Cost-effective machine energy manager with cloud connectivity

Energy demands are increasing all the time and so are the associated costs.

Everyone wants and needs to reduce the energy consumed by their machines and processes. End users are therefore asking their suppliers to produce energy-efficient machines and systems by which energy consumption can be monitored and improved if required.

Phoenix Contact has recently launched a retrofit system that enables machine builders or end users to monitor a specific motor (direct fed or via a frequency inverter) or complete machine power consumption.

The information gathered can be utilised locally or, via a gateway, it can be sent to a higher-level controller or up to the cloud. Gateways are available for Ethernet/IP, ProfiNet, Profibus, Modbus, CANopen and DeviceNet.

The new product is part of the Contactron family, renowned for its hybrid motor starter technology, and is aptly called the Electronic Machine Manager (EMM).

EMM devices can monitor voltage, current, Cos Phi and therefore real power.

The offer is very simple but effective: DIN rail-mounted CTS units are fitted on the incoming three phases and are connected via a D-sub connector to the associated monitoring relay. This relay is then configured (or parameterised) via the FDT/DTM concept using Phoenix's free-to-download IFS-Conf software.

Monitoring is implemented by up to eight freely configurable switching and signalling thresholds.

Parameterisation relies on the real power consumed by the machine - which is calculated from the three currents, voltages and the phase angle. This produces a very precise energy measurement, which is independent of voltage fluctuations and drive loads.

The combination of monitoring and switching gives users a clear indication of their energy usage, and also facilitates increased system availability thanks to predictive maintenance.

The EMM is very compact and can be implemented in new machines or retrofitted to existing machines. It is comes in two sizes, 90A and 160A, and has a typical measuring accuracy of 0.5 per cent.

For more information on this or any other Phoenix products and systems go to www.phoenixcontact.co.uk or contact Fraser Cowie at [email protected] (plesae mention MachineBuilding.net).