETS’s in-depth interview with Brian Cieslak, visit ControlDesign.com/cieslak. engineering success,” she explains. www.controldesign.com CD0803_33_LiveWire.indd 33 March 2008 Control Design 33 2/26/08 1:58:16 PM ow the Control Design audience researches, specifies and buys machine automation products and services is the subject of research we conducted earlier this year to determine whether the habits of this population are changing in these endeavors. The first two years of this annual study confirmed the steady migration away from more-traditional distributor relationships and tradeshow trips to a far wider use of Internet-based tools. This year, we looked into some of those areas again to see if things are still changing and added other areas of this subject to explore. We use these findings to get a better sense of how to build content that helps you with these issues. It also provides something of a snapshot of how your buying habits are evolving, compared with those of your peers. In previous years, it has pointed out issues that the supplier community needs to pay heed to in order to better serve your needs. Calling The Shots—More Than Ever In 2006, our respondents said they make the primary automation choices for their machines about 67% of the time, with customers doing so about 28% of the time. That seemed high. We asked the same question in 2007 and got similar results—65% said they make those choices for their machines. We repeated that question this year and, once again, 64% of the machine builders say they make the decisions, with customers calling the shots about a quarter of the time. 34 Control Design March 2008 CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 34 www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 11:56:06 AM We asked system integrators the same question more product categories in the past year. About and found when they’re involved in a machine one-quarter said they’ve changed primary sup- automation project, they make the automation pliers for controllers, I/O, sensors/measurement decisions about half the time, with the machine and motors/drives (topped the list at 27%). Some user doing so about one-third of the time. 16% said they’ve changed their primary supplier There wasn’t a great deal of variation in these responses among the various machine builder market segments participating (see demograph- of mechanical components, while 17% changed OI/HMI suppliers. Given the level of churn, we surely wanted to know why (Figure 1). Of those who changed sup- ics breakdown). pliers for at least one product category, 29% cited Change Partners product quality and performance problems. Price This year we asked the study participants about the stability of their was cited by 22%. And a discontinued product line was noted by 20% of the respondents. supplier relationships. Anecdotally, it seems that suppliers and users want to establish lasting partnerships. This was the most surprising finding this year. Fifty-two percent said they changed primary suppliers for one or The Search Leads to … Each year we ask about our participants’ primary method for doing product research. We expect a continuation of the trend toward more use of Web-based research tools at the expense of local distributors and trade shows. This year, 35% of our respondents say their most-used method for automation product research is searching vendor web sites. That’s up from 30% last year and 25% in 2006. Meeting/speaking with local reps and distributors stayed statistically constant at 25% this year from 26% in 2007 and 27% in 2006. Figure 2 summarizes these findings. In Your Face to Face We wanted to follow up on evidence that said our respondents want more direct contact with suppliers’ technical people and cite frustration due to a lack of availability of these experts. Figure 3 indicates what we found when participants agreed or disagreed with various statements about the values that direct contact with vendor experts can bring. A clear 63% strongly agreed they get better technical information directly from the vendor source than from local distributors. But only 38% strongly agreed it was better than information from local sales reps. In both cases, the total that agreed strongly or somewhat exceeded 90%. A full 42% strongly agreed and an additional 39% agreed somewhat that they can have more of www.controldesign.com CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 35 March 2008 Control Design 35 2/26/08 11:57:12 AM Of those who changed suppliers for at least one product category, 29% cited product quality and performance problems. a solutions-based discussion with the suppliers’ technical experts. the experts were eager to please. On the downside, 54% of the A new question this year finds that nearly four in 10 admit that respondents disagreed somewhat part of the problem in successfully that the supplier’s technical or disagreed strongly that these working directly with the experts experts were eager to help, a reas- experts are easy to reach or that is that they themselves are guilty suring 54% agreed somewhat that they receive prompt callbacks. of being non-responsive to the While only 16% strongly agreed manufacturers’ advances. Search and Annoy Once these respondents decide to do their product and specification research on the Web, where do they start if they don’t have a particular brand in mind? The clear destination is Google, but the trend continues to drift down: 60% this year, 63% last year and 68% in 2006. It appears that the frustration of trying to do technical search via this type of search engine is growing. Looking further into their beliefs about and expectations of What happened... Google, Yahoo and other search Respondent Demographics Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9% Machining Centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% Material Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . 11% Metalworking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12% Plastics/Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% Printing/Converting . . . . . . . . . . . . 6% Semiconductor Tools . . . . . . . . . . . 5% Specialty Machines. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3% System Integrators . . . . . . . . . . . . 18% Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17% ...17 weeks ago on Tuesday at 12:36 PM? Vaisala HUMICAP® Humidity Transmitter will tell you. r r r *OUFHSBUFEEBUBMPHHJOHXJUIPWFS GPVSZFBSTPGNFBTVSFEIJTUPSZ (SBQIJDBMUSFOEEJTQMBZ /FX7BJTBMB)6.*$"1¡4FOTPS BDDVSBDZUIBUMBTUT Call our experts or visit: www.vaisala.com/HMT330 www.vaisala.com Vaisala Inc. Tel. 1-888-VAISALA (824-7252) Fax 781-933-8029 instruments@vaisala.com Job Function Vaisala HUMICAP® Humidity and Temperature Transmitter Series HMT330 Control System Design/ Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71% Company Management/ Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16% Tech Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% Research/Development . . . . . . . . . 7% Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2% Is your Internet access at work limited by: Company policy . . . . . . . . Yes . . 40% Security issues . . . . . . . . . Yes . . .41% Bandwidth limitations . . Yes . . .18% RESPONSES FROM 200+ STUDY PARTICIPANTS 36 Control Design March 2008 CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 36 www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 11:57:54 AM Call us, we answer. For over 60 years, we’ve made it our business to answer your call. Do you need assistance with a weight related process control and data collection application? Need to verify the appropriate load cell configuration for a vessel or tank? Fieldbus concerns? Network integration questions? Call us, we make it our business to understand yours. Call 800-472-6702, Ext. 5168. Go to www.ricelake.com/controldesign for more information and to request a copy of our White Paper “Weight Related Process Control — Things You Need to Know.” Learn more about our 720 programmable automation controller at www.ricelake.com/ world. 2008 Exceptional Service Award winner WeCall_ControlDesign_FullPage.indd 1 CD0803_FPA.indd 37 2/20/2008 2:01:04 PM 2/25/08 11:09:11 AM Perhaps, our biggest invention since the original PLC. When we introduced the first programmable controller back in 1968, the Modicon ® PLC quickly became the standard for machine control in a wide range of applications. Forty years later, the world has changed and Schneider Electric has not only evolved with it, but continues to be a pioneer in the industry. Proof of point, the new Telemecanique ® brand Modicon ® M340™ programmable automation controller (PAC). More powerful than any other PLC in its class, its modular design and networking abilities make it ideal for both simple and complex applications. But even more important is the peace of mind you get from the 40-year history of excellence built into every Schneider Electric automation product. That makes the Modicon M340 PAC our biggest innovation to date. Even if it is only 4 inches high. 45940_SD_ControlDesign.indd 1 CD0803_FPA.indd 38 2/12/08 3:57:22 PM 2/25/08 11:10:21 AM FIGURE 1. WHY YOU CHANGED SUPPLIERS Quality/Performance Price Discontinued product line Hard to contact/get info/help Poor after-sale support Wanted open-standards architecture Old supplier merged/bought by another company 29% 22% 21% 9% 7% 7% 5% engines, 14% agreed strongly and want: be easy to navigate, have another 55% agreed that first-page easy-to-find technical details, and search results contain well-fo- offer downloadable product manu- cused hits. Those numbers were als, schematics and similar refer- 20% and 60% last year. ences, as well as price lists they The respondents also agreed can trust. Many of the respondents (48%) or agreed strongly (32%) that want to find complete, uniformly too many of the results have noth- presented specifications, so they ing to do with what they’re actu- can do product-to-product and ally looking for. Nineteen percent vendor-to-vendor comparisons. HART The number of complaints agreed strongly last year. about sites not providing this Vendor Site Seeing seemingly basic help is significant The largest segment of respon- and is most often accompanied dents begins its search at supplier by a reaction that they’re being web sites, and many visit multiple marketed to, not helped. vendor sites to be satisfied they’ve Two prevalent complaints seen enough. Fifty-one percent involved “finally seeming to find said they visit two or three sites the area you were looking for only to do their research. Another 36% to be asked to register or fi ll out a need to visit four to six sites. ‘contact me’ form.” There’s a wide range of respons- When it’s good it’s good: “We es, based on actual experience, are a very small company,” says as to what makes a supplier web another respondent. “We mostly site good or bad. The hundreds of buy motors, drives and other comments distill down to a few control components through no-brainer basics that visitors established local distributors, FIGURE 2. PREFERRED METHODS FOR PRODUCT RESEARCH Meet/speak with local distributors Meet/speak directly with automation supplier technical engineers/product managers Visit suppliers at trade shows Search independent, non-vendor web sites, automation communities, magazine web sites Search the suppliers’ web sites Read trade magazines 80% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Most used www.controldesign.com CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 39 Second-most Least used March 2008 Control Design 39 Jumpflex_CD_Mar o.indd 1 2/26/08 11:58:14 AM 2/14/08 4:00:33 PM “We are very small. We mostly buy components through local distributors, but we greatly value web sites that provide complete engineering and product specs.” but we greatly value web sites, which provide complete engi- Global Search Angst: What You Think About Search Engines neering and product specification data and allow us to buy all our software, communications adapters, accessories and simulation software online.” Practical applications were on the wish list: “All product vendors would benefit by providing user examples with their content. Many times, after I review an example, I can properly decide if this is the right product for me.” The first page of results contain well-focused hits I worry that the top of the list is simply bought and paid for regardless of its relevance Too many results are biased vendor product plugs Too many results are outdated information Too many results actually have nothing to do with what I'm looking for It's a pain to sift through the results, but at this point there's no better Web-based research tool for me Buying Online? 0 With your stated move to more Strongly agree use of online research tools, we 10 Agree 20 Disagree 30 40 50 60 Strongly disagree anticipated fi nding some corresponding increase in the number decline compared with the 2007 21% said they buy from online of controls professionals who buy fi ndings. Only 19% of the respon- catalog stores. The number was automation and control compo- dents said they buy online via a about one-third in both catego- nents online. We actually found a manufacturer’s web site, while ries last year. WHAT YOU NEEDWHEN YOU NEED IT Offering The Largest Selection Of Increased Safety Enclosures In The Industry-And The Quickest Lead Times You’ll Find Anywhere. SO WHY LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE? CONTACT ADALET TODAY 216-267-9000 4801 WEST 150TH STREET, CLEVELAND, OHIO 44135 TEL: 216.267.9000 FAX: 216.267.1681 info@ADALET.com CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 40 WWW.ADALET.COM 2/26/08 11:59:05 AM FIGURE 3. DIRECT CONTACT WITH SUPPLIER TECHNICAL EXPERTS Get better technical info than from distributors Get better technical info than from local sales reps Get better updates on full product line Get more discussion of solutions, not just products Easy to reach Get prompt callbacks Eager to help Doesn’t matter if I’m an existing customer or not They don’t give you much time to explore the problem Tend to push “canned” solutions Sometimes expertise is actually low You don’t respond well to direct inquiries from the experts 0 Strongly agree Agree somewhat 10 20 30 Disagree somewhat 40 50 60 Strongly disagree Decision Making All About Delivery? The study respondents evaluated Our job as a content provider is to the importance of various factors deliver high-quality information in their purchasing decisions. The in ways that best help machine factors most identified as extreme- control professionals research ly important were “easy to use, and specify products and ser- install and maintain,” followed by vices. We have to try to evaluate “dependable after-sales service and anticipate your affi nity for and support,” and then “connects newer and emerging methods of easily with existing systems” and information delivery beyond a “offers highest product quality.” print product. Lowest price was an “impor- Until last year, we had little tant” factor for 48% of the respon- more than anecdotal evidence dents, but only 13% considered it about the value you place on extremely important. The most information-delivery methods, ambiguous result here showed such as webinars, video, podcast/ 40% finding it important that a MP3 downloads, online forums product already be installed in and blogs, but more importantly their machines, and 14% consid- whether you use any of them to ered it an extremely important help you do your job. purchasing factor. Forty-six As we continue to track usage, percent disagreed, calling it a “not we’ll begin to sense trends in very important” factor. your affi nities or lack thereof to www.controldesign.com CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 41 March 2008 Control Design 41 2/26/08 11:59:32 AM “Forums provide the opportunity to send your question to many people— experts, novices—and maybe some of them can help.” “Forums provide the oppor- these methods. This migration to of the bunch is forums/bulletin embracing “different” content-de- boards. This year, 14% of respon- tunity to send your question to livery methods still is a slow work dents said they use the medium many people—experts, novices— in progress (Figure 4). weekly, and 41% use it monthly. and maybe some of them can That’s far better than any of the help,” says a respondent. “The others we asked about. probability is that more than one The one medium clearly perceived as the most worthwhile person has had the type of problem I have.” Peak Performance Another respondent says he likes “the almost unrestricted sharing of knowledge on many issues concerning my job as a control automation engineer.” One in 20 responders said they use webcasts weekly in job-related activities. Another 16% said they use them monthly. That’s hardly an endorsement, but you might argue there’s some curiosity about them, as another 38% said they use them on rare occasions/no more than a few times a year. A quarter of the respondents never use them at all. “They are quick, no lost travel time and informative,” is one comment. “If the topic isn’t appropriate, I just disengage.” Another respond- When You Can’t Tolerate Measurement Errors Each 8B module protects, filters, amplifies, and isolates an input signal and then provides an Instrument Class® analog output. Dataforth’s 8B line of isolated analog signal conditioners includes 17 family groups with a total of 102 models that interface to a wide variety of voltage, current, temperature, position, frequency, and strain measuring devices. Housed in a miniature potted module, the 8B offers fully functional Instrument Class® performance with superior specifications such as ±0.05% accuracy, ±0.02% linearity, three-poles of filtering, 1500Vrms isolation, low output noise and much more. er says he uses webcasts from time to time to be able to see a demonstration of a product without having to leave the office. On the other side, “podcasts and videos take too long to extract content,” says a participant. “You can’t speed-read them. I can read or reread faster than someone can speak or have to re-cue to review … would prefer to read as opposed to watch/listen.” A perceivable theme among those thinking well of webcasts is a preference for product demos, Instrument Class I/O ® For catalog information, visit: dataforth.com/catalog/pdf/8b.pdf not industry issues. Podcasts/MP3 downloads of interviews with vendors or machine builders barely have a pulse again this year. Less than 8% make use of these podcasts/MP3 downloads 3331 E Hemisphere Loop, Tucson AZ 85706 • techinfo@dataforth.com Fax: 520-917-2254 • Tel: 520-741-1404, 800-444-7644 42 Control Design March 2008 CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 42 at least monthly. About half of the respondents said they never use them at all. www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 11:59:57 AM ContDes_MAR08_Relays_v2:Weidmuller_ContDes_1_3 PUSH US AROUND FIGURE 4. HOW YOU VALUE NEWER METHODS OF INFORMATION DELIVERY Webcasts MP3s/podcasts (interview vendors) Space-Saving Relays— Now With Push-In Connection Technology MP3s/podcasts (interview machine builders) Videos from/about vendors/products • Reduce installation time by 70% Video downloads (interview machine builders and show automation on machine) CONNECTION TECHNOLOGY • DIN-rail mounted compact footprint Forums/bulletin boards Web logs (blogs) 0 Use often (weekly) for job Use occasionally (monthly) for job 10 20 Use rarely (once or twice a year) socially 30 40 Never use for job 50 60 Never use socially Videos might show some prom- tion. “Same goes for most forums ise, although the responses are an and blogs. Lots of time and effort emergent data point we didn’t ask to get very little benefit.” about last year. However, 23% of Another says, “Yes, you must the respondents say they use this accept that many of the listed medium at least monthly, in par- responses are very biased. But the ticular vendor-created videos about nature of the discussions and the products. “I really like vendors who types of questions presented serve have videos on how to configure to offer important information and deploy products,” reflects the about a product and the organiza- thoughts of many respondents. tion behind it.” Blogs showed some life com- It seems that there’s a loose pared to last year, when 12% said confederation of engineers out they used them in job-related there that thinks its best bet for activities at least once. This year, unbiased Internet-based opinion is we discussed information delivery the forum, but they’re wary of an and frequency. We found 7% use inherent bias/agenda in bloggers. blogs weekly, and another 19% use them monthly. As with webcasts, any use for these tools at all, it’s there might be some curiosity easy to summarize the comments. that could turn into more interest: The clear belief, experienced or 30% say they’ve on rare occasions presumed, is these types of mate- visited a job-related blog. rial are too much commercial, “Most vendor videos and many provide enough real user help. sales pitches with too little engi- Additional study findings neering info to be worth my time can be found at ControlDesign. to watch,” is a pretty typical reac- com/08habits. CD0803_34_43_CvrFtr.indd 43 US: March 2008 Control Design i n f o @ w e i d m u l l e r. c o m 1-800-849-9343 w w w. w e i d m u l l e r. c o m C a n a d a : i n f o 1 @ w e i d m u l l e r. c a 1-800-268-4080 contain too much bias and don’t webcasts and podcasts are flash www.controldesign.com Learn more about Rider Relays at: Among those who don’t have w w w. w e i d m u l l e r. c a M e x i c o : c l i e n t e s @ w e i d m u l l e r. c o m . m x 01 222 2686267 w w w. w e i d m u l l e r. c o m . m x 43 2/26/08 12:00:21 PM Your time is money... why not save both? When seconds matter...FlashDrop! Time is money, when you have a high volume of machines to produce. FlashDrop, from ABB, saves you both! Upload and download your parameters to ABB AC drives on your machines -- in three seconds or less! No power to the drive is needed. FlashDrop fits right into the palm of your hand, as you copy parameters between industrial drives, or between PCs and drives. Join us via www.abb.us/drives. ABB Low Voltage Drives New Berlin, WI Ph: 800-752-0696 Fx: 262-780-5137 Contact us via web: www.drivesanswers.com/28 CD0803_FPA.indd 44 2/25/08 11:10:59 AM Drives & Motion C ontrol The Not-So-Odd Couple Like an Old, Married Couple, a Motor and Its Generator Are Bound Together. One Does Not Exist Without the Other by Ernst Dummermuth Some important properties and characteristics + of electric motors and electric generators can be demonstrated easily using an actual motor and generator. Grade or middle-school students could conduct these – + + + – – + + – experiments. Through my own experience, I’ve obtory table, can be very useful as a teaching tool. Basically Speaking Motors come in all shapes and sizes and are used mostly to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy via the rotation of a shaft. The primary electric source in a home is single-phase, 110 Vac. For simplicity and – – served that these experiments, executed on a labora- + DC Motor dynamics – + Figure 1: The – stator has the fixed, permanent magnet, while the rotor is composed of a number of windings. To sustain rotation, + and since the permanent magnet cannot the – be reoriented, + electromagnets must be activated or deactivated. This shows rotor postion at–startup and after one commutation. reduced control circuits, many of these motors turn A Position of Rotor Time only in one direction. In your car, the motors run on 12 on the stator and one magnet is on the rotor. If those Vdc—the starter being the strongest electric motor in magnets aren’t lined up, the rotor A will Bturn until C they + designed for higher DC voltages or multi-phase AC – + mechanical outputs, and use much larger motors + + 0 + Industrial applications often require much higher + – + – rotation do. Once the stops. – magnets are lined up, – a conventional automobile. 10 – – + – These magnets+could be permanent, rare-earth, magnets or quasi-permanent magnets—electromag-10 C B nets with coil windings driven a DC 0 60by 120 180 current. 240 300 360The 60 Phase Angle in Degrees voltages. These motors also have much higher cur- other magnet is an electromagnet, the orientation of rent ratings. which is modified continuously. As a result, the rotor Generators usually aren’t found in a household. keeps trying to line itself up. If this magnet modifica- Some houses have emergency generators, in case pow- tion is done in an intelligent way, such as in a rotation er is lost. Every automobile has a generator to provide to the right, then the rotor will rotate to the right. electricity for ignition, various fans, accessories and lights, and to recharge the battery. DC Motors On the whole, most generators are big and supply To sustain rotation, and since the permanent magnet power grids with electricity. It takes a lot of mechani- can’t be reoriented, the electromagnets must be acti- cal power to crank these shafts. Mechanical power is vated or deactivated. In a typical DC motor (Figure 1), the obtained by making steam in power plants from coal, gas and nuclear sources, with diesel engines or hydro turbines, or more recently with wind turbines on hilltops, often in groups as windmill farms. Motor Designs 101 Motors are based on the principle that opposite polarity magnets attract each other, while magnets of the BASICALLY SPEAKING How helpful do you find refreshers and primers on engineering topics? Do back-to-basics articles provide you with the kind of information that helps you to perform better as a controls engineer? Which topics would you find helpful? Sound off at ControlDesign.com/refresher. same polarity repel each other. One magnet is located www.controldesign.com CD0803_45_56_Drives.indd 45 March 2008 Control Design 45 2/26/08 12:13:05 PM ARE YOU CONFIDENT WITH THE PROTECTION PROVIDED IN YOUR PLANT? + – + + + + + – – Drives & Motion C ontrol – – – + – – + – + + – Position of Rotor Time A The brushless DC Motor 10 Figure 2: The permanent magnet is on the rotor. External A B C + solid-state switches turn on the proper stator winding as a – 0 function of the rotor orientation. + C has the fixed, permanent B -10 magnet and the rotor is stator + + + – + + + – – + – – – – 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 composed of a number of windings. Phase Angle in Degrees Basically, one or two windings are activated at a time via commutation, depending on the number of coils on the rotor. At start-up (referring back to Figure 1), the green winding is activated. With the polarity shown, the rotor will turn clockwise, trying to align the green magnet with the stator magnet. As the rotor turns, the blue coil becomes activated, while the green coil is deactivated, and so on, as shown after We’ve got you covered no matter what kind of protection you need. Pepperl+Fuchs has long been associated with intrinsic safety and explosion protection technology in the chemical and oil & gas markets. Coupled with this expertise are new generation fieldbus products, innovative corrosion monitoring techniques, rugged purge/ pressurization systems, and a powerful ability to combine all of our solutions into customized packages. Get protection you can depend on. Pepperl+Fuchs is protecting your process. CD0803_45_56_Drives.indd 46 discrete steps, according to the number of rotor windings, while the rotor turns. Details about pole shaping and arrangement of air gaps aren’t shown. The rotor could have many more individual windings, and for that reason, two or three adjacent windings could make contact through commutation at any one time. In another form, called a brushless DC motor or an inside-out DC motor (Figure 2), the permanent magnet is on the rotor. This magnet again can be a rare-earth magnet or a fixed electromagnet connected via slip rings. External solid-state switches turn on the proper stator winding as a function of the rotor orientation. The commutation takes place in the stator windings. When the red stator coil in Figure 2 is turned on, the � World-leading supplier of intrinsic safety interface devices rotor moves clockwise trying to align the opposite poles. � Complete solutions designed to customer specifications then to the green coil and so on. At nominal speeds, the � UL508A and UL698A accreditation Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc. Twinsburg, Ohio 330.486.0002 pepperl-fuchs.com first commutation. The rotor field is reoriented in At that time, commutation moves to the blue coil and excitation moves from one phase to the other, turning the different stator coils on and off. At standstill and low � Global support, worldwide manufacturing, unparalleled service speeds, the active stator phase isn’t a pure DC signal, � Advanced diagnostic accessories for fieldbus installations power systems, an almost perfect three-phase excita- but is a pulsed DC signal to avoid saturation. For higher tion is created through solid-state switches. Synchronous Motors A synchronous motor is basically the AC equivalent to the brushless DC motor just discussed. In these www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 12:13:19 PM EVERY PLANT NEEDS A PARTNER TO KEEP THINGS BUZZING We’ll work hard to keep your plant buzzing using the most advanced sensing technology…all from a single-source partner. We’ve stayed busy as a bee for over half a century developing innovative products that take the sting out of applying sensors. Our sensors are crafted using state-ofthe-art components and the latest technologies to ensure precision, reliability, and functionality. In addition, we offer a wide selection of accessories to meet all your application needs. Go to www.sensing.net/buzz-i, or give us a buzz at 330.486.0001 and we’ll devote a swarm of technical experts to go to work for you. Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc. Twinsburg, Ohio 330.486.0001 www.sensing.net/buzz-i CD0803_FPA.indd 47 2/25/08 11:11:24 AM + – – A Position of Rotor In general, the outside field for tor is lined up almost exactly with C B – B C – – + + obtained from the three-phase, 60 is connected to the motor, the ro- 0 + + – phase, sinusoidal excitation A + Time + 10 + same speed as the outside field. – motors, the rotor turns at the a synchronous motor is a three- + – Drives & Motion C ontrol Hz line. When no mechanical load – + + + + – – – -10 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 Phase Angle in Degrees the stator field (Figure 3). As the mechanical load increases, the rotor lags the stator field by several synchronous = AC brushless degrees, but is still in step with Figure 3: In general, the outside field for a synchronous motor is a three-phase, sinusoidal excitation obtained from the three-phase, 60 Hz line. the field. If the load is increased beyond the rated value, the rotor started from standstill by simply Induction Motor turning on the three-phase AC. It At first glance, an induction motor the rotor follows behind the sta- needs to be brought up to speed (Figure 4) looks like a combina- tor field by several degrees. If the by auxiliary means before it can tion of the DC motor (Figure 1) and load increases, the lag increases be connected to the line. Then it the synchronous motor (Figure and vice versa. turns synchronously with the three 3). It has many rotor windings, phases no matter what the torque. similar to the DC motor, but they will fall out of synch and stop. 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We’ll simplify your design process E-SERIES CONFIGURABLE ROD STYLE SENSOR FOR VERSATILE MOUNTING APPLICATIONS and give you the best sensor solution at the lowest system cost for your next machine design. C-SERIES SENSOR FOR LOW COST, COMPACT APPLICATIONS Call us for a free product demonstration. It’s the right time to specify Temposonics. 800.633.7609 CD0803_FPA.indd 49 www.mtssensors.com 2/25/08 11:11:50 AM Drives & Motion C ontrol – C + – + – B – + – C 0 B – – + + A + – + Time Current 10 + + A + – – -10 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 Phase Angle in Degrees and Rotor Orientation Time A 10 +induction motor also has many rotor windings, they are Figure 4: While an A C individual short-circuit windings in different orientations. + 0 + – again, and the strong stator magaren’t connected to any external source or commutation. These are C -10 nets now appear 60º turned. Note Induction Motor Characterisitics + – – – + + + – that the rotor magnet is reestab- individual short-circuit windings – 0 lished 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 the through induction when in different orientations. Current Phase Angle in Degrees current in the stator changes most If a fluctuating stator field is applied, the changing magnetic flux rapidly at zero crossings of the sta- induces a current in at least one tor current. The condition described here is of the rotor windings, and thus creates a rotor magnet of opposite under no load. Under load, induc- polarity in that plane. At the same tion motors turn more slowly than Time A Current the driving stator field. This speed 10 loss is called the slip. When slip tor windings—60º + and 120º offset A the rotor B basically C falls one occurs, to the rotor magnet—produces + strong stator magnets. + As with the 0 rotor-winding back and continues + – – – + + time, the current in the other sta- + – – – to fall further back over time. Slip align. After a 60º turn of the rotor, increases with load. If the load is – B – A + and come to a halt. Because of that 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 slip, however, induction motors Phase Angle in Degrees and Rotor Orientation Time 10 – + C – – + + 0 C – A + + – + excessive, the rotor will drop out -10 field now excites the rotor winding + C changed by 60º. The new stator + – the stator excitations also have + DC motor, the rotor now rotates to – – -10 0 60 120 180 240 300 360 60 Current Phase Angle in Degrees Single-Phase Start-up Figure 5: With a single-phase source, low-power induction motors temporarily require an auxiliary phase via capacitor connected to the primary phase. 50 CD0803_45_56_Drives.indd 50 Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 12:13:54 PM Drives & Motion C ontrol can start from standstill by just the rotor movement and the cor- connecting the stator excitation. responding stator fields along the In the gray rotor coil in the il- time line. Many applications use three- lustration, the current in C changes rapidly, going through zero. The phase, 60 Hz line directly, but is switched in a sophisticated in the three-phase windLEFTsequenceRIGHT ings. Control circuits are called +A variable-frequency inverters or CAP solid-state drives because the pri- gray coil through induction. At advances in solid-state power – C 110V 60HZ switches made it possible to cre- that time, A is positive, Not A is ate three-phase, quasi-sinusoidal negative, B is negative, and Not B is phases at virtually any frequency. rate position and velocity feedback –Aneeded to properly control are positive. We can see that the rotor The incoming AC is rectified, and the artificial phase generation. will move clockwise and follow a DC voltage is created. The DC Control is difficult at low speeds; rotor magnet is established in the mary applications are servo drives. +C Since the rotor slips, very accu- The Motor Experiment For this demo, I used a ComairRotron Model MD12B1 brushless DC motor. Get a 9 V alkaline battery + with a snap-on connector, an RIGHT LEFT 9V – + alligator clip, a PR3 flashlight bulb – and some copper wire. You’ll also+A CAP need a small soldering iron and solder to make connections. –C +C Mount the fan, battery 110V 60HZ and flashlight bulb on a piece of plywood. Drill a hole to stick the A high stall current, or start-up motor. It’s actually a smaller current –A lightbulb into the plywood, and drill current,FAN is typical for motors. At startback out of the motor in the opposite FAN VOLTAGE smaller holes as needed to run wires VOLTAGE up, the bulb shines SPEED brightly and then direction. So every motor is a builtCURRENT FAN VOLTAGE from top to bottom, for conductors dims while the current decreases until in generator. If this fan is forcefully STILL CURRENT or for fastening equipment. full speed is reached and just a weak made to rotate even faster, then SPEED SPEED Motor behavior can be observed glow remains. The voltage across the the opposing back-EMF voltage may under all conditions—stalled, start-up, fan increases with speed. This voltage is eventually exceed the battery level, some load, no load—by controlling the the back-electromotive force. Because CURRENT and the battery will begin to recharge. movement of the fan with your hand. the fan is turning, it becomes its own A strong hair dryer can help to These same characteristics are present little generator, generating a voltage verify this behavior. If air is blown in high-powered that opposes the 9 V battery, and in into our experiment fan to help + motors. SLOW DOWN WITH HAND BACK AT FULL SPEED RELEASE STANDSTILL 9Vthe relationship between the the – Notice + experiment at full speed, it was it rotate faster, the light bulb – current through the motor—indicated measured at about 7.0 V, with the completely darkens, and the backby the brightness of the bulb—the battery itself holding at 7.7 V. EMF is increased. If air is blown from voltage on the motor and its speed for Indeed, every motor generates this the other side to slow down the fan, various operating conditions. Voltage back-EMF while rotating. The backthe lightbulb gets brighter since the can be measured with a voltmeter. EMF opposes the current flow into the back-EMF is now reduced because of increased load. The generator capability can FAN FAN VOLTAGE be demonstrated with the battery VOLTAGE SPEED CURRENT FAN VOLTAGE removed from the circuit. Using the STILL CURRENT hair dryer, blow air into the fan, SPEED SPEED making it spin backward. Once the fan turns fast enough, the lightbulb will CURRENT glow since the fan is generating power. Generally, blowing from either side will work, but this particular fan motor is polarity-protected, so only one SLOW DOWN WITH HAND BACK AT FULL SPEED RELEASE STANDSTILL direction works. www.controldesign.com CD0803_45_56_Drives.indd 55 March 2008 Control Design 55 2/26/08 12:14:11 PM Drives & Motion C ontrol rotor lags behind. If the rotor is driven by an external force, such as a turbine, to overtake the outside rotat- RIGHT LEFT ing field, then current flows from the windings back to the source, and the rotor now leads the rotating field. This is the primary mode of electric power generation. +A CAP –C Because it has no magnetic field of its own and because it slips with varying loads, the induction motor +C 110V 60HZ in Figure 4 isn’t typically used as a generator. It still has the same properties, however, and certainly develops a back-electromotive force. Running in idle, this back-EMF is nearly as large as the driving voltage. Under load, –A turning more slowly, the back-EMF is reduced, and the motor consumes more current. In a stalled condition, like the DC motor, it draws very large current. Single-phase start-up help Figure 6: Circuit for single-phase induction motor with required auxiliary phase to intitiate motor start-up. Dr. Ernst Dummermuth is a consultant in process control, motion control, automation and intellectual property. He has been involved in advanced technology endeavors including architecture proposals, fast prototyping, concept verification, standardization and product development. His work has yielded 46 patents and dozens of publications. You can reach him at ehdummermuth@juno.com. at standstill, it becomes tricky. Actually two rotating excitations with equal strength are overlapping each other; one rotates left, and one rotates right. When a command is given to move right, the strength of the left excitation is diminished, and the strength of the 9V + pears on its way. – completely once the motor is + More, More, More right one increased. Eventually, the left one disap- – Low-power induction motors can be driven from Dr. Dummermuth has contributed several wellreceived technical articles to Control Design during the past few years. a single-phase source (Figure 5). However, the single phase isn’t sufficient to get the motor started from a standstill. An auxiliary phase is required. A capacitor is connected to the primary phase to create the aux- Autonomous Cooperating Agents iliary phase, 90º ahead of the primary. This creates a In a rod mill, multiple cooling functions coordinate efforts to achieve an overall performance characteristic. Go to ControlDesign.com/agents. rotating field. Once the rotor reaches its rated speed, FAN VOLTAGE SPEED the auxiliary phase can be disconnected. FAN VOLTAGE Observing the gray rotor coil, the current in C SPEED CURRENT changes rapidly, going through zero. The rotor magFAN VOLTAGE CURRENT net is established inSTILL the gray coil through induction. At that time, A is positive and Not A is negative, and SPEED the rotor will move counterclockwise. After 90º, C is Warm and Fuzzy Fuzzy logic can extend traditional binary logic. A heater control application demonstrates the method. Go to ControlDesign.com/fuzzy. negative and Not C is positive. At the same time, the CURRENT current in A changes rapidly, and reestablishes the Algebraic Solution Beats Fuzzy Logic rotor magnet. A circuit diagram (Figure 6) shows the Non-linear, tunable PI controller provides improved performance in closed-loop control application. Go to ControlDesign.com/algebraic. connections for a single-phase induction motor. SLOW DOWNGenerators WITH HAND STANDSTILL RELEASE The DC motors in figures 1 and 2 already have been presented as DC generators. Indeed, some current BACK AT FULL SPEED Closed-Loop PID Algorithms in Motion/Motor Control ripple exists as commutation takes place. This is true for both motor and generator. The synchronous motor in Figure 3 needs no modification to run as a generator. In motor mode, current Differential feed forward can be used for numerical controls, or integral feed backward can be used for trajectory control of motion. Go to ControlDesign.com/algorithms. flows from the source into the stator windings, and the 56 Control Design March 2008 CD0803_45_56_Drives.indd 56 www.controldesign.com 2/26/08 12:14:26 PM PROOF IS IN THE TUNING High Performance is NOT an Option . . . It’s Standard with Sigma-5 Servos OEM Production Enhancements End-User Performance Benefits • Ship Machines Faster • Innovative and Compact Design • Fast Machine Setup • Reduced Commissioning Time • Minimal Start-up Support Required • Lowered Total Cost of Ownership Celebrating 50 Years of Servo Technology 1-800-YASKAWA • www.yaskawa.com SERVOMOTORS • MOTION CONTROLLERS • AC INVERTER DRIVES • ROBOTICS CD0803_FPA.indd 57 The Drive for Quality™ 2/25/08 3:40:30 PM A Machine Renaissance Shrink Wrapper OEM Maximizes Design Flexibility With a PC-Based Controls and Ethernet Solution That Teaches Users How to Operate the Machines by Joe Morrissey, Conflex The Renaissance period spanning from the 14th to 17th centuries was a period of rebirth—cultural enlightenment and learning—in western Europe. These days, the term is applied to everything from government to education, and most certainly to technology. Our company, Conflex, a builder of shrink-wrapping machines, has undergone what many of us refer to as a renaissance. In 2005, Conflex began its own rebirth by substantially redesigning each machine in the product line and continued redesigning machines through the end of 2007. The company’s Modular CW and ServoFlex lines have undergone a complete mechanical and electrical redesign (Figure 1). Conflex Conflex wrapping machines are tailored to the food, consumer goods, electronic media and printing industries, among others. Typical applications for our machines include wrapping for frozen foods, bulk packaging for club stores, CD and DVD packaging and the packaging of household products and toys. Most of our builds are standard machines for the extreme makeover Figure 1: The ServoFlex line had a complete mechanical and electrical redesign and now performs better, is more flexible to program and can teach operators how to use the machine with automated instruction. particular industry, but we also develop custom infeeds that connect to our machines to offer customers last servo moves the seal head back and forth in a fly- different ways to feed their product into our machines. ing saw fashion. The seal head matches the speed of “Tough competitors in our field also are promoting the latest and greatest technologies, but ease-of-use also is a must-have.” the discharge belt and then places the seal in an exact location by sensing the gaps between packages. With our company motto—“Flexible people make flexible systems” —in mind, we sought a controls system that could deliver true application flexibility to customers in these diverse industries. Over the past Coordinated Motion five or so years, our customers had been asking our The ServoFlex wrappers use a DC motor to drive the industry’s machine builders for increased flexibility, infeed portion of the machine and all three servo faster changeovers and easier operation, troubleshoot- motors follow the speed of this motor. The film feed ing and remote connectivity capability. and vacuum belt are run off a servo. Servo motion is “All of Conflex’s customers demand user-friendly well-suited for exact bag sizing—particularly for print machines with intuitive interfaces,” adds Mark Lorenz, registered applications. The discharge belt is driven Conflex electrical applications engineer. “New technol- by a servo that runs either faster, slower or the same ogy is a critical factor for us. Tough competitors in our speed as this vacuum belt so the individual packages field also are promoting the latest and greatest tech- can either bunch or pull away from each other. The nologies, but ease-of-use also is a must-have.” 58 Control Design March 2008 CD0803_58_63_MachineCT.indd 58 www.controldesign.com 2/25/08 2:41:23 PM machine c ontrol Choose Action, Not Buzz When servo technology started generating a high level of industry buzz in the early 2000s, Conflex was one of the first companies to successfully incorporate it in shrink-wrapping machines. Today, as open, PC-based control and industrial Ethernet technologies make a similar commotion in our industry, Conflex is at the forefront to actually do something with it. In particular, the ServoFlex film seal wrapper has been through dramatic changes since its previous incarnation. “The old ServoFlex design used numerous intelligent drives that handled the automation and motion control aspects of the machine,” says Lorenz. Conflex “The required programming time for multiple drive controllers really irritated us. This was a three-servo system, and each axis had a controller that had to be individually programmed.” The drives weren’t equipped for Ethernet connectivity either, which hampered needed networking requirements. Adding or removing I/O further complicated the problem. “If even a single I/O point failed in the intelligent drive system, we’d have to replace entire boards,” Simpler means sophisticated Figure 2: Conflex uses embedded PCs with TwinCat handling all PLC functions and motion control on a single device. openness and flexibility we wanted, the Beckhoff system costs much less than the other vendor’s system.” We considered using standard PC components, but adds Lorenz. “It also was very expensive to replace we didn’t consider them industrial enough, and we the drives themselves whenever we had a failure. It would have had to use several suppliers to get all the became apparent that to be flexible and better manage needed components. our controls, we needed a new solution.” From January 2006 onward, Conflex designed and built the revamped ServoFlex machines using the Eleventh-Hour Transformation CX1020 embedded PC with 1 GHz Celeron M ULV In late 2005, we had made what we thought was our processor and TwinCat motion control software as the final decision on a new platform from a major automa- main control platform (Figure 2). tion and controls vendor. “It was an acceptable motion “With this hardware/software combination, we han- controller with PLC functionality but didn’t have all dle all PLC functions and motion control on a single the programming and design flexibility we hoped for,” device,” says Lorenz. “The new ServoFlex horizontal recalls Lorenz. “We just accepted that we had to put form, fill and seal wrapper is a four-axis system—one more time and effort into the design than was ideal.” master axis with three slave axes. It delivers continu- We planned to order our controllers the following Monday. Don Seicther, Beckhoff Automation’s (beckhoff.com) Wisconsin regional sales manager, called us the Friday before and explained how the Beckhoff ous motion at up to 100 ft of film per minute with an advanced, reciprocating, hot-knife seal system.” We found several of the programming libraries in TwinCat particularly helpful. “The Flying Saw code product line might be able to help us. We learned about Beckhoff’s DIN-rail-mounted embedded PC and IEC 61131-3-compliant automation and motion control software. “The solution turned out to be exactly what we were looking for and allowed us to create our ideal electrical controls system,” says Lorenz. “We were impressed enough that we decided to make a major course change at the last possible Draw your own line Conflex had confidence in its migration to a PCbased control scheme. What would your strategy be if some of your customers were uneasy about leaving well-understood legacy controls behind? Look for comments—add your own—on this issue at ControlDesign.com/renaissance. minute. With the perfect technological match with the www.controldesign.com CD0803_58_63_MachineCT.indd 59 March 2008 Control Design 59 2/26/08 1:31:09 PM machine c ontrol D-Subminiature Power Connectors FCI offers PCB and cable connectors providing either power or a mix of power and signal contacts. Right-angle and vertical PCB connectors are available with options for solder or press-fit termination. Cable solutions accept solder-bucket or crimp power contacts and include a variety of backshell and accessory options. The robust, shielded D-Sub form factor is ideal for Power I/O solutions in communications, industrial, and medical equipment. www.fciconnect.com/dsub Flex Circuit Connectors are ideal for FFC/FPC/CIC cable-to-board connections. FCI offers many innovative features such as front- and back-flip actuators and ZIF with cable pre-hold. The connectors employ reliable gas tight high-pressure contact systems. Choose from zero insertion force (ZIF) or non-ZIF cable insertion, straight or right-angle cable entry, and surfacemount or through-hole PCB termination, with or without cable lock alignment systems. www.fciconnect.com/flex library saved us time and effort film. This allows for a very profes- by providing pre-written software sional-looking finished product for functions to achieve a great deal the end user. “The EL5101 EtherCat of our motion programming,” says Terminal is an interface for the Lorenz. “On the ServoFlex, a vac- direct connection of incremental uum conveyor holds the wrapper encoders with differential/RS485 film and leads it to the sealing area inputs,” says Seicther. “A 16-bit that features a reciprocating mo- counter with a quadrature decoder tion. We have to hit a very specific and a 16-bit latch for the zero “The required programming time for multiple drive controllers really irritated us. This was a three-servo system, and each axis had a controller that had to be individually programmed.” mark on the film, so the Flying Saw pulse can be read, set or enabled. program handles the sealing mo- Incremental encoders with alarm tion of the knife moving back and outputs can be connected at the forth on the machine. A pneumatic interface’s status input.” Interval cylinder closes a sealing jaw while measurement with a resolution of the cut is made. Built-in libraries 500 ns is possible, he says for PID temperature control for the available compared with our imposed move for print registra- previous I/O board challenge,” tion functions are huge time savers says Lorenz. “We only buy the in our area of packaging.” points we need and can replace as Any controller we use must fc566 CD 11-12_07 Sat Strip AF.i1 1 CD0803_58_63_MachineCT.indd 60 needed, one I/O card at a time. The provide very fast control of the simple, direct I/O connection to film-cutting knife to exactly the embedded PC made this deci- match the speed of the incoming sion that much easier.” wrapper film. EtherCat helped The main objectives of the Con- ramp up our control speed on the flex machinery renaissance were to ServoFlex machines. “In addition build a better performing machine to performance, we had to choose and to make it more flexible and a fieldbus that will be supported easier for manufacturers to operate. well into the future and won’t Minitek™ 2mm and BergStik®, Dubox™, PV® & Quickie® 2.54mm Modular Systems from FCI include a broad range of board-to-board, wire-to-board and flat cable connectors to support requirements for parallel, co-planar or perpendicular connections in electronic equipment or devices. The FCI connector families include unshrouded and shrouded pin headers, crimp contacts and insulators, flat cable IDC receptacles, board-mounted receptacles, and shunts. Check our easy part number selection online at www.fciconnect.com/basics. “We have the best solution machine’s film heaters and super- To emphasize the learning as- go obsolete in a few years,” adds pect of a renaissance, the ServoFlex Lorenz. “Conflex customers also HMI includes detailed instructional enjoy remote diagnostic capabili- programs that literally can teach ties for troubleshooting via stan- users how to operate them (Figure dard Ethernet connectivity with 3). Operators can view demonstra- the EtherCat-equipped machines.” tion videos detailing machine The ServoFlex uses some setup, film threading, trouble- EtherCat I/O terminals to develop shooting and other how-to videos. built-in special latching functions These videos are very helpful when for hardware interrupt. The latch companies have to deal with high input is significant since it syn- operator turnover. Troubleshoot- chronizes the machine cutting and ing guides, electrical schematics sealing operations to the printed and machine part drawings can be 60 Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 10/8/07 9:31:47 AM 2/25/08 2:42:17 PM 2.0mm & 2.54mm MODULAR SYSTEMS CABLE ASSEMBLIES COMPACT FLASH D-SUB FFC-FPC HARD METRIC MICROTCATM MODULAR JACK PCI EXPRESS® PC CARDTM SATA SD/MMC CARD READER SMART CARD USB+POWER YOUR LINE NEEDS OUR LINE. FCI Connectors for Industrial & Instrumentation Applications. Known for innovative high-speed and power connector designs, FCI offers an extensive range of reliable interconnect solutions and outstanding technical support for industrial applications. To explore how FCI can help you with your next industrial design, visit www.fciconnect.com or call 1.800.237.2374. fc565 CD 11-12/07 Industrial App1 1 CD0803_FPA.indd 61 10/8/07 9:34:20 AM 2/25/08 11:12:27 AM machine c ontrol new operating systems could even overwhelm the processors. They wonder if a migration could be forced when the OS no longer is supported, and that could happen much earlier than they want. With this Beckhoff system, we might be tied to a Microsoft OS, but the OS provides the advantage of direct access to databases, raw TCP/IP functionality and direct access to PLCs from HMI implementations, to name a few elements. A CONFLEX traditional rack-mount PLC would require an expensive add-on card or an additional PC to run software to support these elements. Watch and Learn Figure 3: The HMI software is unlike virtually any other in the industry with onboard instructional videos to train machine operators. When adding these other pieces to a rack- mount PLC you are, in our judgment, not only adding more viewed, as well. “We run Windows the HMI software is also running points of failure to the system, but CE on the embedded PCs, and on the CF card, customers can find adding unnecessary cost. we were able to create a human- a replacement display very easily machine interface (HMI) that is without reloading any software if system overhead is a valid concern unlike any other in the industry,” a backlight fails on our integrated when running a “user level” applica- claims Lorenz. “It’s something that monitors,” says Lorenz. tion on top of any OS. On Windows We’ve heard that operating- XP Pro and XP Embedded based couldn’t be done easily using con- The Microsoft Dilemma? systems TwinCat doesn’t modify Some machine builders are the OS—it provides a kernel-level, ded PCs is that all the software concerned about whether us- real-time package that can run I/O resides on a CompactFlash (CF) ing PC-based controls ties you to and PLC functions deterministically card, so changes can be made very companies such as Microsoft, and to 50 µs. With WinCE-based sys- easily in the field if needed. “Since whether additional overheads in tems, Beckhoff tells us that TwinCat ventional controls platforms.” An added bonus of these embed- CD0803_58_63_MachineCT.indd 62 2/26/08 1:32:01 PM ControlDesignAd1_17_08.qxd 1/18/08 10:37 AM machine c ontrol takes advantage of the inherent and we all learned quite a bit to- real-time nature of that OS and can gether as engineers in our techni- run I/O and PLC tasks down to 100 cal discussions,” says Lorenz. “Our µs. This means you can run every- machines now are better suited thing from high-speed I/O tasks to to integrate more seamlessly into standard PLC logic to complicated lines with machines from a variety motion control. of manufacturers and extract data “We only buy the points we need and can replace as needed, one I/O card at a time. The simple, direct I/O connection to the embedded PC made this decision that much easier.” Renaissance on Repeat from the entire line. The Ethernet With the majority of the Conflex capability is a huge benefit for our redesigns complete, we now offer customers and helps us deliver the smaller machine footprints, more most flexible machines possible.” competitive system costs, greater The controls replacement cost flexibility and faster machine on Conflex machines has been delivery. “Before 2006, Conflex ma- highly optimized. “The old drive chines had four separate control system with integrated intelli- devices, each with bits and pieces gence cost about triple what we’re of code for the machine spread paying for a Beckhoff system that throughout,” reminds Lorenz. does more work. “Now we have one device on our With the kind of success we machines that contains all of our experienced on the ServoFlex programming. This is a much line, we’ve incorporated this more streamlined approach.” approach into our AdvantEdge TwinCat proved to be a highly series of servo-driven, side-seal flexible environment for Conflex wrappers, and will be expanding machine programming. “We can the solution into other machine use a standard set of programs lines to fully apply our enhanced for three different models of PC-based control expertise. machines that vary depending on Down the road we expect this the application,” says Lorenz. “We HMI and connectivity approach choose the appropriate program to to lead us into providing value- match our customer’s application adds such as machines that would when the system boots up. In a monitor parts due for replacement few hours we can make immediate and send an order back to us when modular design changes that pre- it’s time. The replacement part viously would take up to several could be sent to the customer for a weeks of cumbersome work.” just-in-time delivery. In our judg- To make sure that changes took ment, the sky’s the limit when it a minimal amount of time while comes to what a Windows-based learning a new system, Conflex system can provide. took full advantage of the engineering support available to them. Joe Morrissey is product manager for “Beckhoff support always is avail- Germantown, Wis.-based Conflex. Learn able to assist with our questions more about Conflex at conflex.com. www.controldesign.com CD0803_58_63_MachineCT.indd 63 Go Lean with Brady B-593 Raised Panel Labels March 2008 Control Design � Right Time – Manage inventory flow with Just-in-Time printing � Right Place – Custom legend plates when and where you need them � Right Quantity – Reduce materials waste by creating labels on demand Get professional legend plates with aggressive adhesives and the quality of durable Brady materials. Contact Brady for your free B-593 sample pack and a brochure by visiting www.bradyid.com/593sample or by calling 1-888-250-3090. Refer to key code 8mb593. UL 969 and CULC22.2 No. 0.15-01 compliant. 63 2/25/08 2:43:08 PM Before installing machines in hazardous loosen that limit accessibility, and cost. Explosion- areas, all sorts of horrific possibilities become proof enclosures cost much more than a similarly part of the design consideration to ensure a safe sized general-purpose enclosure.” operation. Certain machines are inherently vola- because it views them as a simple, rugged solution what the machine produces. Gluing and printing for electrical components in hazardous locations. machines come to mind as those that require Loren Shaum An alternative protection method, acceptable in adherence to certain hazard standards. However, many of the same applications, involves purging or any machine installation in hazardous environ- pressurizing the enclosure. “The words purge and ments must be adapted specifically to that classi- pressurization commonly are used interchange- fied environment to assure inherent safety. ably,” says Quick. “Purging actually describes In most North American quarters, there are multiple exchanges of enclosure volumes of air re- two schools of thought. quired in Zone 1 and Class 1 applications to expel 1. Buy explosion-proof equipment, but risk much gases and vapors. Pressurization is the subsequent higher control costs than might be necessary. 2. Buy more-conventional equipment and purge to keep a hazardous atmosphere away from the control devices. “To make the right choice, the normal function- action of supplying a positive pressure of an inert gas or instrument-quality air to keep combustible substances from entering the enclosure.” Purge/pressurization systems permit the use of general-purpose enclosures in hazardous loca- ing of the apparatus and the eventual malfunc- tions where this protection method is allowed. By tioning of the apparatus due to faulty components purging, says Quick, the area classification inside “Purged or pressurized enclosures require constant pressure from inert gases, which could leak or become over-pressurized.” must be considered,” says Chris Romano, product manager at Pepperl+Fuchs (P+F, us.pepperl-fuchs. the enclosure is reduced (Div. 1 to Div. 2, Div. 2 to non-hazardous), which might allow use of lowercost components. In addition, pressurized airflow reduces moisture and corrosion on internal components, the enclosures are much more accessible, and multiple enclosures can be connected in line with a single purge/pressurization system. The enclosure must have a certain degree com). “Moreover, all those conditions that can of tightness. However, there are no particular occur accidentally, such as a short circuit, open mechanical requirements because the pressure circuit, grounding and erroneous wiring of the supported is not very high. In installations requir- connecting cables, must be evaluated.” ing large electrical apparatuses or control panels Explosion-proof enclosures usually are heavy, where the dimensions and high-energy levels cast enclosures that use a multitude of bolts to se- make it impractical to use an explosion-proof cure the cover. “They are designed to contain an enclosure, purging often is the only answer. explosion inside the enclosure and prevent flame “The method’s disadvantages include the re- transmission to the area outside the enclosure,” quirement for an inert-gas supply, some moving says Matthew Piecuch, Adalet sales and market- parts, alarm and monitoring requirements that ing manager (adalet.com). might require electronics and electrical power, One advantage of explosion-proof enclosures is they can be used in almost any hazardous location application, says Greg Quick, product manager, and the purge system typically is mounted to the outside of an enclosure,” says Quick. “Purged or pressurized enclosures require con- Hoffman (hoffman.com). “They also are low main- stant pressure from inert gases, which could leak tenance and typically do not involve additional or become over-pressurized,” cautions Piecuch. electronics or moving parts,” he adds. “Some “Proper ventilation and airflow also needs to be disadvantages, however, include their excessive considered with purge or pressurization, and this weight and bulkiness, all those bolts to tighten and can also fail or become compromised.” 64 CD0803_64_Techflash.indd 64 Adalet recommends explosion-proof enclosures tile because of the materials incorporated into • contributing editor • lshaum@putman.net techflash Make Controls Kaboom-Proof Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 2/22/08 10:08:42 AM Above-Average LVDT Growth Leads the Way in Sensor Market A recent market study by lic cylinders and are particularly CYLINDER POSITION SENSOR Venture Development Corp. useful for long strokes. Growth BIM-UNT universal magnetic- (vdc-corp.com) reveals the North of these sensors is expected to field sensor detects the position American market for linear be at an above-average rate over of a piston on standard pneu- displacement sensors including the next five years, with the matic cylinders via magnetore- encoders, linear variable dif- highest growth-rate expecta- sistive, board-level technology ferential transformers (LVDTs), tions for use in metalworking, laser systems, magnetostrictive, assembly/robotics equipment potentiometers, capacitive, in- and valve applications. ductive and ultrasonic products The highest growth rates in the VDC study are for laser sys- VDC says the largest market for tems at 10% and capacitive linear LVDTs is for military/aerospace displacement sensors at 8%. The applications. These devices do markets for both are small, but and has a sensing face in the well in harsh environments; each is expected to grow since front of the sensor to help they have only one moving part users are seeking higher accura- detect short-stroke cylinders. and little friction between the cies, which these provide. This The sensor comes with a quick moving ferromagnetic core and is particularly the case in the mount tab that helps seat the the cylinder in which it moves. semiconductor and electronics sensor in the cylinder’s groove. LVDTs are used in automa- industries, where more precise Turck; 800/544-7769; turck-usa.com shrinking the size of electronics. • engineering, power generation, cdroundup@putman.net TRUE COLORs manufacturing, metal stamping/forming, OEM, pulp and TRue SUPPRESSION E3X-DAC white LED fiberoptic paper, industrial valves, R&D Tru-Vue photoelectric back- sensor detects true colors in and test and automotive. ground-suppression sensors marks and workpieces inde- have a 50-mm sensing range pendent of light intensity and com) says be mindful that and deliver target detection sensing distance variations. LVDTs might operate at excita- regardless of target color and The 10-mm-wide amplifier tion amplitudes and frequen- reflectivity, with detection unaf- unit processes color detection cies other than those listed by fected by shiny background ob- through an RGB light-receiving the manufacturer. Also, stay jects, and eliminate the expense element. One-touch teaching National Instruments (ni. within the recommended travel new products editor measurement capabilities enable • tion machinery, civil/structural Patti Pool totaled $339 million in 2006. PRODUCT ROUNDUP Positioning Solutions Abound simplifies setup for high-speed specification of your LVDT, and beware of excitation-signal cross-talk between channels. A tutorial from Macro Sensors (macrosensors.com) lists several other reasons why you should consider LVDTs. They include infinite resolution, over-travel damage-resistance, and installation of reflectors or single-axis sensitivity, sepa- through-beam alignment. They rable coil and core, null-point have a 4-in-1 output that auto- packaging and sorting, and repeatability, fast dynamic matically detects the connected electronics packaging including response and absolute output. load and sinks or sources. small parts and fine wires. Pepperl+Fuchs; 330/486-0001; Omron Electronics; 866/88-omron; am.pepperl-fuchs.com omron247.com These sensors find extensive use with pneumatic and hydrauwww.controldesign.com CD0803_65_70_Roundup.indd 65 March 2008 Control Design 65 2/25/08 2:29:45 PM PRODUCT ROUNDUP SURFACE-MOUNT RTD drop, the output is magnetically for each measurement cycle. SA1-RTD surface-mount tem- isolated. The devices are UL, The ball-bearing tip eliminates perature sensor mounts on flat cUL and CE approved. wear and abrasion damage or curved surfaces and pro- AutomationDirect; 770/889-2858; from contact with high-speed vides Class A accuracy. Based automationdirect.com moving target surfaces. on a 2x2x0.8-mm thin-film Keyence Corp. of America; platinum RTD and supplied in 888/539-3623; keyence.com PFA-insulated 3 or 4-wire con- 18-MM SENSORS figurations in 1, or 3 m lengths S51 18-mm sensors in throughbeam, retro-reflective, polar- For Restricted Areas ized retro-reflective and diffuse MagRes compact, self-con- modes have a flat, cylindrical tained, absolute multi-turn housing that offers mounting encoder’s high-density housing choices using traditional 18-mm has two M12 input and output locking nuts or by direct-mount- plugs for integration into Pro- ing with two-through holes. The fibus-DP systems where space is tight. It has 13-bit resolution in single-turn models and or custom lengths with selfadhesive backing or permanent mounting, the RTDs can be used for monitoring motor and transformer core heat and test mounting-hole configuration insulation capabilities. makes it possible to replace Omega Engineering; 203/359-1660; many non-threaded sensors. omega.com S51 sensors have a sensitivity 16-bit in multi-turn versions. It adjustment and a variety of measures 58-mm diameter and output configurations. 42-mm deep. IDEC; 800/262-4332; idec-ds.com Baumer Electric; 800/937-9336; They’re CURRENT ACT current transducers, in baumerelectric.com split and fixed-core models, have jumper-selectable current IN-LINE MEASUREMENT inputs and 4-20 mA or 0-10 Vdc GT all-in-one integrated contact Sensing and More outputs. Split-core models make sensor for height and thickness Vibration switch is a low-cost, using portable data loggers measurements requires no self-contained monitoring easier, and simple connection external PLC or external data enables power consumption or processing. Designed for auto- other motor status display. For matic in-line measurement, the safety and to eliminate voltage IP67-rated GT has a linear ballbearing spindle tip that pneumatically extends and retracts system for rotating or reciprocating equipment, providing alarm or shutdown if excessive vibration levels are reached. All sensing and electronic components are included in the standalone switch with an alarm LED. It has an integral re- 66 CD0803_65_70_Roundup.indd 66 Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 2/25/08 2:30:08 PM Switch Safely guard Short Distances with both normally open and PSen non-contact, magnetic S300 safety laser scanner for normally closed contacts. safety switches have a 12-mm applications where the hazard- Hardy Instruments; 800/821-5831; diameter and measure switch- ous area is less than 2 m. It hardyinstruments.com ing distances of 8 or 15 mm. has low power consumption An additional signal contact is available to display the Ethernet Solution Temposonics R-series EtherCat sensor overcomes bandwidth and node limitations found in commercial networks. It’s available with one to five position status of the safety switch via for oncoming fork detection on a connected PLC. Approved to AGVs or safeguarding workers Category 4 of EN 954-1, PL “e” of in the path of manned forklifts ISO 13849-1 and SIL 2 of EN IEC and transfer cars. It has a 270° magnets and can be customized 62061, the switches are suitable scanning angle. to document position, veloc- where it is difficult to align Sick; 952/941-9287; sickusa.com ity and acceleration, as well as machine gates precisely or with custom smart functionality. high levels of vibration. MTS Systems Corp.; 919/677-0100; Pilz Automation Safety; Safe Braking mtssensors.com 734/354-0272; pilz.com LazerSafe LZS-003-HS safe- PRODUCT ROUNDUP lay to provide failsafe operation guarding system developed for hydraulic press brakes Fiberoptic Sensor Handles Agression makes complex bends with FX-100 Series fiberoptic sen- Osiprox inductive cylindrical a minimum of settings while sor is 9-mm wide with inte- maintaining press speeds. Two grated mounting holes. It has a flat bands of 40-mm-wide laser dual digital display for simple light continuously monitor the setup and automatic pushbutton zone below the punch. It can teaching and external input ca- sensors were developed for extreme temperatures, humidity, and equipment washdowns using chemical agents. With IP67, IP68, and IP69 ratings, pabilities. It has threshold track- these sensors, cables, casing ing, timers, LED attenuation and and front face are built with detect obstructions to 4 mm, interference prevention. FDA-approved materials. while remaining tolerant to Panasonic Electric Works Corp. Schneider Electric Sensor inherent vibration. of America; 908/464-3550; pewa. Competency Center; 800/435-2121; Honeywell Wintriss Controls; panasonic.com sesensors.com 800/586-8324; wintriss.com www.controldesign.com CD0803_65_70_Roundup.indd 67 March 2008 Control Design 67 2/25/08 2:30:31 PM PRODUCT ROUNDUP Miniature and Mighty TIGHT SPACES MT miniature photoelectric AST4100 OEM pressure sen- sensors for industrial machine sor has 0.875-in. diameter and applications are available in stainless steel construction of polarized-reflective, diffuse- the header and housing makes reflective, and through-beam it suited for corrosive environ- modes. Each sensor measures 12x33 mm, has sensitivity adjustment, a yellow LED for for linear motion and off-axis output indication, a green LED rotational measurement in for stability indication and an industrial drives, x-y stages or M8 4-pole connector. electronic motors. A system- ASI; 877/650-5160; asi-ez.com on-a-chip, combining Hall elements and a signal processor ments with pressure ranges has incremental measurement Reduce Setup 0-25 to 0-10,000 psi. Units are with a resolution to 14 μm per Series 9000 photoelectric sen- available in compound ranges, position step. sors use ASIC technology for as well as in bar and Kg/cm2 Austriamicrosystems; +43(0)3136 added functionality. 42GSP-9000 outputs. Outputs include 10 mV/ 500 5856; austriamicrosystems.com V, 0.5-4.5 V ratiometric, 1-5 V, 1-6 V, 0.25-5 V or 4-20 mA. American Sensor Technologies; POSITION SENSORS 973/398-9900; astsensors.com RS 1500-120 fractional-turn, contactless rotary position sensors measure angular displace- HALL EFFECT SENSOR ment of quarter-turn ball and Model 9360 non-contacting butterfly valves, air flow damp- rotary, dual-output Hall effect has a teach function that sensor has 360° rotation and eliminates manual adjustment is suited for high-vibration of sensitivity. 42GLP contains a manual adjustment potentiometer to adjust sensor sensitivity. Rockwell Automation; 414/382-2000; rockwellautomation. com ers and diverter gates used in Laser World packaging machines. Available World-Beam QS18LD laser environments. Electrical angle with a 24 Vdc input and 0-10 diffuse and QS18LLP laser ret- is 0-359.9°. Operating tem- Vdc output, or a two-wire, 4-20 roreflective sensors use visible perature is -40–85 ºC. Accuracy mA loop-powered transmitter Class 1 lasers and tightly col- is +/-0.6% FS. The sensor is I/O. limated sensing beams. They ISO9001 and TSI6949 certified. Macro Sensors; 856/662-8000; also have extended sensing Duncan Electronics; 949/341-9500; astsensors.com ranges. QS18LD senses targets beiduncan.com 300 mm away, while QS18LLP RTDs delivers retroreflective sensing up to 10 m. LINEAR MOTION ENCODER Line of RTD sensors can be con- Banner Engineering; 888/373-6767; AS5305 magnetic linear mo- figured with options including bannerengineering.com tion encoder IC is designed element type, lead-wire con- 68 CD0803_65_70_Roundup.indd 68 Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 2/25/08 2:30:52 PM of a few tenths to 2% over the Model HSE-1 evaluator moni- selected sensor’s full operating tors and logs key parameters range and works with Win- of resistive and hybrid-capac- dows 2000/XP/Vista. itive humidity sensors via a Ohmic Instruments; 410/820-5111; USB port. Its screen displays ohmicinstruments.com relative humidity, dry-bulb and dew-point temperature readings. Users can display and PYROELECTRIC INFRARED log selectable functions of 12 DigiPyro PYD 1988 and 1978 figuration, termination style, different sensors. The evalu- digital photoelectric infrared sheath materials, lengths and ator has a display resolution sensors for industrial motion- diameters, process connection sensing applications have heads, transmitters, thermow- window-detection sizes of ells, spring loading, flanges and 4.60x3.4 mm 2 and 3x4 mm 2, surface mount packages. Oper- dual-element design, standard ating range is -200–650 °C. The three-pin TO-5 metal housing, linear change in resistance per 15-bit output direct link, and degree change in temperature infrared window transmission. allows for less complex instru- They have low EMI sensitivity mentation and requires no cold and are RoHS-compliant. junction compensation. PerkinElmer Optoelectronics; Watlow; 314/878-4600; watlow.com 877/pki-nyse; perkinelemer.com CD0803_65_70_Roundup.indd 69 PRODUCT ROUNDUP HUMIDITY SENSOR EVALUATOR 2/26/08 1:33:31 PM PRODUCT ROUNDUP CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK offer visual and output signal measurement of whole body IP68-rated Gemco 953S VMax diagnostic feedback. motion immediately after the linear displacement transducer Ametek Automation & Process accelerometer is subjected to a provides continuous position Technologies; 800/635-0289; shock motion and the presence feedback and has up to 1 µm ametekapt.com of severe vibration inputs. Gas damping and internal over- resolution and stable position range stops enable its anisotro- feedback for cable runs 1,200 ft from the host controller. CAPACITY TO ACCELERATE pically etched, silicon sensing 953A (analog), 953D (digital) Model 7290D variable ca- element to withstand high and 953S (SSI) LDTs have ac- pacitance accelerometer has shock and acceleration loads. tive measuring range to 300 onboard, microprocessor-based Endevco; 949/295-5515; in., and power supply voltages temperature compensation endevco.com ranging 7–30 Vdc. Analog out- for high thermal stability for put units offer programmable measurement of relatively low- zero and span, and all units level acceleration that requires MORE, MORE, MORE To see an expanded roundup including items from sensor manufacturers EMX, FCI, Heidenhain, ifm efector, Migatron, Moore, Optec and Raytek, browse to ControlDesign.com/ roundupsarchive. Were You Featured In This Magazine? Reprints enable you to reuse your article and simply place it into the hands of your target audience. Having been featured in a well-respected publication adds the credibility of a third-party endorsement to your message. • Sales Aids • Recruitment Tools • Secured ePrints • Trade Show Handouts • Media Kit Supplements • Educational Programs • Employee Training • Sales Presentations • Conference Materials • Direct Mail Campaigns AD Products - The Smart CD0803_65_70_Roundup.indd 70 Choice SM FosteReprints 866.879.9144 sales@fostereprints.com 2/25/08 2:31:27 PM What Are the Choices on Enclosures? ments and overhead of creating a custom enclo- designed for each application, and in many cases sure and meet your and your customers’ needs. we find that off-the-shelf enclosures won’t work. That said, because creating a custom enclo- Although the major enclosure manufacturers tout sure can be costly and time-consuming, you their ability to build custom panels, we haven’t should exhaust all available resources in locat- been happy with their prices, delivery or service. ing a standard, off-the-shelf enclosure from Are there better alternatives? any supplier that can meet your needs. Off-the- —from January ‘08 Control Design shelf enclosures should be a stock item with a reasonable price tag. Then evaluate the best direction, based on your findings. There always will be a trade-off between using standard or Meet Needs First custom enclosures. But some applications are Custom panels might still be the best alterna- unique, and only a custom enclosure will do. In tive, but when you buy from the larger enclo- this case, a high price tag might be unavoidable. sure manufacturers, expect to pay a premium, Brian Alvarado, product manager, especially if your required quantities aren’t Pepperl+Fuchs, us.pepperl-fuchs.com large or consistent. If only a custom enclosure will fit your needs, then look at smaller, more Think in Modules customer-driven suppliers that might be willing As a manufacturer of custom equipment who to be competitive in price to gain your business. has visited several major enclosure manufac- This takes research, and you’ll find different turers and collaborated with their associates cabinet suppliers might suit your needs better, over 20 years, I can report that these companies so investigate as many sources as possible. routinely pass off or toss out the majority of To optimize your efforts and reduce costs, custom-enclosure inquiries they receive be- proper forecasting and planning will let you place cause they know they’re not in the best position a large enough order to satisfy the cost require- to satisfy these applications. RealAnswers@putman.net ANSWERS real answers Our packaging machines are custom Alternatives can be found by searching for MAY’S PROBLEM “custom metal enclosures” in your favorite search We’re thinking about upgrading to digital networks on our machines for communications among the controller, I/O, sensors and maybe drives. We’re concerned about diagnosing network faults and monitoring network performance on the machine. Are there software and hardware tools we will need to install directly on our machines? Which handheld tools can our techs and our customers’ techs use to check out digital networks? How much training should we expect our support personnel will need? will return mostly results for car and home-stereo SEND US YOUR COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS OR SOLUTIONS FOR THIS PROBLEM. We’ll include it in the May ’08 issue, and post it on ControlDesign.com. Send visuals if you’d like—a sketch is fine. E-mail us at RealAnswers@putman.net. Please include your company, location and title in the response. sures are attained by mass production, which re- engine. Avoid the term “custom enclosure,” which speaker boxes. You’ll find a half-dozen or so qualified companies scattered around the country, each with a slightly different methodology for manufacturing an enclosure to your exact specifications. However, while you might gain some added satisfaction on service and delivery from custom enclosure manufacturers, prices will be much higher than standard enclosures due to the limited, if not one-off, volume you’re requesting. Fast delivery and low prices for standard enclo- HAVE A PROBLEM YOU’D LIKE TO POSE to the readers? Send it along, too. quires no engineering or programming and little or no human interface once the design is finalized. By contrast, a custom enclosure often requires intense development, depending on how much modification you require and how many similarities between each variation of the enclosure are incorporated. The key to your future satisfaction will be harmonization and compartmentalization of www.controldesign.com CD0803_71_72_RealAnswrs.indd 71 March 2008 Control Design 71 2/25/08 2:36:22 PM use of 3-D CAD models com- your supplier. Think of building pressed the time from idea to blocks or modules that can be reality in custom enclosure reused to eliminate as much manufacturing. Using 3-D modeling soft- engineering and design effort as possible. Then, use standard ware, manufacturers can enclosures where possible, and take customer information, stack on custom pieces where convert to CNC machine code needed. The result will be and produce the part from the minimalized engineering and original data supplied by the production costs that you can use to maintain competitive pricing and sustain a reasonable degree of aesthetic value. MIKE BAUCOM, executive director, Bebco Industries, okbebco.com 3-D Modeling Streamlines the Process Historically, it was panel STAHLIN REAL ANSWERS your designs, regardless of customer. Custom sizes can be CUSTOM DRILLED Custom enclosures for Paneltronics are modified with additional holes and silkscreening. produced easily using the hand lay-up process. In this way, the manufacturer serves as an extension of the customer’s own manufacturing capabilities fied standard enclosures were and helps to reduce redundant not something most enclosure paperwork and streamline the manufacturers engaged in. entire idea-to-reality manufac- The growth and use of builders or other custom computer-controlled CNC equip- manufacturers that provided ment, advances in composite- this service. Custom or modi- resin technology and increased turing process. MIKE JACKSON, product marketing manager, Stahlin Enclosures, stahlin.com Save up to 50% Off! • • • • • CD0803_71_72_RealAnswrs.indd 72 Save up to 50% off Same day ship-out on most items Thousands of enclosures in stock Custom modifications available New products added frequently • • • • • Stainless steel Fiberglass Painted steel Non-metallic Polycarbonate 2/25/08 2:36:35 PM exclusive Tiny Sensors Bring New Possibilities You hear the constant drumbeat. Machine footprints must get smaller, while overall machine performance, functionality and flexibility expand just as quickly. That means control system components, even at the sensor level, have to follow suit because there’s less free space for device mounting and required access. Balluff recognizes these new design imperatives. The company has introduced SuperShorties, a new family of short inductive proximity sensors intended primarily for industrial OEM applications. “Inspiration for the SuperShorties came from our close contact with designers of high-precision machine tools and high-speed automated assembly equipment in southern Germany,” says Daniel Rauscher, product marketing, Balluff GmbH. “In Europe, there’s a high premium placed on floor space, so designers constantly For more information Call 800/543-8390, e-mail tom.draper@balluff.com, or browse to balluff.com/supershorties seek ways to reduce the machinery footprint. Our customers found that 15 to 28-mm-length have such small dimensions and low mass that sensors were the shortest types available on the they can be placed directly into a gripper finger market. This excessive sensor length hampered without adversely impacting its size or weight. efforts to push sensors out toward the handling As rugged inductive sensors, they can survive mechanisms of their machines, while at the in close proximity to industrial processes where same time maintaining or even reducing space shock, vibration and liquid or particulate contam- requirements. By leveraging the microelectron- ination would take optical sensors out of action ics competency of our Hytech Division in Swit- quickly.” The sensors carry a protection rating of zerland, we were able to achieve breakthrough IP67 and have flex-rated cabling. miniaturization and deliver fully integrated sensors only 6 to 18 mm long.” The new sensors can be installed into cramped “SuperShorties are available in Ø6-mm smooth and M08 threaded housings, and prewired cable models are just 6 mm long, while connector- places where inductive sensors couldn’t fit before, ized models are only 18 mm long,” says product says Henry Menke, Balluff’s product marketing specialist Jeff Himes. “All have a nominal 1.5-mm manager. “Their extremely low mass enables sensing range. The sensing electronics are fully abrupt acceleration and deceleration on highly integrated into the housings, so no bulky external dynamic, fast-moving equipment without adding amplifiers are required. Despite the small size, excessive inertial load,” he adds. their electrical outputs are fully protected against Claiming the shortest fully integrated inductive short circuits and polarity reversal.” sensors on the market, Menke says SuperShort- The sensors have exceptionally low mass at ies are designed for high-speed, pick-and-place 0.7 g and are ideal for applications in which rapid equipment; miniature grippers, linear slides and acceleration and deceleration is required, adds valves; compact actuators; and most other highly Pat Helm, Balluff’s automated assembly business compact, precision mechanisms. development manager. “SuperShorties provide “These sensors are so small that OEM control simplified installation, and can be glued or system design engineers now have free reign to threaded directly into the machine components integrate sensing functionality in areas that pre- quickly. Alternatively, a range of optional mount- viously couldn’t accommodate any conventional ing accessories is available, including vertical and sensor,” says Menke. “For example, SuperShorties right angle brackets,” says Helm. www.controldesign.com CD0803_73_Exclusive.indd 73 March 2008 Control Design 73 2/26/08 1:34:28 PM Was this the high point of your last trade show? Peer-level networking and structured, one-on-one discussions customized to your specific automation needs— all in a first-class setting. Come see why, for a growing number of end-users, machine builders and solution providers, AutomationXchange is how the business of automation gets done. C D Christensen Display Products Advanced Flat Panel Technology for Industry www.christensendisplay.com ® For more information on attending this invitation-only event, contact.....” = F CT08_AUTOXCHANGE_REV.indd 1 CD0803_FPA.indd 74 I D 8 : ? @ E < 9 L @ C ; < I J 2/25/08 2:18:28 PM 2/25/08 2:20:41 PM 46984 PROTECT YOUR POWER SUPPLY ESX10-T electronic circuit protector has electronic trip characteristics and active current limitation for selective disconnection of loads connected to 24 Vdc supplies. Selective load 63-mm wide, with voltages of 80 Vdc and 110/230 Vac. Perfor- includes remote access utilities. mance ranges between 50 W The PLC allows 1 MB of logic and 1 kW. Powerlink and the memory, has a scan time of 15 X2X remote backplane are on- µsec per 1K of typical applica- board as fieldbus interfaces. The tion and offers up to 38 onboard cooling design reduces costs by digital and analog I/Os that can eliminating the need to carry expand up to 166 points. out additional work for climate Unitronics; 617/657-6596; control. Typical applications are unitronics.com in CNC, packaging, textile and printing applications. protection prevents complete shutdown of the system by B&R Industrial Automation; quickly disconnecting the faulty ELECTRICAL WIRE path when an overload or short THHN 19-strand 600 V uncoated circuit occurs. The protector copper building wire is avail- limits the highest possible cur- able in 4-14 gauge sizes, suitable SPACE-SAVING CONNECTION rent to 1.3–1.8 times the rated for rewiring 600 V applications FKCN 2.5 spring-cage plug con- capacity, making it possible to in wet or dry locations. MTW- nectors and compatible CCDN switch on capacitive loads up to type wire is available in 19- and 2.5 base headers is said to be 30% 20,000 µF. Failure and status are 26-strand 600 V bare, annealed lower in height than other con- indicated by a multicolor LED copper in 1-16 gauge sizes for nectors up to 12 AWG. The push- 770/772-0400; br-automation.com and status output signal and in spring-cage technology allows can be remotely enabled and flexible wires with ferrules to be reset with a digital signal. connected quickly without any cdproducts@putman.net CANopen and UniCAN, and PRODUCT showcase products E-T-A Circuit Breakers; 800/462-9979; e-t-a.com PLC+HMI Color displays are becoming control cabinets, machine tool common in today’s automation. applications and appliance wir- They enable machine builders ing applications. Both wires are to show more details on the op- UL, cUL, CSA and NEMA-rated erator panels, to display vivid, and available in 500 ft spools. attention-grabbing alarms AutomationDirect; 770/889-7876; tools. The connector has a large and, in general, to brighten up automationdirect.com wire entry so that it can safely support flexible wire ferrules. their systems. Vision350 PLC Wires can be disconnected using and enhanced HMI provides diverse I/O options adaptable to SMALL DRIVE the orange actuation levers. Ethernet connection via TCP/ Acopos micro drive for stepper Phoenix Contact; 717/944-1300; IP, GSM/SMS/GPRS, Modbus, and servo motors measures phoenixcon.com www.controldesign.com CD0803_75_76_Products.indd 75 March 2008 Control Design 75 2/22/08 3:38:03 PM PRODUCT showcase SOFTWARE RESOURCES with parallel-shaft or right-an- WEB-ENABLED HMI SOFTWARE MODBUS WHITE PAPER gle configurations with torque Genesis64 64-bit-based OPC “Using Modbus for Process capacities to 920,000 lb-in. for Web-enabled HMI/SCADA Control and Automation” a variety of soft start mecha- software suite provides us- describes how Modbus works, nisms in a variety of conveying ers with a 3D visualization and how it can be used in new environment. It is completely and legacy process control and Web-configurable and uses a automation. The white paper Workbench framework. Tak- notes that an advantage of ing advantage of Windows Modbus is that it can run over Vista, .NET and SharePoint virtually all communication technology, the software media, including twisted pair allows plant operators and wires, fiber optics, Ether- IT professionals to integrate net, telephone modems, cell real-time manufacturing and phones and microwave. business information into a Moore Industries-International; applications. It meets or ex- common, Web-enabled visual- 818/894-7111; www.miinet. ceeds AGMA and international ization dashboard. com/whatsnew/articles/using standards, with carburized, Iconics; 800/946-9679; iconics.com modbus for process control and Magna Force MagnaGear XTR heavy-duty, cast-iron reducer is available hardened and precision-ground automation.pdf gearing. Tandem HBNR lip seals are standard for extra protec- REDUCE DEVELOPMENT tion, all bearings AxisLite is a reduced func- COMPACTPCI EXPRESS Baldor-Reliance; 864-297-4800; tionality version of AxisView, 2008 catalog outlines a range baldor.com an advanced, multiproces- of intercompatible 3U Com- sor, integrated software- pactPCI and CompactPCI development environment Express single-board comput- TRANSPARENT ENCLOSURES ers and systems based on Intel BT Series transparent plas- and PowerPC architectures. tic enclosures meet NEMA Featured is an Intel-based 1/2/4/4X/12/13, IEC52/IP65, and single-slot F18, based on In- UL508-4X specs. Suitable for tel’s T750 CoreT2 Duo proces- PCB enclosures, junction boxes, sor with a frequency of 2.2 instrumentation and other ap- GHz, that functions as either plications that require monitor- a 32-bit/33 MHz system slot or stand-alone board. MEN Micro; 215/542-9575; that allows users to evaluate menmicro.com the capabilities of AxisView prior to purchasing the full suite. It frees developers from the time and effort needed to understand the complexities ing of internal components in of rapidly evolving hardware wet, dry and corrosive environ- architectures. AxisLite is free ments. Enclosures are available for download. in seven sizes. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms; Bud Industries; 440/946-3200; 800/gefanuc; gefanucembedded. budin.com com/axis 76 CD0803_75_76_Products.indd 76 Control Design March 2008 More, More, More You’ll find hundreds of other new products, software and resources in categories that span the complete range of your machine control and automation design needs at ControlDesign.com/products. www.controldesign.com 2/22/08 3:38:35 PM CLASSIFIED is the only magazine exclusively dedicated to the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) market for instrumentation and controls—the largest market for industrial controls. 555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301 Itasca, Illinois 60143 630/467-1300 Fax: 630/467-1124 PUBLISHING TEAM GROUP PUBLISHER & VP, CONTENT KEITH LARSON klarson@putman.net AD TRAFFIC SUPERVISOR ANETTA GAUTHIER agauthier@putman.net DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION JACK JONES jjones@putman.net GROUP ART DIRECTOR EQUIPMENT ATTENTION DISTRIBUTORS Due to a recent expansion of Eurotherm product offerings, we are actively seeking North American Distributors for a new line of Motor Drives. Products include Variable Frequency Drives, Soft-Starters, DC Drives and Motors. Great Discounts and Excellent Sales/Engineering Support. Please contact us at: 404-242-0959 or jeff.fish@eurotherm.com STEVE HERNER sherner@putman.net SALES TEAM NORTHEASTERN AND MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL MANAGER DAVE FISHER dfisher@putman.net 508/543-5172 Fax: 508/543-3061 24 Cannon Forge Dr. Foxboro, Massachusetts 02035 LOOKING to ADVERTISE? MIDWESTERN AND SOUTHERN REGIONAL MANAGER GREG ZAMIN gzamin@putman.net 630/467-1300 Fax: 630/467-1124 555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301 Itasca, Illinois 60143 WESTERN REGIONAL MANAGER LAURA MARTINEZ lmartinez@putman.net 310/607-0125 Fax: 310/607-0168 218 Virginia, Suite 4, El Segundo, California 90245 DIGITAL SALES SPECIALIST JEANNE FREEDLAND jfreedland@putman.net 805/773-4299 Fax: 805/773-0451 Contact: Emily Rogier at erogier@putman.net or call 630-467-1300 ext.335 Reprints are available on a custom basis from FosteReprints Contact Claudia Stachowiak at 1-(866)-879-9144 ext.121 or at claudia@fostereprints.com INSIDE SALES MANAGER EMILY ROGIER erogier@putman.net 630/467-1300 Fax: 630/467-1124 Introducing E-MARKETING ACCOUNT MANAGER JENNY FANNING jfanning@putman.net 555 W. Pierce Rd., Suite 301, Itasca, Illinois 60143 630/467-1300 Fax: 630/467-1124 EVENTS DIRECTOR ANDY WUEBBEN awuebben@automationxchange.com 952/224-7641 ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM Alarm Annunciators PRESIDENT & CEO JOHN M. CAPPELLETTI VICE PRESIDENT JULIE CAPPELLETTI-LANGE VP, CIRCULATION JERRY CLARK IT DIRECTOR ROSE SOUTHARD • 8 Field Selectable ISA Alarm Sequences • 4 or 8-Point Monitoring with Internal Horn • Shallow Depth 1/8 DIN Case • Switch, Transistor and Logic Level Inputs • Highly Visible in Direct Sunlight • Silence, Acknowledge, and Reset Functions REPRINTS FOSTER REPRINTS www.fostereprints.com CLAUDIA STACHOWIAK claudia@fostereprints.com 866/879-9144 ext. 121 www.predig.com/vigilante • (800) 343-1001 AD INDEX ABB Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Ad Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,72 Adalet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Advantech Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Allied Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Ametek, APT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 AutomationDirect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 80 Automation Xchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Baldor Motors and Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Beckhoff Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Brady Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 c3controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Dataforth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 ECT International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Endress + Hauser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-18 E-T-A Control Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Exergen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 FCI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60, 61 Maple Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 MTS Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 National Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Novotechnik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Omega Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Omron Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Opto 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51-54 Pepperl+Fuchs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46, 47 Phoenix Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Precision Digital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Red Lion Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Rice Lake Weighing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Schneider Electric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 SEW-Eurodrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Software Horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Stealth Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Unitronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Vaisala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Vision Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Wago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39, 41 Weidmüller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Yaskawa Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 March 2008 Control Design CD0803_77_AdIndex_Class.indd 77 77 2/25/08 2:04:47 PM Jason H. Stallard • jason.h.stallard@cummins.com oem insight Do Your Duty Cycle Diligence As an oem provider of engines that go into data, which were processed in near-real time. numerous and often unique applications, it With this data we were able to examine histori- sometimes is difficult to know before delivery cal data when engine failures occurred, predict just what sorts of duty cycles a given engine failures before they happened and drive changes will go through. Power generators could sit for for platform development. We also found that weeks between maintenance starts and could the data-collection equipment was not always only be needed to provide backup power once handled well, and several units were returned ever year or two. A line haul truck could spend beaten up, filthy or destroyed. two days crossing the U.S. and then a week run- Cummins learned several lessons from the ning local deliveries. When the inevitable call pilot program. The chosen data-collection hard- comes in to troubleshoot an engine, the lack of ware was expensive and not rugged enough for data for that engine’s duty cycle makes diagnos- some environments. Sensors required physi- ing the problem all the more difficult. cal modification of some installations, which is In the past, gathering duty cycle data from a undesirable for customer vehicles. While cell customer’s installation was a logistical night- coverage was plentiful, the data throughput was mare. Getting permission, coordinating access less than ideal. to the engine, installing data collection equip- The total cost of the system prohibits large- ment, training personnel, retrieving the data and scale deployment to more than 100 installations. analyzing it all made gathering this data undesir- Future duty cycle recording equipment will need able for all but the most severe problem engines. to improve by incorporating distributed sensors Because of those difficulties, how customers that use wireless or existing vehicle networks; used their engines on a daily basis was never the form factor of the data collection device needs to be about the size of a car radio; and the I n the past, gathering duty cycle data from a customer’s installation was a logistical nightmare. remote data transfer rates need to increase to as near broadband as possible. Cummins also learned that having a duty cycle recorder installed on a real-world working vehicle can benefit safety engineering. During understood well. However, now that technology the summer pilot program, a couple of vehicles is catching up with need, we are beginning to get were involved in accidents and Cummins was the data needed to help to drive future designs. able to review the data much like the flight data Solid-state computers with sufficiently dense recorders on commercial airlines. Cummins was storage space now are small enough that we can able to determine the road speed, position, en- install recording devices on-vehicle with minimal gine load and other diagnostic data before, dur- impact. Now that the cellular infrastructure is ing and shortly after the accidents. If the right mature and providing coverage to a significant set of data were being recorded at these times, area of the country, we can collect the stored data the data would prove invaluable to our vehicle and reconfigure the in-vehicle systems remotely; manufacturing customers. and this all can be done with off-the-shelf hard- Cummins sees duty cycle data becoming an ware instead of expensive and limiting systems integral part of our development, testing and sup- such as satellite. port efforts. What started as a pilot of 40 vehicles In the summer of 2007 Cummins launched a quickly grew to more than 100. By 2010, we expect pilot program to outfit a fleet of vehicles with the number of installations to reach 500 and see this off-the-shelf hardware combined with some the potential to eventually have every engine custom software to facilitate recording, storing coming off the manufacturing line pre-installed and transfer of data. In all, 40 engineering, field with duty cycle recording capabilities. test and customer vehicles scattered around the U.S. and Canada, running line haul and local Jason H. Stallard is a software engineer at Cummins routes, collected more than 500 gigabytes of (cummins.com) in Columbus, Ind. 78 CD0803_78_OEMInsite.indd 78 Control Design March 2008 www.controldesign.com 2/22/08 3:42:39 PM 2007 When You Spend 75 Years Mastering Something, You Learn To Do It A Million Different Ways. We have spent the better part of a century focusing on one thing. Your motion control and power transmission challenges. At SEW-EURODRIVE, we don’t just make parts. We create solutions. Solutions custom designed for each individual. Whether the application is large or small. Simple or complex. We design the system that is right for you. Because what is good enough for most may not be what is best for you. 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