Eaton's electrical engineering and hydraulics at SPS IPC Drives

Eaton's booth will host integrated automation concepts, systems for all motor applications right through to sensors, as well as energy management and UPS systems. Eaton will also demonstrate the merging of electrics and hydraulics, and its competency regarding safety and export requirements. Product highlights include the new Xelra series of frequency inverters, DS7 soft starters and the new XC152 PLC, which can all be integrated in Eaton's SmartWire-DT connection and communication system. Additionally, the company will present its easy800 control relays and MFD-Titan multi-function displays with Bluetooth connectivity.

The core of Eaton's central Lean Solutions strategy is to identify operational processes in machine and system building that do not directly contribute to value creation, to eliminate waste and to fully leverage optimisation potential according to the Lean philosophy. Lean Solutions consist of three areas: Lean Connectivity, Lean Automation and Lean Power. SmartWire-DT provides the basis here for the connection technology.

SmartWire-DT eliminates the complex and error-prone point-to-point wiring in the control cabinet and in the periphery (Lean Connectivity). This makes it possible to reduce the effort required for wiring, testing and commissioning in many switchgear systems by up to 85 per cent. This was also the case with a potato-sorting plant in Bavaria where 250 drives had to be switched and protected using motor starter combinations. With SmartWire-DT, the cross-wiring could be reduced from 1km to 50m, and the cabling efforts required were cut to an eighth. In combination with Eaton's HMI/PLCs, which combine all control, visualisation and data management tasks in a single device, lean automation systems can be implemented and entire device levels such as I/O modules eliminated (Lean Automation). Thanks to the high level of data transparency made possible by SmartWire-DT from the PLC to the actuator/sensor, the energy efficiency and availability of a machine or plant can be increased (Lean Power).

Intelligent hydraulic valves

In Nuremberg, Eaton will also be addressing the need of many machine and system builders to integrate hydraulic or pneumatic components in a machine, in addition to the mechanical or electrical elements. Here, Eaton is one of the few suppliers that can offer integrated solutions from a single source. Eaton's Hydraulics business unit develops, produces and sells extensive product lines worldwide of components and systems for mobile and industrial applications. For example, the HMI/PLCs in an electro-hydraulic system can communicate via CANopen or Profibus with drives, I/O devices and intelligent hydraulic valves such as the new Eaton KBS valve. This makes it possible to implement an entire axis control system in a machine.

For more information about Eaton's machine building and system building portfolio, visit them at eh SPS IPC Drives exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany or visit their website at www.eaton.eu/.