February 2020

 For more Technology News visit www.drivesncontrols.com n TECHNOLOGY February 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 24 ATTHE RECENT SPS show, Wieland Electric unveiled a decentralised motor starter that, it claims, is the smallest in its power range and the first with IP65 protection and a built-in STO (Safe Torque Off) safety function. The podisMS reversing starter covers the power range 0.3–5hp (0.25–4kW) in one frame size, cutting storage and administration costs. The starter is designed to be easy to commission. Parameterisation can be carried out onboard using DIP switches. There is also a Web configurator to help with the settings and this can be accessed by scanning a QR code on the front of the starter with a smartphone or tablet. A “sophisticated” thermal design, together with low-wear electronic switching, is said to result in long service lives, even with frequent switching cycles. The built-in STO function allows safety to be implemented without extra components. It is said to achieve PL e / SIL 3 performance. When STO is activated, the motor is disconnected from the power supply, while connected sensors and actuators and the starter continue to be supplied. Communications with the device and sensors remains active, and a single drive or a group of drives can still be stopped. Built-in motor protection functions include a thermal motor model, a thermo-mechanical circuit breaker, and the option of reading a motor thermistor. The starter has CE, UL and cUL approvals, making it suitable for use worldwide. For the US market, it includes a “repair switch” in accordance with UL 508. This allows drives to be disconnected safely for repair or maintenance, enabling individual lines or loads to be disconnected from the mains without having to shut down the entire system. An integrated supply generates a 24V DC auxiliary voltage to power sensors without using the neutral conductor, making additional cabling unnecessary, and saving time and costs. www.wieland-electric.com/en-gb Decentralised starter is ‘the smallest and the first with IP65 and STO’ Wieland’s IP65-protected 4kWmotor starter is said to be the smallest in its power range RITTAL ANDTWO of its sister companies in the Friedhelm Loh Group – German Edge Cloud and IoTOS – have joined forces with Bosch Connected Industry to launch an edge computing appliance that will allowmanufacturers to extract extra value from their production data. Called Oncite, the appliance is an open IIoT platform combined with an edge cloud datacentre. The technology is aimed, in particular, car-makers and their suppliers. “Automotive suppliers currently face a major challenge,” explains Dr Sebastian Ritz, managing director of German Edge Cloud. “VW and BMW recently launched a digitalisation initiative by setting up their own digital production platforms. Their suppliers, with up to 100,000 factories, need to adapt to these as well as to the subsequent platforms of the other car manufacturers and top-tier suppliers. However, the suppliers want to retain control of their production data without risking their supplier status. They need an affordable ‘plug-and-produce solution’.” Oncite will enable secure data exchange across the automotive supply chain, and with the upcoming digital production platforms of the car-makers and other suppliers. It is based on a highly available and scalable edge cloud datacentre which records, stores, processes and evaluates data rapidly and locally. “By holding all the data on site, the user retains full control and decides whether and how to transfer the processed data to the various digital production platforms of the OEMs and top-tier suppliers,”Ritz explains. “IoT platforms such as SupplyOn or Siemens’ Mindsphere can be used to store data and to exchange production-relevant information with customers and suppliers, while control over data is maintained.” https://oncite.io The Oncite edge appliance will enable secure data exchange across supply chains Edge appliance targets car-makers and their suppliers