Fieldbus & Industrial Networking


Edge controller provides high availability

January 2021 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

A consulting company specialising in emergency standby power control systems, load management control systems and monitoring solutions offers a host of technical services to other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), engineering firms, and end users that require quick, responsive engineering services of critical power systems. The company’s target market includes data centres, hospitals and municipalities that need to upgrade ageing emergency power systems or need to expand existing systems to facilitate growth. Today, these end-user customers face increasing critical power demand within the same space, which requires additional generators, switchgear and control systems. Oftentimes, the existing systems contain obsolete controls, or controls that do not afford expansion capabilities.

One of the consulting firm’s customers was a large government agency that sought to improve its system reliability in its data centre by installing redundancy in the master control system. The agency had disparate standalone systems with multiple points of failure, which did not provide the level of reliability or security needed. The agency turned to the consulting firm’s industry and technical expertise to help implement a new solution with the latest technologies.

The consulting company selected Emerson and installed a new redundancy solution for the agency using PACSystemsTM RX3i redundant edge controllers. These industrial edge controllers offer connectivity to various I/O on a proven industrial network that provides deterministic data and automatic switchover for continuous operations.

The new redundancy solution operates as a single system to the overall operations, eliminating the complex preparations usually needed to synchronise data between other applications and external systems. It also features remote I/O to support redundant Ethernet LANs and a wide variety of network modules.

Having removed the multiple points of failure that were present before, the agency has now increased system integrity, reliability and security with the new solution. In addition, the PACSystems RX3i edge controller’s open and flexible architecture enabled the consulting firm to leverage the agency’s existing technology equipment, saving significant time and money.


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

PC-based control for flat wire motors for electric vehicles
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Special machine manufacturer, ruhlamat Huarui Automation Technologies unveiled the second generation of its mass production line for flexible stators with bar winding. This enables extremely short production cycle and line changeover times, supported by PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology from Beckhoff.

Read more...
Case History 200: The final case history – desuperheater control problem.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
For this final article I have chosen to relate a problem that existed in a desuperheater temperature control on a boiler in a petrochemical refinery.

Read more...
PC-based control technology in additive manufacturing
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
As an open control platform, PC-based control supports different engineering approaches, including low-code programming. The machine builder, Additive Industries uses this to create the code for the TwinCAT runtime of its 3D printers.

Read more...
Suppression and safety solutions for fire and gas in mission-critical industries
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
By representing world-leading brands and focusing on fully integrated, certified systems, HMA South Africa is positioning itself as a trusted partner in fire detection, suppression and explosion-proof safety solutions across the continent.

Read more...
Integrating fire alarm systems into building management systems
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Fire alarm systems work independently of the building automation system. Schrack Seconet has developed a flexible gateway using ultra-compact industrial PCs and TwinCAT from Beckhoff, which can be used to flexibly convert a customer-specific communication protocol to a wide range of transmission standards.

Read more...
Premium unmanaged industrial switch
Vepac Electronics Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Premium unmanaged industrial switch for long-distance, noise-free fibre connectivity

Read more...
Fire and gas suppression solutions for mission-critical industries
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
By representing world-leading brands and focusing on fully integrated, certified systems, HMA South Africa is positioning itself as a trusted partner in fire detection, suppression and explosion-proof safety solutions across the continent.

Read more...
The future of manufacturing
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Industrial automation is evolving at an unprecedented pace. At the forefront of this transformation is the Siemens SIMATIC ET 200SP HA Distributed I/O system. This is a flexible and scalable distributed I/O system for modern signal transfer from the field to the control level.

Read more...
Time-sensitive networking
RJ Connect Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
In this article, we will explore what is driving the rise of time-sensitive networking, how it is reshaping industrial efficiency, the challenges when deploying this technology, and ways to tackle these challenges.

Read more...
Loop Signature 30: Nonlinearity in control loops (Part 1)
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
If nonlinearity occurs it means that if one is to carry on controlling with the same response to changes in load or setpoint, then the tuning of the controller will also need to be adjusted to meet the new conditions.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved