Analysis and developement of drives

for machine and system builders.

W. Esser
Technical Essay
Moving More than Motors
Systems Industrial Automation Building Automation
tra Combinations
Think future. Switch to green.
Over recent years, the Moeller Company
Group has been working, at first only
internally, on a Company philosophy
focusing on what will happen in the future,
under the working title Competency with
motors gets more moving. Now we
want to go public with it.
This essay is intended to introduce the
Moeller campaign Moving More than
Motors and, as a first step into this topic,
to point out fundamental trends concer-
ning electrical drives, their automation and
the associated protection technology. It will
prove how thoroughly Moeller has sought
to find out the diverse requirements of
users in the various branches of industry,
also the differing peculiarities and traditi-
ons in Europe were investigated.
Thus the product assumes secondary
importance within the value creation chain
in favour of the solution. Motor application
solutions and motor application expertise
are the logical steps in development from
the Moeller slogan More than Products.
The design specifications for the new
generations of products were to include the
question at every stape... and what
benefit does it bring for the customer?
Moeller will in future signpost contribu-
tions concerning the automation of drives
generally at every opportunity with the
special symbol (Fig. 1). New products and
product systems representing the reaction
to the trends described will be introduced
as they appear, in a series of separate
articles. During their market launch, they
will be identified each by their own unique
symbol (Fig. 1) as belonging to the overall
campaign Moving More than Motors.
What does Moeller mean by
Moving More than Motors
Moeller and Felten & Guilleaume, in over
100 years and over 125 years corporate
history respectively, have proven the
Groups competency in the switching and
protection of motors. Indeed, with the
legendary PKZ, for example, they set the
standard. The Type PKZ nowadays is
synonymous with motor-protective
circuit-breaker. In tune with the technical
progress of power electronics, electronic
products for controlling and regulating
motor speed were added to the purely
electromechanical ones, and this range
now represents a sucessful highly area of
business.
By integrating Felten & Guilleaume,
Moeller has added to its own know-how
portfolio the expertise to develop and
produce particularly high-specification
electric motors. These explosion-proof
low- and medium-voltage motors have a
large market share in the chemical
industry, as well as the petrochemical and
off-shore sectors, where the highest
degree of safety and reliability are
mandatory.
Moving more than motors concerns the
complex processes involved in drives and
all their facets. We are aware that, before
Moeller can sell a single switching or
protective device for a drive, a motor has
to be sold first. Before the motor can be
sold, there has to be an order for a
machine or system. This is why we
describe the electric motor and the
machine as partner products to our own
products. In other words, we need to look
at optimize the value creation chain as a
whole.
Studies of development tendencies to do
with motors, processing machinery and
systems [1, 2] had to be carried out in
preparation for the strategic planning of
new product systems for electro-
mechanical and electronic switching and
protective devices, and for an automation
strategy. We asked ourselves: What is
going to change regarding our partner
products in the next few years?
Interesting questions for example, were:
Will motor protection be incorporated
into the motor
What about the development of the
motor currents
What will be the development trend
of AC and DC drives
Will there be new kinds of motor
Are the switching conditions
changing
What is the relationship between the
Standards situation and practical
engineering
Are user habits changing
What is the future development
going to be regarding the networking
of electrical operating media?
We intend to answer these questions by
charting the trends, but mainly with
specific, new products and application
solutions. It was important to analyze
which drive and automation applications
were being used in which branches of
industry and which functions were
necessary for these applications [3].
Table 1 shows some of the applications
investigated and the corresponding
functions to illustrate and clarify the
abstract terms used. Table 2 lists more
specific drive functions.
2
Moving More than Motors
Analysis and development of drives for machine and system builders.
Dipl.-Ing. Wolfgang Esser
Fig. 1: Moeller intends to use this logo to
signal specialist publications with the
theme Moving more than motors
Fig. 2: Moeller intends to use this logo to
signal clearly that products and
product systems belong to the
campaign with the theme Moving
more than motors
Knowing what the requirements of the future will be, enables us to find solutions for today
Using tested and proven applications reduces your risk, and saves you time and money. With our well-founded
technical expertise we minimize interfaces, finding single-source solutions, optimally tailored to your requirements. What
is more, we always have the future in mind, technically as well as in economic terms. After all, switching, protecting and
controlling motors has been a Moeller core competency for more than a century. We are aware of the trends, we know
how to use motors, and this gives us the expertise to implement advantageous solutions for all kinds of machinery. And
we do this right across the industrial spectrum, throughout the world. For the stand-alone machine, and up to highly
dynamic multi-motor installations we are your partners.
Moving More
than Motors
Moving More
than Motors
The evaluation of these studies provided a
comprehensive picture of the
requirements in the sectors under review,
and enabled us to define our target
sectors whose requirements in terms of
automation and systems business were
going to be covered to a particularly high
degree by the planned Moeller product
range. By proceeding in this way, we can
work effectively together with our
customers and offer them not only the
necessary Moeller products, but also the
associated application know-how and
application solutions via our solution-
oriented System Sales operation with its
specialists for the various branches of
industry. Defining our target sectors for
the automation and systems business does
not mean, of course, that we cannot
supply other sectors with components via
our dedicated distribution channels.
We started the above studies after talking
to the technology leaders in machine and
systems building within the various
sectors, and with important motor
manufacturers, because we expected
them to have the clearest view of future
developments. And this proved to be the
case. Later, we needed to make sure that
the results of these technical discussions
were not just relevant to a few exclusive,
high technology products, but also to the
volume business. End users of drives were
asked what they felt were weaknesses of
todays products and systems, and what
they expected of the future. Moeller
employees participate in many cross-
sector working parties concerned with the
future of drives powered by electric
motors, both at national as well as
international level.
We feared that we would collect a great
deal of unrelated individual pieces of
information that would not lend
themselves to be collated into one
uniform picture of the future. But even
after just a few discussions we found that
the core statements and core problems
agreed totally. The great topic of
decentralization ran through all the
discussions like a thread. Although for
differing reasons. The on-going
mechanical modularization must be
followed by electrical modularization. Due
to the fact that central switching cabinets
are being dispersed in this way and smaller
switching panel modules are being
physically separated, the word used is
decentralization. Some of the outcomes of
these studies have meanwhile found
confirmation in market developments.
3
Automation applications
in selected branches
of industry
Automation functions
in selected branches
of industry
Table 1
Overview of some investigated applications that are necessary for the automation of selected
branches of industry; also an overview of selected functions required for these applications. The
alignment of branches with applications and functions was to help work out an automation strategy
and for definition of our target segments.
Table 2: Overview of selected functions required in variable speed control systems
Functions for drives
Pumping Control
Switching On and Off
Reversing
Braking
Starting Starting delta
Soft starting
Varying the speed Multi-speed switching
Control: steplessly
Regulation: individual /
synchronization
4 quadrant operation Positioning / adjusting the position
Motor protection: centralized/
decentralized
Explosion protection
Pumps Control
Fans Regulation
Conveyors Piece goods Arithmetics
Bulk material Visualization
Mechanical
Driving
mixture Positioning
Gasses / liquids Recipe management
Sieving Communication
Weighing Operation
Mixing Measuring
Dosing By weight Monitoring
By volume Documentation
Sequence control
Plant control
Slide control / valves
Air conditioning
Heaters / dryers
Coolers
Milling
Electric/hydraulic/pneumatic
piston actuation
Press control
Separators / filters
Positioning controls
Identification systems
Light-barrier control
Measuring systems
Safety circuits
Regulation
Diagnostics
The whole area of drives is at present
going through a highly dynamic phase
that is strongly interacting with the very
core areas of Moeller Company Group
business. New solutions in the switching
and protective device field enable new
solutions to be found for drives, such as
the money-saving decentralization of
drives, with a completely new convenience
of operation and remote diagnosis, or the
wear-reducing method of running up
motors using softstarters [4]. On the other
hand, new objectives for machine and
system builders demand further
development of switching and protective
devices to achieve higher operational and
short-circuit switching capacities. New
pieces in the solutions mosaic allow new
configurations. The various disciplines
involved stimulate one another positively.
In summary, Moving more than motors
in Moeller terminology means effectively
to take into account and promote drives,
even beyond the companys own areas of
business.
One major area of application for electro-
mechanical and electronic switching and
protective devices lies in the ever more
sophisticated control and regulation of
electric motors. Since the restructuring of
the Group of Companies, this work is
being dealt with mainly by Moeller
Industrieautomation GmbH.
Development
trend motors
A few examples of changes in the partner
product Motors are listed below [5]:
Trend towards smaller motors
Even today, 95% of all three-phase
motors have a rating of < 7.5 kW, and
80% an even lower one at < 4 kW. The
cost-efficient possibilities of electronic
synchronization controls enable large
motors, previously driven for example
via line shafts, to be substituted by a
number of smaller motors. Mechanical
problems are eliminated and modular
systems promoted. Since operating
media prices are dropping, but payroll
costs are rising, any ancillary processing
steps are being automated. These tasks
usually only require small motor
ratings.
Motors rated > 75 kW represent
approximately 0.3% of production.
However, it is noticeable that the
ratings required of large LV three-phase
motors are tending to be even higher
and moving in the direction of 750 kW.
Changes in the construction
of motors
Motor statistics show that the trend is
towards motors being built as
complete machines, e.g. as pumps or
fans, since they tend to appear in the
statistics of such finished products
instead of those of motors. Motor
manufacturers have confirmed this
trend.
Machine tools are increasingly being
driven directly, the chuck of a lathe, for
example, being mounted directly on
the motor shaft. This does away with
the need for gears and the noises
associated with them or with V-belts.
The efficiency of the motor is improved
and it no longer has to have its own
enclosure but is included in that of the
machine.
Evolution in the function of the
electric motor
When it was first developed, the motor
was designed to relieve man and beast
from hard labour. It was intended at
first to rotate and move something.
Nowadays, this is no longer enough,
the motor having become in many
cases a tool in its own right. Often, it
can influence the quality of the
products. But even this sometimes is
not enough and then the interrelation
of several drives has to be tuned in
order for them together to define the
quality of the product. The
requirements of switching frequency
and the dynamics of the regulating
system are completely different now
than on the early motors that
constantly drove just one transmission.
Examples of this development can be
shown in the consistent quality in pipe
or glass-fibre drawing machines, or in
multi-colour web-printing.
Trend towards variable-speed
motors
The rotational speed of a motor
(motors) must be variable in order to
allow it to play its role in determining
product quality. Step-by-step speed
adjustment, even using electro-
mechanical switchgear is not gone, and
suffices for many production processes.
Where continuous adjustment is
required, it can in many cases be
effected using electronic actuators or
regulators. The terrific development of
three-phase frequency inverters is not
only pushing aside the previously more
favourable DC drives and meeting
present expectations better, but will
certainly generate new automation
demands and bring about new
methods and procedures. The
economic benefit is of course that
these frequency inverters can be used
with standard motors. Variable-speed
motors also open up interesting
perspectives in terms of energy
consumption. Such motors often allow
considerable energy savings to be
achieved, e.g. by varying the flow rate
in heating installations. In 4-quadrant
operation it is even possible to reuse
the braking power.
The availability of vector-controlled
frequency inverters banishes DC drives
to applications in the higher rating
range. But DC technology is being
made more attractive too by the
parallel development of brush-less DC
motors. The competition between the
two systems, AC and DC, is partially
responsible for motor manufacturers
having mostly specialized on
production of either three-phase or
direct-current machines, both groups
being anxious to secure their own
continued existence.
Proportional increase in the use of
highly dynamic servomotors
The usual speeds of 1500 or 3000 rpm
in 50 Hz systems are no longer
sufficient for many applications. In fact,
for certain processes, speeds of 6000 to
12000 rpm are to be regarded as
normal, whereas high-speed
processing machines even work with
speeds of up to 180 000 rpm. The latter
operate with supply voltages ranging in
frequency up to 3000 Hz. It is quite
normal nowadays for machine controls
involving busbars to be equipped for
various or variable frequencies as high
as the kHz range. The speed of the
modules involved in the process is
adjusted via a change in frequency to
suit the material to be worked.
In addition to the absolute speed, it is
particularly the dynamics and the
control range that are of critical
importance, but also the possibility of
achieving torque even at zero speed.
Servomotors have been found to be the
answer for such complex and
demanding applications.
Although in a normal drive situation,
it is perfectly acceptable for motor and
control device to be of different
4
manufacture, where servomotors are
concerned, motor and control unit
usually come from the same source. In
such drives, conventional motor-
protective devices are totally replaced
by control electronics.
Such highly dynamic drives by now
represent a considerable proportion of
the total.
However, it appears that the new
vector-controlled frequency inverters
are in the process of winning back a
portion of the dynamic applications in
favour of the conventional three-phase
squirrel-cage motor, since servomotors
are being used in some applications
that do not really need them.
Fall-out from the EU
Machine Directive
and EU EMC
Directive
Certain problems with frequency inverters
became known and were investigated in
conjunction with the introduction of the
CE mark and the European Directives on
Machines and on EMC. Due to their
switching speeds of < 250 s, frequency
inverters incorporating the fast IGBTs
1
lead
to voltage variation speeds du / dt in
excess of 2.5 kV / s. Where cables
between inverter and motor are longer
than 10 to 20 metres, travelling waves may
arise in the conductors, with the
frequency increasing with distance up to
250 kHz. What is more, such travelling
waves represent a continuous load rather
than a transient one, and run on into the
motor where they destroy the first of the
series-connected windings.
It may be that these effects will lead to
changes in the Standards governing
motors in installations subject to explosion
hazards. Since it is mandatory for the
frequency inverter in EEx(e) installations to
be located in the non-hazardous area, the
cable lengths involved in such applications
are often quite extensive and subject to
the problems described. Nor have such
loads ever been considered in conjunction
with switchgear.
On the one hand, Moeller supplies choke
coils in order to protect motors against the
risks described. On the other hand, and for
the same purpose, motor manufacturers
are combining motor and frequency
inverter into one unit to avoid the long
cables. This brings the frequency inverter
into the same high-risk environment with
high temperature, dirt, vibration, cooling
water and drilling oil. Another factor that
restricts the freedom of such a
combination is that having to cool it
reduces its output. Moeller recommends
physical decentralization of the switching
installation. This means removing the
frequency inverter from the central
control panel and locating it at a
reasonably close proximity to the motor.
The high heat loss within a central panel
possibly containing several frequency
inverters is another factor in favour of
decentralization.
Other consequences of the high voltage
variation speeds are ripple voltages that
induce currents strong enough to break
through the grease in ball bearings and
cause chatter marks and the eventual
failure of the bearing. Nowadays insulated
ball bearings are sometimes used.
Travelling waves cause more than normal
wear on the internal insulation of the
motor. The above effects, together with
the travelling waves have led to special
motors for operation with frequency
inverters that include IGBTs being
marketed. Standard motors must be
insulated to Class F.
Motor protection
concepts
There is broad agreement regarding the
statement that the motor-protective
functions available today are entirely
sufficient for all the volume applications.
This applies to electromechanical
motor-protective circuit-breakers and
motor-protective relays as well as to the
electronic solutions. Todays medium-
priced electronic relays combine the two
available methods, indirect temperature
monitoring via the current and direct
temperature monitoring by means of
thermistors in the motor winding [6]. The
protective function using thermistors has
risen in importance with the number of
variable-speed drives, due to the danger
of excessive temperature rise because of
restricted ventilation. In addition, for
economic reasons, motors are no longer
selected with the same reserves as
previously.
The conventional motor-protective
circuit-breaker that ensures separation in
all poles and at the same time provides
short-circuit protection also for cables and
wiring, is still in pole position as far as
motor protection is concerned, at least
with non-regulated motors.
The overwhelming majority of motor
failures, more than 80%, is due to
mechanical faults and not to factors that
have anything to do with the electrics.
Damage to bearings is the main cause of
failure, another considerable one is
damage to the gears. Thermal motor-
protective devices cannot protect against
these.
It is noticeable that machine
manufacturers would rather not provide
general motor protection as stipulated by
IEC/EN 60 204, probably for reasons of
current economic pressures. Failure rates
are regarded as negligible. However, it
should be noted that most of the
protective devices used these days provide
the indispensable cable and wiring
protection as well. The absence of motor-
protective elements would also run
counter to the increasing demand for
targeted (remote) diagnostic options.
Evolution
of machine
construction
Modern machines are increasingly
developed and built as modular systems in
order to allow the range of variants to
become economically viable and
manageable. In some branches of industry,
certain processing steps are needed
repeatedly one after the other, which also
means that several of the same modules
are required. Such requirements can
multiply considering whole installations.
Modular machine construction (building
block principle) provides an elegant
solution for the assembly and transport
problems involved.
It reduces the manufacturing time for the
mechanical hardware, and allows
individual customer wishes to be more
easily meet. Matching to differing national
regulations, traditions and competitive
situations is made much easier, as is
changeover from one processing material
or recipe to another.
5
1
IGBT = Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
The electrics for these modular machines
however, are mostly still built separately as
a complete unit for the whole machine or
installation and engineered separately in
one large, central control panel. Customer
wishes on the other hand are clearly
tending towards having the electrical
portion of each mechanical module either
attached to, or at least spatially and
functionally aligned with it. In other
words, the customer wants to be able to
take the mechanical module off the shelf
and thus have the matching electrics in his
hand at the same time. This evolutionary
step in effect modularizes the electrics too,
and simplifies the up-dating or
enhancement of existing plant while mini-
mizing time requirement and risk invol-
ved.
Evolution of
machine control
systems
The importance of the electric motor at
the machine or in the production plant has
grown in recent years, and as described in
previous paragraphs, is going to continue
to increase.
The requirement of the electrical
equipment as a whole has expanded.
An examination of the evolution of
machine control systems (electrical
equipment) shows that on the first,
simple, electrically equipped machines,
the switchgear was located directly on the
machine or in the machine housing
(Fig.3).
It consisted mainly of mains switching
devices. On this type of machine, due to
the clear layout, there was rarely a need
for command and signalling devices, and
logic devices were not needed at all.
This situation still prevails today on such
simple machines.
As machines became more complex and
the relationship between various drives
had to be taken into account, as well as
variable operational steps becoming
possible, the electrical equipment was
combined in order to reduce the effort
and material required for the interlock
wiring to a minimum (wiring-oriented,
control systems). Even the first electronic
control systems were wiring-oriented with
their programs hardwired. With increasing
equipment complexity, central control
panels came to be built because of the
growing necessity to keep all the
switchgear as closely together as possible
for the interlock wiring links and for
clarity of layout for the purposes of
maintenance. This solution still forms the
overwhelming majority of control systems
for relatively complex machinery or plant
(Fig.4, Fig.5).
Only the development and introduction of
bus systems for service installation and
control functions removed the constraints
of having to centralize the switchgear for
the purposes of sequence and interlock
wiring. Signalling and diagnostic functions
were considerably improved and
simplified in this way. Switching and
protective devices can now be
decentralized and located directly at the
machine or in the installation.
6
Fig. 3: One-motor machine with a minimum of
switchgear involved. No logic links
necessary.
Fig.4: Simple multi-motor machine with little interdependence between its drives.
M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8
Fig.5: Complex multi-motor machine with highly dynamic interdependence between some of its
drives, and constructed in todays layout, with large, central switching cabinets. Control
desks, control cabinets and power sections are physically partially separate. Motors, local
control circuit devices, sensors and safety components individually cabled to the control
panel. Some control circuits are wired in multi-core cables from wiring nodes. These multi-
core cables are increasingly being replaced by bus systems today.
The next and inevitable evolutionary step
in control engineering is to run a power
bus alongside the machine or installation
in addition to the data bus (Fig.6). This
solution is already increasingly being used
in practice today. Of course, it enables the
operational switching device, e.g. the
motor-starter consisting of contactor and
overload relay or motor-protective
circuit-breaker, or the frequency inverter,
to be located where it ought to be,
namely close to the operating medium it is
intended to switch. By taking this step,
one dispenses with the central control
panel and replaces it by several intelligent
tap-off units on a three-phase bus system.
It is not such a big evolutionary step from
networkable switchgear in a control
cabinet to networked, distributed devices.
The only extra requirements are for
switchgear housings and terminations
that meet the high ingress protection
degrees IP65 or IP67 necessary at the
machine, against oil, cooling water, dirt
and unfavourable temperatures. Data and
power bus systems then link the individual
modular control and power sections.
As a spin-off from this step in evolution,
the trend towards plugging in the links
between functional units and using
prefabricated cables where possible is
becoming a reality. Wiring errors are of
course drastically reduced by the use of
plugs and pre-tested cables. The initial
cost of prefabricated cables with plugs
may appear high, but value analysis shows
that so is the benefit of such equipment. It
reduces the onus on installation personnel
or takes into account the level of expertise
present in the local personnel. After all,
connecting to terminals is a job for a
trained fitter, while plugs can be used by
anyone.
Another benefit arises from a fact
discovered by joint studies by the Institute
for Machine Tools and Business Studies at
the Technical University of Munich (iwb)
and the Association of German Machine
Tool Manufacturers (VDW). Until recently,
services to machines were in most cases
not part of design and planning, but were
individually adapted to the machine in
situ, with the associated effort and
expense.
Services such as the electrics, hydraulics
and pneumatics had to vie with one
another as to which of them would
connect to the machine first. Those that
followed had to compromise.
Consequently, a high proportion of
machine downtime was directly due to
faults in the services installation area. The
two organizations, together with
representatives of large customers,
representatives of manufacturers in the
various service disciplines and the German
Trade Associations worked out a concept
(known as DESINA
2
) to change this
situation. It envisages the decentralization
of operating media, the standardization of
terminations for the three services
mentioned and standardization of the
oil-tight lines used [7].
Today, it is possible to actuate and receive
feedback from elements in the electrical,
hydraulic and pneumatic systems of
machines via a single bus system. There
are a large number of products built to
DESINA specifications on the market.
Termination designers have been given a
clear signal.
There are other reasons for
decentralization of the electrics being
desirable. One of them is the large
amounts machine manufacturers spend
on wiring for testing. The machine
operator can not make use of the
manufacturers voluminous cable sets
afterwards. Another factor is the difficulty
at the commissioning stage, where several
people are necessary for communication
between the electrics on the machine unit
and the central control panel. In addition
to shortening the commissioning time,
decentralization also helps increase
personnel safety by spatially bringing
together the mechanical units with the
associated electrics. In this way, the
sub-unit being worked on can be locally
isolated and secured against unwanted
restarting.
The benefits of modular networked
construction of the electrical equipment
are that it is:
easier to design
easier to engineer
easier to produce and
more efficient in application.
Taking the entire value creation chain into
account, networked electrical equipment
becomes systematically more economical
even though the price for individual
components may be initially higher
because of the built-in intelligence
3
.
Installation, testing at the manufacturers
and commissioning at the operators
become more efficient. All the
components involved are visually, tangibly
and audibly close together which makes
fault tracing easier in the event of a
breakdown. It is also easier to match the
equipment to changed technical
requirements. The elimination of physical
effects such as EMC problems and
travelling waves due to the reduction in
the cable lengths and the number of cores
involved, also speaks in favour of
decentralization of the electrical
equipment.
2
DESINA = Decentralized and Standardized
Installation method for machine tools and
production systems
3
By intelligence here is meant only the bus
capability and possibility of addressing the
networked units, unlike with decentralized or
distributed intelligence where sub-programs are
being processed locally in order to relieve the bus.
7
M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8
5
Fig. 6: The progressive complex multi-motor machine with highly dynamic interdependence
between some of its drives, and using a data and a power bus. The networkable switchgear
and controlgear is housed in small, distributed cabinets, local to the motor.
Moeller offers progressive
networking solutions
for the central control panel
(Fig.7)
for decentralized configuration of
switching and protective devices
(Fig.8) and
for individual peripheral
switchgear units (Fig.9).
The bus
replaces parallel
wiring
Straightforward, fast communication
makes production processes more
transparent and more efficient. In
networks as described above, the
conventional multi-core parallel wiring is
replaced by wire-saving 2-core
connections or by fibre-optic cable. Each
element (switching device) in the network
is given an address, and as a slave takes
from the bus the information addressed to
it and feeds back to the bus its own
data/signals. For example, a contactor coil
receives from the bus the signal to switch
On the contactor, and a contactor contact
feeds back the information to the bus that
the contactor has closed. These pieces of
information are cyclically scanned and
transmitted. The interrelationships and
effects of these data/signals are processed
as application program by a bus master on
a PLC or an industrial PC. The program can
be centrally processed even with a
decentralized control system, or parts of
the program are processed locally by
so-called distributed intelligence. The rules
by which the information exchange and
the provision of power to the outputs for
actuation of the switching devices takes
place differ from bus system to bus system,
and there are many bus systems in
existence.
In some systems, power is taken from the
bus itself, in others it is fed in separately.
The power bus mentioned in the previous
paragraph generally refers to the mains
supply (primary current) to the motors or
other loads. Occasionally, it can also
provide power for sensors and actuators,
particularly for example in cases where,
because of the ratings involved, higher
voltages than are normally available from
the bus are required.
The evolution of networking has so far
taken place in three stages:
In the first stage, some years ago,
devices were affected that are used
mainly as peripherals, in the field,
alongside the machine, in the
installation. In geographically
spread-out installations, the most
important motivating factors were to
save the enormous outlay on wiring
material and to simplify modifications.
The second stage involved the
networking within the control cabinet
of conventional switchgear and
protective devices. A few years ago,
these were of course still fitted
centrally together in one cabinet as
standard, and the panel builder
benefited greatly from the consequent
reduction in wiring within the
enclosure.
The present, third stage is concerned
with the decentralization and
networking of switching and protective
devices. This evolutionary step does
away with the central control cabinet.
A major motivating reason, as
described, is the requirement for a
close alignment of mechanics and
associated electrics with one another.
Occasionally, this stage also entails the
autonomous decentralized processing
of certain automation tasks using small
controllers in order to reduce the load
on the bus. This distributed
intelligence also enables test runs and
manual operation independently of the
overall control system.
In order for the idea of decentralization,
and above all, for networking to succeed,
it is vital also that safety-related functions,
such as Emergency-Stop should be
allowed to be carried out via an approved
safety bus that is accepted by the Trade
Associations. Otherwise, there would still
be a need for conventional wiring for
safety functions alongside the bus cables.
Recognized solutions have since emerged ,
but rapid standardization is required in
this area, in order to provide the user with
a safe and reliable choice.
Networking has the added advantages of
increasing personnel safety by the fact
that the bus systems are operated using
extra low voltages, and the reduction of
combustive energy within the electrical
equipment due to the absence of
multi-core control cables.
The latter benefit also brings significant
time and cost savings particularly in
spatially spread-out installations.
Subsequent expansion and modification
of the system as a rule are simplified and
become cost-efficient. Series connections,
previously normal, which could cause
faulty switching, are no longer necessary
in networked control systems [8]. Last, but
not least, the termination points, always
potential fault locations, are considerably
reduced in number.
8
Fig.7: Networked KLAS motor-starters
for fitting into panels
(centralized solution).
These can be fitted to busbars
that simultaneously distribute
the mains supply, or to mounting
rails. Networkable devices for
fitting into switching cabinets
also include automation products
and networked frequency
inverters, for example.
Fig. 8: Networked KLAS motor-starters
with degree of protection IP 65,
for distributed layouts, locally to
machines and in installations. The
starters are supplied either with
plugs, to conform to the DESINA
standard, or for direct connection.
Fig. 9: Networked switchgear for a
distributed layout at the field
level or locally to the machine.
The role and
importance of soft-
ware is growing
According to investigations by the
Institute for Machine Tools and Business
Studies at the Technical University of
Munich (iwb), the electrical equipment on
a machine tool can represent between
25% and 60% of its manufacturing costs.
Ever larger proportions of the logic links
between sensors, switching and protective
functions and signalling, right up to visual
displays and documentation of the
operating sequences are being carried out
by software programs once they have
replaced the contactor relays, relays and
mechanically programmed drives. The
costs are increasingly shifting from
hardware to software. VDMA figures
suggest that software costs nowadays can
represent up to 40% of the development
expenditure [9]. The application of
standardized and widely used software
modules (e.g. on the basis of Microsoft
Windows) cuts down on training expense
and safeguards the maintenance of
programs in the long-term. For networked
control systems, it is necessary to produce
a concept for the distribution of the
programs among the individual locations
at which the electronic components will
be installed.
Such division carried out with skill can
implement the idea of autonomous
machine modules described and justified
above. It also facilitates selective manual
and test operation, as well as
commissioning and fault retrieval. The
flexibility of configuring machine and
system groupings to suit changed
processes or operating sequences is
increased. It is important to be aware of
the role of software and to further its
development in parallel with that of the
mechanical systems.
Requirement for
information-capable
diagnostic functions
The growing need for up-to-the-moment
status information about automation
equipment and machine operating media
has been discussed extensively at many
levels, not least in the working groups of
project DESINA.
A large proportion of machinery is
destined for export, and the quality of the
operating personnels training level at the
target location is often not all it should be.
Production processes are becoming more
and more complex, and any machine or
plant downtimes consequently ever more
costly. The aim is to keep the stocks of
spare parts to a minimum. It is not always
obvious at first glance whether a stoppage
is due to a hardware or a software fault.
All these factors make it increasingly
necessary for the machine manufacturer
to be able to carry out remote diagnoses,
to set parameters remotely and
commission remotely as well. More firms
nowadays also run unmanned production
shifts during the night and at weekends,
when a stand-by service crew must be in a
position to intervene from home. In such a
scenario, automatically generated fault
messages via email or SMS, or services
such as GSM, are extremely helpful and
save time.
Alongside the need to be able to intervene
in and react to acute operational fault
situations, there is a growing demand for
specific and relevant data to be made
available for planned, preventive
maintenance during operational pauses,
in order to increase the serviceability of
production media. For example, it would
be beneficial to have early warning of dust
accumulation on the lens of an optical
monitoring device, or of a position or
proximity switch gradually losing its
alignment. Users envisage that a defective
component should automatically signal its
type and technical details to the
maintenance personnel, in order to enable
them immediately to come equipped with
the correct spare part.
One of the outcomes of project DESINA
has been to significantly reduce the
diversity of plugs used. Certain cable
colours were assigned to certain functions.
Pin 2 of the M12 plugs used for sensor and
actuator cables, were reserved for through
cabling of the diagnostic functions. No
voltage on this pin, enables detection of
interruption or absence of conductors.
Specific and meaningful diagnostic
functions of course also require suitable
display and documentation tools and
products. Meanwhile, Web-CAM has
become an important remote-diagnostic
tool. It directs a machine setter to critical
points of a failed machine at the behest of
production personnel. Similarly, remote
monitoring can be carried out on
equipment that is mostly run without
personnel, via the Internet as
communication network.
Parallel trends in
building services
management
confirm trends in
drives and controls
This article describes mainly those
developments that at Moeller affect the
corporate Division Industrial
Automation. However, the Systems
Division is of course similarly affected by
the electronification of
electromechnical structures through
developments such as the intelligent
distribution board or the intelligent
busbar trunking system. These terms
infer that here too, as mentioned above
regarding the equipment of machines, a
power bus and a data bus run through the
installation in parallel with each another.
Moeller has a third Division, Building
Automation. Here, just as in Industrial
Automation, there is a powerful trend
towards networking, but also towards
decentralization. Examples of such
decentralization can be seen in the F&G
Home Manager [10] and in distributed bus
couplers. These too are designed to allow
differing services to communicate and
work together on the same level. A very
important factor in favour of networking
is also the reduction in wiring material,
particularly in view of the physical size of
some purpose-built structures.
The protocols used in Building
Automation differ from those in Industrial
Automation. In building services, the
European Installation Bus (EIB) and LON
have established themselves, with LON
covering the more complex automation
tasks. There is, after all, a difference
between performance requirements and
the physical extent, when in the
automation of residential buildings as
compared to automating the
infrastructure in purpose-built commercial
structures.
In principle, it is possible for the typical bus
systems used in industry and in buildings
to cooperate. This can in fact be very
useful, since industry or trade needs to
utilize the infrastructure of these
commercial complexes for operation of
their production equipment.
The networking capability of switchgear in
commercial structures is of obvious benefit,
if only to enable their utilization to be
varied. In fact, nowadays, developers/
investors put up commercial buildings
whose later utilization is not at all clear at
9
the start. Flexibility of the infrastructure is
of course very much in demand in such
cases, in order to allow partitions set at a
later date or various different users to be
accommodated easily. But automation is
also conquering the single-unit family
home, and networking the individual
components is an important step towards
it. The benefits of networking were very
quickly recognized and applied by the
builders of turn-key residential units. The
remote indication of status or potential for
danger in a building and the remote
capability of reacting to the notification, is
a weighty argument in favour of
networking.
These aspects are comparable with the
motives for seeking a more qualified
diagnosis in industrial controls.
Extending the
boundaries of
voltage, frequency
and power
Generators too, in the widest sense, are
part of the Moeller philosophy entitled
Moving more than motors. For example,
Moeller is interested in equipping wind
generators with switchgear and protective
devices and with automation components.
There is a movement towards setting
whole forests of wind generators into
the oceans. The normal operational voltage
of such generators today is 690 V. To allow
the electrical energy produced by such
wind parks to be landed economically via
marine cable however, even higher
voltages are desirable, in order to reduce
the necessary cable sizes.
A similar picture also emerges from fields
of generators in the sea which use the
tides or ocean currents for the
manufacture of electricity. That is to say,
any applications in which the cost of
cables represents a high proportion of the
investment, including mining operations
and technologies with high energy
density, are affected.
It is notable in this connection that various
Standards committees are striving to
extend the definition of Low Voltage
beyond 1000 V AC. The figures under
discussion are a lifting of the low-voltage
limit to 2000 Volt, with a new mains
voltage of 1200 V [11].
Once there is agreement on a new, higher
supply voltage, there will consequently be
a need also for drives and switchgear and
protective devices at this new level.
Considering semiconductors, the supply
voltage has a very strong bearing on price.
In such cases it will be necessary to weigh
up the savings against the higher costs of
operating equipment.
Moeller is already involved in the
development of circuit-breakers with a
short-circuit switching capacity of 150 kA,
for use with generators in shipboard
supply systems.
In a previous paragraph, mention was
made of high-speed drives in processing
machines. The frequencies for such drives
can reach into the kilohertz range, and will
make new demands on switchgear and
protective devices.
As long ago as the 1980ies, applications
arose in the machine building industry,
which meant that several large
three-phase motors were running on one
common crown gear. Switchgear capable
of switching all the motors at the same
time was required. Such three-phase
low-voltage motors are easily expected to
have a rating of 750 kW!
The trend
in switchgear
development
At Moeller, electromechanical switching
devices are tending to be developed with
an ever greater proportion of
intelligence built in [12].
In this way, they can then be directly
connected to the data bus and are capable
of two-way communication with the
control system via the bus. For reasons of
economy and better utilization of the bus
resources offered, the intelligence for
several switching devices is often jointly
located in their vicinity (group networking
[13]).
Just as there are open bus systems
nowadays, at Moeller we speak of open
switching devices that can have their
built-in intelligence matched for
connection to any of the known bus
systems. Two bus systems now dominate
within the switching cabinet and
alongside the machine, i.e. at the fieldbus
level. They are the actuator-sensor
interface (AS-i) and Profibus DP. From an
international point of view, there are one
or two more bus systems of note, such as
the Device Net.
This trend towards a union of switchgear
technologies and automation systems into
a cohesive system is further favoured by
the fact that automation systems are
tending away from established
programmable logic controllers and
towards the industrial PC and protocols
and operating systems used in IT and the
Internet. Above the fieldbus level
therefore, the Ethernet with TCP/IP
protocol is going to assert itself. The result
is web-based management.
At the Hannover Fair 2000, Moeller
showed prototypes of the new system,
Xtra Combinations (Fig.10), with
connection to Ethernet TCP / IP and MS
Windows
4
, as example of a system in
which an industrial PC, the I/O level and
10
Fig.10: At the Hannover Fair 2000, Moeller introduced its first prototype of the XSystem. In this
system, logic section, I/O modules and motor-starters as load outgoers are optimally tuned
to one another.
4
Registered Trade Mark of the Microsoft
Corporation
load outgoers are combined in an elegant
way. The product groups of automation,
switchgear and power distribution are
thus converging into one system. There
are fewer interfaces, and synergies are
being utilized. Operating systems and
protocols that are widely known will
prevail, because they will reduce the
systems costs and the need for training.
Something once learnt, can easily be used
on a wider basis too.
Moeller is in the minority among
industrial switchgear producers in that the
electromechanical and electronic products
are jointly assigned to one Company unit,
and therefore under the same
management. This facilitates consistent
convergence of the two development and
production processes towards the
optimum for the user.
Alongside these hybrid products, work
goes on towards optimizing known
mechanical functions by using the latest
simulation methods, produced in-house,
or by the introduction of more up-to-date
technologies such as low-voltage vacuum
switching. The latest materials and
production methods also offer potential
for improvements.
Further studies at Moeller have revealed
that it would be sensible, and more
economical in the long run, to do away
with todays individual devices, such as
contactors, overload relays, motor-
protective circuit-breakers, thermistor
protective devices and circuit-breakers, in
favour of combining their required
functions into completely new types of
system.
One important step on this path is already
being taken in that in Germany too, there
is more talk of motor-starters than of
contactors and motor-protective devices.
At present, individual functions are often
duplicated, e.g. the switching function is
carried out by both contactor and circuit-
breaker. In protective functions on the
other hand, it is necessary to compromise
in order to protect both the motor and the
cable.
These brand-new systems that are in their
early development at Moeller at the
moment, will, of course, also change the
present-day methods of mounting and
wiring in the switching cabinet. This will
mean that the so far largely independent
product groups switching, protection and
automation devices and systems on the
one hand, and enclosures, mounting and
wiring systems on the other, will grow
together. The independent panel builder
nowadays, may obtain these groups of
products from different manufacturers.
The optimum value for money will
however be offered by one closed system
incorporating all the functions.
The time for such developments has not
yet come. There are four significant factors
at present preventing their
implementation and introduction:
1. As the market stands today, both
simple and complex switching and
[1] Wolfgang Esser, [[Study: All about the
motor]], Moeller GmbH, 1995, unpublished
[2] Wolfgang Esser, [[Study: All about the
machine]], Moeller GmbH, 1995,
unpublished
[3] Moeller Motor Working Party, [[Automation
strategy around the processing machine]],
Moeller GmbH, 1995, unpublished
[4] Wolfgang Esser, [[Soft starting of motors
using electronic motor-starters]], Moeller
GmbH, VER 89-781
[5] Wolfgang Esser, [[Switchgear suitable for
tying motors and electrical equipment into
the working processes of the future; Part 1:
Trends regarding machines and electrical
equipment]], in German, in der Elektro-
meister + deutsches Elektrohandwerk,
Volume 8/1997
[6] Wolfgang Esser, [[Switchgear for the
protection of electric motors]], Moeller
Specialist Publication, FB 0200-0021 D,
2nd Edition, 1999
[7] G. Reinhart / J. Milberg, seminar reports
1995 9: [[Installation technology on
machine tools, analyses and concepts]],
published by Herbert Utz Scientific Books,
1995; for further information see also:
www.desina.de
[8] Wolfgang Esser, [[Aspects of functionally
safe engineering of contacting control
circuits]], Moeller GmbH, VER 08+43+787,
1993
[10] Wolfgang Esser, [[Comfort and safety via
the EIB F&G Home Manager]], Moeller
GmbH, 2000
[11] Gerhard Vo, Mannheim, [[A convincing
majority in favour of lifting the low-voltage
level up to 2000 V]], in Elektrizittswirt-
schaft, year 99 (2000), Volume 6
[12] Wolfgang Esser, [[Switchgear suitable for
tying motors and electrical equipment into
the working processes of the future; Part 2:
Switchgear and protective devices for the
future]], in German, in der Elektromeister +
deutsches Elektrohandwerk, Volume 9/1997
[13] Wolfgang Esser, [[Open for everything
networking switching devices with various
protocols]], Moeller GmbH, Special
publication from Practical Electronics
No. 19/1997, VER 97-873, 1997
11
protective functions have to be covered
by the same products.
2. Simple tasks (volume applications) are
served well by present-day products.
3. Industrial customers especially, want to
be able to obtain similar products from
several suppliers as a second source.
This notion makes the introduction of
new and innovative systems difficult,
because of the lack of a second
source.
4. The Standards of today indirectly
presuppose the present situation as far
as products are concerned. There are
clear differences between the
Standards for example in Europe and in
America. This also applies to traditions
of use and to dimensioning.
Innovative products
for efficient drives,
for today and
tomorrow
Some of the first products based on the
new Moeller philosophy are already in
existence.
The new and innovative products for the
automation of drives (Fig.10) will be
described in special Moeller articles with all
their features and benefits, as and when
they are being launched into the market.
Bibliography:
E-Mail: info@moeller.net
Internet: www.moeller.net
2001 by Moeller GmbH
Subject to alterations
VER 2100+2300-920 GB-INT DM 04/01
Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany (05/01)
Xtra Combinations is the new world
of automation from Moeller. This means
that one company can now serve all
your automation requirements. Moeller
is your competent partner for building
automation, industrial automation
and power distribution. We provide
a complete package, or individual
combinations depending on your
application. And everything fits together
perfectly: core products, PLCs, data and
process display units, communication
products, SIMATIC

software standards,
accessibility via the Internet, design and
solution competence, and professional
services. All backed up by Moellers
experience and expertise, spanning
more than 100 years, with switchgear,
controlgear and PLC technology in
the fields of automation and power
distribution. What other company offers
you so much from a single source?
Contact us, wed like to talk to you.
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