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Success through innovation

B&R looking to double total sales by 2009
Success through innovation

The Upper Austrian automation specialist Bernecker & Rainer is pursuing an ambitious goal: By 2010, this Eggelsberg-based company wants to increase their sales to over 400 million Euro. To achieve this, the company is investing in new production facilities and new products. Examples are the X20 and X67 remote I/O systems, XV valve manifold connection systems, and the multilingual Aprol process control system.

Founded in 1979 by Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer, B&R produces components and solutions for all branches of machine and systems manufacturing. Right now, PLCs alone account for 52 % of the total sales of 190 million Euro. Two other important sectors include servo drives (23 %) and HMI/PC systems (22 %). During the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2005, sales once again increased by 15 %. Continued innovation and technologically advanced systems have made it possible to nearly double revenue in the last five years. According to managing director Hans Wimmer, this positive trend should continue into the future. “The continuous development practiced at our company is characterized by constant innovations that have a decisive effect on automation trends. This is the only way we will be able to reach our ambitious goal of a 15 % increase in sales in each of the next five years. By 2009, our goal is to double our current sales, especially through natural growth instead of through acquisitions.“ The number of employees has also developed positively over the course of last year, with the majority of them working at the production facilities in Eggelsberg. The total number of employees has increased by approximately 13 % to the current number of 1300. This number will continue to rise thanks to the construction of an additional production building in Eggelsberg.

1000 channels per meter
The X20 System is just one of the innovations developed by B&R. It combines all demands into a single I/O system. Open, flexible, and modular, the X20 provides customized solutions for any automation task. As a standard I/O solution, the X20 expands the options possible for all control systems. The principle is as simple as it is economical. The user puts his system together according to his needs. The X20 can be applied to digital technology for one-line, two-line, or three-line connections just as well as for analog signal processing. All connection technologies and signal variations are provided. Simply connect it, configure it, and you’re done. Considerable savings can be achieved by using ultra-compact 12-channel modules, which can save up to 50 % of switching cabinet space. 12 channels on a surface area only 12.5 mm wide allow a component density never before achieved without sacrificing optimal terminal ergonomics.
The X20 System is an intelligent controller and I/O system – local or remote. The user determines the properties, architecture, and topology. The remote backplane represents a quantum leap in system flexibility. Almost any distance can be bridged between the modules, at any location and as often as necessary: right next to each other on the mounting rail, in the same switching cabinet, over 100 m away, and in combination with other components.
Profibus DP and CAN, with its protocol derivatives CANopen and DeviceNet, are the classic fieldbus systems that have made it on the market. Ethernet is also becoming a stronger force. Using bus controllers makes it possible for the X20 System to serve as a powerful standard I/O system for all of these fieldbus systems and, as a result, with all standard PLC systems.
X20 System modules are divided into three parts – bus modules, electronic modules, and terminal blocks. All components are coded during production so that only components with an identical voltage level, safety class, and application environment can be combined.
Suitable for Ex Zone 2
Direct mounting on the production machine means that the I/O module is constantly being subjected to the roughest conditions. The X67 System is perfectly equipped to deal with this situation. The modules are completely sealed and outfitted with proven M8 and M12 connectors. The robust variant of the X20 System uses the same base technology, is available with 4 to 32 channels, and has Ex Zone 2 protection. Incorporating EMC properties was also a high-priority design goal. The complete shield dissipation, which runs from the cable shields through the union nuts on the connector directly to the metal back plate of the module, is an example of this. The X67 System combines an extremely compact design with excellent connection ergonomics. Even though the entire mod-ule can fit on a credit card, all of its connectors can be reached easily even when they are all plugged in. Individual X67 modules are connected using the decentralized backplane. All of the advantages of the X20 then apply to the X67: distances of up to 100 m between modules as often as desired and the freedom to combine X67 with X20 and the XV valve manifold connection system.
More than a connector
For valve manifold control, there were previously two possibilities: Direct connections via the fieldbuses or with individually wired outputs. The first possibility cannot be used with every valve manifold manufacturer, and the second requires a great deal of work and high costs. The XV System is the solution. Using the XV System, various valve manifolds can be connected easily and economically. It allows standard devices to be used with multi-pin connectors instead of having to connect valve manifolds via an expensive fieldbus. Regardless of the type, valve manifolds are always integrated in the same way. The application program and circuit diagrams are reused as-is without changes.
The XV module is connected directly to the valve manifold. The connection to the controller is made using the integrated connector on the central backplane. All of the electronics used to control the valves are housed in a 25-pin DSUB connector that is simply connected to the multi-pin valve manifold. This makes the XV System compatible with devices from leading manufacturers such as Bürkert, Festo, Rexroth, Norgen, and others.
The decentralized XV connection module is available for 8, 16, or 24 valves. The valve manifold connection module is available with IP 67 protection for use in rough environments.
Multilingual process control
Demands for state-of-the-art process control systems on the global market require solutions that are based on more than just one language. Only then can secure and error-free projects be created in the engineering team’s own language, whatever it may be. Systems designed in this way can then be switched easily, safely, and quickly to the language needed by the customer.
To compete at the highest levels in emerging markets such as China and Russia, Aprol R 3.0 has incorporated a powerful multilingual capability based on the Unicode format (UTF-8). This technology makes it possible for the process control system to use alphabets and character sets such as those used in the Chinese and Cyrillic languages. Simply adapting all system modules and databases opens up this possibility throughout the entire process control system.
Multi-language functionality is achieved in the Engineering system by configuring the target languages that are needed while the project is being designed. In addition to the source language, any number of target languages can be configured as well. The target language used is chosen automatically depending on the language configured on the operator station. Aprol is a Linux-based process control system that enables complete solutions – from terminals to visualization systems. It is used at all levels of process automation where complex structures need to be portrayed, especially in the areas of process engineering.
X20 System cpp 430
X67 System cpp 431
XV valve manifold connection cpp 432
Aprol process control system cpp 433

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