Hannover Fair 2009 product introductions include wireless intelligent sensors, IP67 gigabit Ethernet switches, a robotic controller, safety products, and some very rugged test gear.
| Control Engineering editorial director David Greenfield, Consulting-Specifying Engineer editor Michael Ivanovich, and Plant Engineering editor Bob Vavra will be reporting from Hannover Messe this week on the new ideas and new technologies from the 2009 event. |
Hannover, Germany – In this daily report from Hannover Fair, we focus on developing projects and technologies of particular interest to the Control Engineering audience. This second report focuses on wireless intelligent sensors, IP67 gigabit Ethernet switches, a robotic controller, safety products, along with somevery rugged test gear.
Wireless intelligent sensor for energy efficiency
Danfoss IXA Sensor Technologies has developed a new technology that enables the continuous monitoring of several core parameters required for climate control and energy consumption. The sensor measures temperature, humidity, CO2 and other gasses simultaneously.
| Megger Delta3000 10-kV Automated Insulation Power Factor Test Set is said to be easy to use, rugged, and portable for field or shop use and designed to work in high interference switchyards of up to 765 kV. |
An enhanced awareness of environmental impact, lower emissions and increased energy efficiency are specified as potential results. The multiple-measurement approach reportedly combines innovative principles of measurement with the use of special nano-materials. www.danfoss.com
Gigabit Ethernet switches in IP67 housing
During Hannover Fair, Hirschmann Automation and Control reported the addition of a new IP67 switch with Gigabit ports to its Octopus series. The switch has eight twisted-pair ports (100 Base-TX) and two fiber-optic uplink ports (1,000 Base-FX) for an Ethernet link in humid and dusty environments.
According to Hirschmann, a high degree of reliability is achieved through fast redundancy processes using the Gigabit port and extensive management functions. The twisted-pair ports are designed as four-pin M12-D connectors and the fiber-optic uplinks are based on liquid crystal technology. www.hirschmann.de
Enhanced controller with high process stability
The new E controller from Kawasaki Robotics does not use a Windows operating system as other Kawasaki controllers do, and it offers high virus security coupled with process stability and short start-up times. The integration of a USB interface in the robotics system facilitates data exchange while accuracy specified as plus/minus 0.05 mm is achieved through the use of 17-bit encoders. The 8 MB RAM allows programs to be stored with up to 80,000 job steps. www.kawasakirobot.com
Embedded industrial PC
Two new embedded industrial PCs for rough industrial environments have been released—The Simatic IPC427C compact Microbox PC and the Simatic HMI IPC477C Panel PC—both feature the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The HMI IPC477C comes with a human machine interface (HMI) panel designed for continuous 24-hour operation — even in environments with high temperature, vibration, and shock. The space-saving, fanless devices are suitable for communication tasks, measuring, and open/closed-loop control as well as for operator control and visualization. Siemens claims that neither of the PCs requires maintenance and both work at ambient temperatures of 0 to 50 °C. www.siemens.com/simatic-pc
Safety gets the attention of suppliers, attendees
| Beckhoff safety solution for the EtherCAT Terminal system enables the implementation of a simple, flexible and inexpensive local safety controller. |
While energy efficiency has been the dominant theme at this year’s Hannover Fair, safety is second on just about everyone’s checklist.
Systems are being designed to monitor safety at the machine level and to deliver safety controls to meet the needs of manufacturers looking to manage the single largest soft cost in their operation.
Companies such as Beckoff, Phoenix Contact and Turck have all positioned safety as a major emphasis at this year’s event.
Yellow is a clearly identifiable color on the show floor, and it has been evident in product displays in several locations.
For example, safety-related tasks can be performed via PC using the Simatic WinAC RTX F. The controller meets the relevant safety requirements and applicable standards EN 954-1 up to Cat. 4, IEC 62061 up to SIL 3, and EN ISO 13849-1 up to PL e.
| Other stories from Hannover Fair. Monday – Flying penguin, innovations, efficiency – Phoenix Contact shows new networking, safety relay, junction box – Report from Hannover: Daily Innovation Focus Tuesday – Wind in the sails for Hermes Award winner – Looking for an attendance bump at Hannover Fair – Voice of youth at Hannover Fair Wednesday – Buzzwords include ‘Pleasantly surprised’ – Product focus is on innovation, energy, says Siemens executive – Daily Innovation Focus: sensors, Ethernet switches, safety, controllers – World Energy Dialogue says lead environmentally to succeed Thursday – New SEW system designer packages, stainless steel gear motor |
As with the modular Simatic S7 controllers, Siemens Step 7 engineering software is supplemented by the Distributed Safety option package for safety-related applications. www.siemens.com/simatic-safety-integrated
Throwing things around on purpose: MeggerOne of my more entertaining booth visits of the show was at Megger, which was showing off its new line of insulation and electrical fault ntest equipment. They have been designed for use in the field. “Rugged“ is a word used throughout Megger’s media presentations, and marketing services manager Nick Hilditch took great delight in tossing around a couple of pieces of their test equipment to show off its rugged nature.
Megger has released several new field devices, including the DLRO10HD low resistance ohmmeter, the Delta 3000 portable test set and the FRAX sweep frequency response analyzer.
www.megger.com
-David Greenfield, Control Engineering , and Bob Vavra, Plant Engineering ; Edited by Mark T. Hoske , editor in chief, Control Engineering News Desk, www.controleng.com
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