March 2020

n TECHNOLOGY March 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 24 SICKHASUNVEILED an IO-Link gateway with an on-boardWeb server that can collect, combine, evaluate and transmit signals from IO-Link devices from any manufacturer. The SIG200 Profinet Sensor Integration Gateway is the first in a family of intelligent Industry 4.0 gateways designed to work both as IO-Link masters and as small, distributed control systems. The device is said to make light work of configuring local sensor applications and, at the same time, opens up high-speed transfer of sensor status, parameter and diagnostics to enterprise-level or cloud- based systems. Only one cable is needed to communicate via the fieldbus with the machine controller and with the higher-level systems. Data can be integrated into both common PLC environments and higher-level systems. The gateway’s built-in logic and remote intelligence make it quick and easy to create and run distributed sensor applications, even independently of the PLC. “The beauty of the SIG200 is that it offers all the Industry 4.0 benefits of setting up a system using an IO-Link master, PLC and sensors,”explains David Hannaby, Sick’s UK product manager for presence detection. “Alternatively, it opens a second route, where you can bypass the PLC and create your own data-gathering system linking straight to the cloud. “Engineers will find it easy to configure and visualise an automation solution with the SIG200,”Hannaby continues.“The Sopas logic editor has a great drag-and-drop function so you can visualise all the connected sensor and actuator signals and measured values without the need for special software knowledge. It saves a huge amount of programming time, effort and cost. “Process control functions – for example, activating a mechanical pusher to reject products from a conveyor system – can be configured and set to operate autonomously without the need for the PLC,”he adds. “So, the communication load in the fieldbus is reduced at the same time.” The gateway can solve simple application tasks using binary switching signals or measured values from IO-Link sensors and actuators, without needing an additional controller. Diagnostics, process parameters, and status information from IO-Link devices – for condition monitoring or predictive maintenance, for example – can be accessed at both the machine and corporate levels. Data can be exchanged with MES, ERP and cloud-based software applications, and a REST API interface enables integration withWeb-based software. The gateway has four master ports for connecting any IO-Link sensors or actuators. Its can even be extended to standard binary sensors using Sick’s SIG100 sensor hub to bundle up to 12 standard I/Os in a single IO-Link data packet, which can then be communicated to machine controllers and cloud-based systems via the SIG200. Up to 52 I/Os can be connected to one gateway in this way. The gateway uses Sick’s Sopas PC-based engineering tool as an user interface that can be accessed via M8 USB, Ethernet or a Web browser. Sopas’logic editor allows users to visualise all connected signals and to solve application tasks quickly using drag-and-drop logic blocks. An embedded IODD (IO-Link Device Description) interpreter allows users to configure both the SIG200 and connected IO-Link devices simply by uploading the IODD files. Parameterisation of connected devices is said to be easy using Sopas, as is device replacement. The SIG200 can work with third-party products if the IODD file is accessible. Sick’s vision is to offer a portfolio of sensor gateways to support integration into fieldbus environments and higher automation hierarchies. Initially available for Profinet, other versions of will follow. Sick is offering an IO-Link master starter kit containing everything needed to set up an application using the SIG200. The kit includes a proximity sensor, a photoelectric sensor and reflector, cabling and accessories, as well as the gateway and the Sopas ET and FieldEcho software. Step-by-step guidance is provided for quick-start configuration of simple applications using the IO-Link master. www.sick.co.uk Gateway combines controls and IO-Link to gather data from devices of any make RESEARCHERS AT THE University of Sheffield have embarked on a two-year project aimed at developing a novel liquid cooling technology for electrical machines that could cut end-winding temperatures by more than 30°C compared to forced-air- cooled machines with rotor-mounted fans. The technique could boost machine efficiencies and prolong their lives. The research, backed by a £461,859 grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will focus on cooling end-windings which are often the hottest part of a machine and thus have the biggest impact on efficiencies, power densities and lifespans. Existing cooling methods such as spray cooling or flooding the stator can be effective because the cooling fluid is in direct contact with the windings. But spray- cooling suffers from reliability and robustness issues due to corrosion and erosion of the nozzles. And both techniques also need a closed-circuit liquid supply involving pumps and filters that add to the capital and running costs, while also reducing power densities. The Sheffield researchers are therefore working on a novel thermomagnetic liquid cooling technology based on an electrically non-conductive, temperature-sensitive ferro-fluid, consisting mainly of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles suspended in a liquid carrier such as synthetic oil. When these liquids experience variations in temperature under the influence of an external magnetic field, they behave as smart fluids producing a net magnetic force that causes the fluid to flow towards a hotter area. This, the researchers hope, will result in a self-regulating, pumpless and maintenance-free method of cooling. As well as achieving a significant cooling effect, the technique could the extend the lives of electrical machines because a 10°C drop in temperature can double the lifespan of winding insulation and have a similar effect on bearing lives. Sick’s SIG200 gateway (centre, left) can collect, combine, evaluate and transmit signals from IO-Link devices from any manufacturer n Novel motor cooling technique could boost lives and efficiencies