Enhanced safety through transparency

Monitoring of 24 V(DC) circuits

Enhanced safety through transparency

E-T-A offers intelligent protection of 24 V(DC) power supplies using the ControlPlex Board as a complete system. The communication capabilities of these devices enhance the transparency of industrial plants and thus increase availability. Maintenance personnel are enabled to detect critical developments in a plant or process at a very early stage.

The term Industry 4.0 has been a controversial issue for quite some time now regarding communication, networking and process control. It is also becoming more and more important in the process manufacturing sector. The benefits of such control and communication options and the preconditions for their effective use are meanwhile clear. The vision of networked businesses across different company levels is gradually taking shape. Making processes more flexible, allowing fast responses to changes and ensuring greater transparency of individual components are top priorities, which are fundamental when creating modular concepts for processes or relevant equipment parts. However, only essential components will allow increased system transparency and shorter response times to customer enquiries.

In the meantime, the range of communication-capable devices has grown significantly. E-T-A has likewise addressed these issues intensively and developed smart products, notably for the chemical industry. ControlPlex Board users are offered a comprehensive overview of their 24 V(DC) circuits, helping to make the entire industrial system more transparent. Maintenance personnel are thus enabled to detect problematic developments in the plant or process at a very early stage. These functionalities are especially important in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors when implementing modular plant concepts.

The CPC10 bus controller is the system’s brain. It serves as an interface to the connected fieldbus systems and hence forms the link between the electronic circuit protectors and higher-level control units. The device collects information and data on the electronic circuit protectors and makes it available to the fieldbus systems. CPC10 bus controllers are available for Profibus-DP and Profinet fieldbuses.

The CPC10 is connected to the SVS201-PWR power board with up to 40 A rated current. This power distribution board can be supplied in three different versions for 8, 16 or 24 electronic circuit protectors. The second bus controller version can be connected to a maximum of four power boards and thus up to 96 electronic circuit protectors.

The third system component is the ESX50D-S electronic circuit protector. Apart from protecting the loads against overload and short circuit, it additionally compiles a large amount of information which it forwards to the bus controller. This information includes key parameters of the 24 V(DC) power supply such as load current and load voltage. It is particularly important to observe the temperature when using decentralised control boxes. The ESX50D-S therefore transmits the temperature value of each device as well as a parametrisable limit value. This limit value can be freely specified within a range from 50 to 100 % of the rated current. The threshold value allows possible imminent critical conditions of the 24 V(DC) power supply or problems with connected devices to be indicated. Maintenance personnel can then adjust the service intervals accordingly and avoid damage to the device concerned as well as unscheduled system downtime.

Another function of the system is the ability to control the electronic circuit protectors. Physical distances can be an significant factor when it comes to bigger plants. In addition, decentralised power distribution systems are often difficult to access. In such cases, the controllability of the electronic circuit protectors represents a genuine added benefit. The operator has direct on-screen access to the device by remote control. The entire system can be reset and restarted rapidly after remedying a failure. Essential control activities can then be carried out by maintenance staff.

The ESX50D-S electronic circuit protector can be parametrised in many ways. Depending on the version, this also includes changing the current rating, which can be set to any integer value between 1 and 10 A, either via an interface or by adjusting a rotary switch directly on the unit. Other parameters such as the reset behaviour of the circuit protector after applying supply voltage, the delay time prior to switching the load output or the above-mentioned setting of a limit value round off the possible settings for the electronic circuit protector.

The SVS201-PWR power board helps minimise the amount of wiring for a 24 V(DC) circuit. When the power distribution board is connected to the power supply, the rated current is automatically distributed (max. 40 A per power board) to all electronic circuit protectors. Any additional wiring is restricted to connecting the load to the circuit protector. No further accessories are required.

Unlike standard MCBs, the ESX50D-S electronic circuit protector takes a differentiated approach with regard to troubleshooting. If an electronic circuit protector is used, it can be tripped by a short circuit or a transient overload. If the device is switched off for maintenance, this is also detected and signalled to the higher-level control unit. This information enables maintenance personnel to adjust their activities accordingly and helps reduce response times in the event of a failure.

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