Adkom2014

© 2014 SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG

The fastest time for a penalty kick: 0.60 seconds Jens Lehmann, a German goalkeeper legend

The fastest measured cycle: 0.63 seconds PPU-P, Pick & Place Unit from SCHUNK

Günter Weiß Gripping System Solutions, Assembly Department

Superior Clamping and Gripping

SCHUNK_PPU-P_mitJL_IN_170x221.indd 1

11.03.14 15:57

Telemecanique Sensors Mechanical and Electronic Pressure Switches

Non-contact Sensors

Heavy Duty and Compact Limit Switches

Contact and Non-contact Safety

Robust, easy to use and specialist offer for Non Contact Sensors, Safety Sensors, Heavy Duty and Compact Limit Switches, Mechanical and Electronic Pressure Switches Segment & Application

About us

We focus on dedicated solutions in the sensors’ activity for applications in Hoisting, Machines tools, Bulk Material Handling, Packaging, Food & Beverage, Bottling, Labeling, Assembly lines, Conveying, Steel, Lift & Escalator, Access Control and Parking.

> Know-how and Innovation on sensors and safety sensors since 1925 > Simply easy ! design, easy to choose, install and maintain. > Local availability of Expert services and specialist partners

Learn more about our latest innovations on www.tesensors.co.in. Watch our video on “advantages of an integrated tensioner assembly” and stand a chance to win Samsung Galaxy note 3!

Visit www.SEreply.com Key Code 52413y XC Limit Switches I XS Inductive I XT Capacitive I XU Photo Sensor I XX Ultrasonic I XCS Safety Switches I XM Pressure Switch XZ Cabling I XCC Encoder I XG RFID I XUW Vision

© 2014 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Siemens and the Siemens logo are registered trademarks of Siemens AG. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.

Make a breakthrough in automotive engineering.

Siemens PLM Software: Smarter decisions, better products.

Execute innovative programs consistently.

As OEMs race to build smarter, more personalized cars, suppliers must deliver more complex systems, meet more regulations and outperform more competitors.

To stand out, you need to break through. Your team needs to collaborate on a common platform for “Executing Program Innovation.” This way, everyone understands the impact of their decisions on cost, timing and quality—and you achieve more profitable innovation.

Siemens PLM Software can help. Our solution for Model-driven Program Execution helps you optimize cross-discipline product development, improve program performance and reduce risk. The result? The opportunity for faster, more profitable innovation.

Model-driven Program Execution helps automotive suppliers to accelerate systems development and deliver on-time, on-budget and high-quality innovations.

Learn more about our solution for Executing Program Innovation at bit.ly/breakthrough3

Answers for industry.

EDITORIAL

Automation as a strategy T

Shekhar Jitkar Publisher & Chief Editor

“A&D Kompendium is a collector’s copy that will facilitate manufacturing enterprises identify and implement new technologies and strategies to re-start the growth and move their business forward to a brighter future”

hese are very challenging times for all of us. On one side there are frequent ups & downs in the country’s manufacturing activity but still holding a promising future, and on the other there are increasing costs and competitive pressures.

However, at the same time, as the Indian manufacturing industry strives to be globally competitive, it has realised the importance of investing in factory modernisation and manufacturing process optimisation with appropriate automation & robotics solutions and the supporting information technology.

This has brought along several different dimensions that have significantly increased the challenge in selecting a cost-effective and appropriate technology solution suiting to a particular application. So, there will be no shortage of challenges for the engineers in the years to come and it is obvious that the demands placed on automation solutions are set to increase even further in the years ahead.

Moreover, the industry now wants to transcend further boundaries, achieve more breakthroughs and innovations. It wishes to interact, share ideas, exchange technology information, and help each other to get a bigger helping of the global pie.

Realising this, we have brought to you a unique concept – A&D India Kompendium – an automation & robotics yearbook series.

It is a collector’s copy that will facilitate manufacturing enterprises identify and

implement new technologies and strategies to re-start the growth and move their business forward to a brighter future.

The A&D Kompendium has been launched with an objective of increasing awareness and acceptability in the manufacturing industry on cutting edge automation & robotics technologies to aid the Indian industry leverage the same for greater productivity, efficiency, quality, safety and consistency – parameters that form the key to global competitive excellence, today.

On the pages of this very first edition of Kompendium, you will find all the relevant facets of automation & robotics covered such as articles on cutting-edge technologies and management strategies, innovations & trends, write-ups on new products & technologies, and much more. That’s not all, we also have eminent industry leaders and experts sharing their success stories and discussing the current issues in the manufacturing industry in general and the automation & robotics segment in particular. I am sure the features in this issue will make an interesting reading, for the present as well as future reference, so as to make it a truly collector’s copy.

Wishing you success in the coming years!

shekhar.jitkar@publish-industry.net

Editorial Advisory Board Vijay Srinivasan Partner, Effectus Consulting LLP Anup Wadhwa Director – AIA (Automation Industry Association) P V Sivaram MD – B&R Automation Member – AIA

For subscription log on to www.AandD24.in

Anant Maheshwari Managing Director Honeywell Automation India

Ganapathiraman G Vice President & GM (South and South-East Asia) ARC Advisory Group Ravi Agarwal Director, Pepperl+Fuchs (Factory Automation) Raj Singh Rathee Managing Director Kuka Robotics India Jasbir Singh Vice President – Electrical & Instrument Essar Project Management Consultants

Dr KLS Sharma Advisor Automation Education & Training Mandar Phadke CEO, Abhisam Software Former Head – Process Control Lanxess India Pvt Ltd Arcot Rajabahadur Automation Consultant Thampy Mathew Chairman, Fieldbus Foundation India Regional Sales Director, Pepperl+Fuchs (Process Automation)

Overseas Partner: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong & South-East Asia

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

4

CONTENTS

MANAGEMENT 40 “Creating a fresh wave of thinking” Interview with Dr Ashish Manchanda, Managing Director, Finder India

49 “High level of service quality expected” Interview with Ajay K Dhir, Chairman, Oranda Global

42 “Focus is on core technology” Interview with Somshubhro Pal Choudhury, Managing Director, Analog Devices India

50 “No dependence on service expert” Interview with Jasbir Singh, Vice President – Business Development, Essar Projects (India)

14 From the horse’s mouth The article showcases the thought processes of various leaders in the automation industry

43 “Consistency in product quality” Interview with Deepak Aran, Country Manager, Contrinex Automation

52 “Adhere to safety to drive excellence” Interview with Anil Gupta, Site Head – Taloja, Dow India

18 Prophesying the future roadmap A read into the latest trends in automation and growth prospects in the industry

44 “Invest in appropriate automation” Interview with Bipin Jirge, Managing Director, ifm electronic India

LEAD STORY 10 Driven by end user requirements The article focuses on the changing landscape of the automation industry TRENDS

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW 34 “Encouraging motion and I/O control” Interview with Wayne Baron, President, Galil Motion Control 36 “Simpler tax structure will help” Interview with Raj Singh Rathee, Managing Director, Kuka Robotics India 38 “Demand is in for smart shopfloor” Interview with Ravi Agarwal, Director, Pepperl + Fuchs (Factory Automation)

46 “Networking is catching up fast” Interview with Bhadresh Dani, Head – Drives Division, Bharat Bijlee 48 “Manufacturers need multi connectivity” Interview with Umesh Sakle, CEO, Hilscher India

06 News MARKET TRENDS 69 Selecting the right vendor The article provides a checklist to help end-users with automation vendor selection

72 The Kaizen point Insights into Kaizen event and its success based on proper advance planning 74 An insightful perspective The article deals with the adoption of modern advanced techniques in manufacturing

TECHNOLOGY 24 Reverse innovation – setting a trend A read on reverse innovation with respect to a developing country like India 26 Building innovation roadmap The article analyses the research & development themes followed by global companies

MARKET

STRATEGY

54 Low-cost automation - An insight A feature on how low-cost automation can fulfill the manufacturing need for competitiveness 58 Symphony of the absolute A read on system integrators who offer experience in all aspects of industrial control systems 62 Unravelling the intelligence A read on process intelligence which enables discrete manufacturers 66 Guide map for Appropriate Automation A discussion on strategic points to be considered before selecting automation solution

AUTOMOTIVE 77 Working in sync The article explores the challenges & opportunities for automotive suppliers in a competitive global environment CHEMICAL & PROCESS 80 Automation in the offing An overview of established & upcoming technologies, trends in the chemical & process industry FOOD & BEVERAGE 82 Towards burgeoning An article on the automation requirements of the food & beverage industry STEEL & METAL 84 Better steelmaking A read on the scope of application & implementation principles for automation in this industry

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

5

TECHNOLOGY POWER & ENERGY 86 The MV advantage A case study on Yantra Automation’s solution for Reliance Energy for MV drive PHARMACEUTICAL 88 Prescribing new horizons A read on the use of automation in the pharmaceutical supply chain TEST & MEASUREMENT 90 Simple testing solutions A look into the advancements in test and measurement instruments INDUSTRIAL COMPUTERS 92 Interfacing today A feature on the latest and best in HMI devices CONTROL & REGULATION 94 Un-tagging the HMI A look at how significant savings in development can be achieved with a component object-based SCADA product DRIVES & COMPONENTS 96 Exploring servo drives An insight into digital servo technology and its various advantages ENERGY TECHNOLOGY 98 Optimising energy A feature on energy management to improve profitability in the software industry FIELDBUSES & NETWORKS 100 Revamping engineering A look at asset management through modern interface technology based on FDT/DTM

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

NEW PRODUCTS GEARS & MOTORS 102 Before you order a gearmotor‌ 10 things everybody ought to know about custom gearmotors IMAGE PROCESSING & MEASUREMENT 104 Automation systems in sight Article on factory automation utilising a machine vision system for various benefits SENSORS & ENCODERS 106 The target decides Article on specific methods used for thickness measurement SOFTWARE & ENGINEERING TOOLS 108 A stitch ahead of time Article on design for manufacturability to minimise the cost of production and time-to-market ROBOTICS & HANDLING 110 Of picking and packing A read on picking & packing robotic solutions

120 Mid range modular PLC; Mobile app for smart selection; Industrial barcode readers; Heavy duty incremental encoder 121 Non-contact electronic safety sensors; High speed wireless Ethernet solution; Pluggable terminal blocks; Output circuit protection replay 122 Power supply units; CAN repeaters; Flexible compact AC drives; Online colour measurement system 123 Pressure transmitters; Frequency inverters; Ultrafast automation technology; Connector technology 124 Low cost cables; Touch screen based HMI; Standardisation & automation tool; RIO Pocket PLC Series 125 Serial-to-fibre converter; AC variable frequency drives; Rotary modules; Compact process automation controller 126 Data carriers; Interface solutions; Motion controller; Digital high-density input modules

WIRELESS IN AUTOMATION 113 Going wireless Article on wireless data communication for applications in the process industries PRODUCT INNOVATIONS 116 Smart solutions This feature elaborates on technology breakthroughs and innovations in the automation world

COLUMNS 03 Editorial 04 Contents 128 Highlights / Company Index

6

MARKET NEWS

Smart manufacturing will drive demand for M2M communication ■ The

manufacturing sector has traditionally implemented a range of wired networks to automate plant floor operations. However, emerging machine-to-machine (M2M) systems such as short-range wireless and long-range cellular networks are evolving into choice solutions for factories of the future. M2M systems can supplement or replace wired networks to enable advanced robotics and enterprise mobility on the plant floor, enabling convenient connectivity in inaccessible areas, communication across barriers, and simplified installation based on wireless local area, wide area, and sensor networks.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, M2M Communication

in Manufacturing, finds that telecommunication companies (telcos) will be an important stakeholder in the provision of M2M solutions and the growth of the Internet of Things in the manufacturing sector. “Telcos’ ability to offer enterprisegrade communication services integrated with plant-level communications is critical to reliable plant-level operations,” said Frost & Sullivan Information and Communication

Technologies Research Analyst, Shuba Ramkumar. “Existing partner networks can also be leveraged to provide end-toend services, including network implementation, provision of applications, and data analytics.”

The pace at which M2M communication is adopted may, however, be slow as the t ra d i t i o n a l l y- co n s e r vat i ve manufacturing sector will be apprehensive about potential

downtime and the risk to the value and quality of their output. Security concerns are another reason manufacturers are reluctant to use wireless networks.

Apart from these technical challenges, the relative inexperience of telcos in this market dissuades manufacturers from availing their services. Educating manufacturers on the benefits of advanced M2M technologies, ensuring secure functioning of wireless networks, and consulting with manufacturers to tailor solutions to their unique requirements will make smart manufacturing a reality that much quicker.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Approval for semiconductor wafer fabrication manufacturing facilities ■ The Cabinet has approved

setting up of two semiconductor wafer fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in India.

These FAB units are to be set up by two business consortia, and broad project parameters that includes Jaiprakash Associates Limited (with IBM, USA and Tower Semiconductor Limited, Israel as partners). In this, the total estimated project cost is ` 34,399 crore; technology: 90/65/45/28 nm with a capacity of 40,000 WSPM at Yamuna Expressway, Uttar Pradesh.

The second business consortia include HSMC Technologies India (with ST Microelectronics and Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. as partners) wherein the estimated project cost is ` 29,013 crore; technology 90/65/45/28/22 nm with a

capacity of 40,000 WSPM at Prantij, Gujarat. The final agreements are expected to be signed by August 2014.

The Empowered Committee has been authorised to take all decisions to implement the FAB projects in furtherance of the decision. The proposed FABs will create direct employment of about 22,000 and indirect

employment of about one lakh. These FABs will have a big impact on the development of electronics system design and manufacturing eco-system across the country. It will help to set up a critical pillar required to promote electronics system design and manufacturing in India. The semiconductor wafer fabrication units, will stimulate

the flow of capital and technology, create employment opportunities, help higher value addition in the electronic products manufactured in India, reduce dependence on imports, and lead to innovation.

The incentives extended will comprise 25% subsidy on capital expenditure and tax reimbursement as admissible under Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) Policy; Exemption of basic customs duty (BCD) for non-covered capital items and 200% deduction on expenditure on R&D as admissible under Section 35(2AB) of the Income Tax (IT) Act.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

NEWS MARKET

Siemens PLM Software awarded

Maxon Motor wins Aerosuisse Award

■ Frost & Sullivan has awarded

■ Aerosuisse,

Siemens PLM Software as “Company of the Year for PLM in India, 2013”. The award was announced at their 2013 Industrial Technologies Awards function in Mumbai, India.

Frost & Sullivan recognises outstanding industr y achievements by awarding top companies in regional and global markets in various categories. “Siemens PLM Software has a well chalked out strategy to penetrate the Indian market with its range of solutions and customer centric delivery model. The enhanced value addition delivered by Siemens PLM Software to its customers has enabled it to maintain its market leadership in India,” said Niju V, Director, Automation & Electronics

Practice, Frost & Sullivan. “We are honoured to receive this recognition once again. This award is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the manufacturing industry in the country. As manufacturers in India we strive to achieve competitiveness within an increasingly complex global business environment,” said Suman Bose, VP & MD, Siemens PLM Software, India.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

the Swiss a e ro s p a ce industry organisation, has recently chosen maxon motor AG as the winner of Aerosuisse Award 2013. The products of the drive specialist have been conquering Mars for over 15 years, and are also increasingly used on board civil aircraft.

Aerosuisse mentioned the Dragon capsule of rocket and spacecraft manufacturer Space X would not be able to dock onto the Inter-national Space Station if it wasn’t for maxon motor. The valves and flaps of the Boeing 787 ventilation system are also driven by maxon’s motors. By presenting the award, Aerosuisse has honoured the company’s groundbreaking development and production of high-

precision drive systems, which are of vital importance to the aerospace industry. Speaking on the occasion, Eugen Elmiger, CEO, maxon motor said, “We are very proud that, we can participate in large missions & adventures with our small drives; and we are proud of our employees that give their every day to fulfill the ambitious requirements of the aerospace industry.”

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

All-time-high for industrial robots in 2013 ■ Based on the results of the

IFR Quarterly Statistics, the global demand for industrial robots reached an all-timehigh of about 168,000 units in 2013, 5% more than in 2012,“ said Arturo Baroncelli, IFR President. Robot sales to the Americas continued to increase due to necessary automation processes in the North American industry. Robot sales to Asia rose considerably due to strong demand from China, South Korea and other growing Asian markets. In the fourth quarter 2013, the start of recovery in the eurozone pushed robot demand substantially.

Between 2010 and 2013, the annual increase of global robot sales was about 12% on average despite the critical economic Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

situation in some key countries. One basic reason for the continuous growth in the use of robotics is its never ending technological development in relation with market and industrial requirements, accounting for product quality and competitiveness as well as safe processes,“ explained Arturo Baroncelli.

Joe Gemma, IFR Vice President, added: Many factors have contributed to the increased use of robotics worldwide, some of which has been driven directly from the automation equipment manufactures. The software to work with and run robots and automation cells has developed rapidly over the last few years and the ease of use has transcended into more applications under a

very demanding and dynamic manufacturing landscape that would not have been tackled in the past. This has enabled manufacturers to provide products to the market quicker and with flexibility of variations to meet consumer demand and at the same time insure the quality required and the performance demanded.

Additionally, development tools have enabled more R&D variations on traditional product portfolios and has provided the possibility to ‚push the envelope‘ to bring more innovation quicker to the market place.“ For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

7

8

MARKET NEWS

Eplan partners with Siemens PLM Solution SPS Automation India announced ■ Eplan

has been officially announced as Siemens PLM Solution Partner.

The aim of the partnership is to offer an interface between the two market-leading systems Eplan and Teamcenter. This integration closes a loophole in the PLM process: the configuration data for the Eplan platform that can be processed in Teamcenter. Companies from different industries can benefit from this integrated approach which forms part of a consistent product creation process. The companies have developed a sophisticated, future-proof integration of the Eplan platform into the

Teamcenter PLM environment. “In line with the partner program, Eplan and Siemens Industry Software GmbH & Co. KG have together proven their strengths.

Our joint customers can also benefit hugely from this increased consistency“, said Maximilian Brandl, Chairman of the Executive Board, Eplan, “The integration of Eplan into Teamcenter allows our customers to optimise interdisciplinary cooperation,” said Urban August, Senior Vice President & MD, Siemens Industry Software GmbH & Co KG. For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

■ Messe

Frankfurt T r a d e Fairs India together with Mesago Messe Frankfurt introduces Europe’s leading automation exhibition SPS IPC Drives to the Indian market. The organisers feel it is the perfect time to harness business opportunities across all verticals of the automation industry in India and believe the launch of ‘SPS Automation India - Driving manufacturing processes of the future’ will be the ideal platform to aid this development. The trade fair, like the mother event SPS IPC Drives (Nuremberg), will represent a leading platform for innovations in the field of industrial automation and host a vast range of displays

of products, systems and services. SPS Automation India will be held from February 5 to 7, 2015 at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

“The solution to India’s pursuit of being a world-class industrial competitor is automation, and we are confident that SPS Automation India will present the sector players the perfect platform to showcase technologies while allowing the Indian market,” said Raj Manek, MD, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs, India.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Merging plans ■ Fieldbus

Foundation and HART Communication Foundation has announced their willingness to merge the two organisations into a single industry foundation dedicated to the needs of intelligent device communications in the world of process automation.

The Chairmen of these two organisations—Dr Gunther Kegel, Fieldbus Foundation and Mark Schumacher, HART Communication Foundation—issued the following statement on behalf of their boards of directors.

“We believe combining the resources and capabilities of each foundation into a single organisation that will provide significant benefits to both end users and suppliers. For end users, a single organisation

that combines the power of both Fieldbus Foundation and HART Communication Foundation would provide a full solution that addresses every conceivable aspect of field communications and intelligent device management for the process industries. For suppliers, a single organisation would create efficiencies in resource utilisation, consistency of processes and procedures, and would deliver significant

improvements in member services and support.” The Fieldbus Foundation and HART Communication Foundation have worked extensively together in the past and have a long history of cooperation. For example, the two organisations have worked together on the development of common international standards such as Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) and recently, the development of the Field

Device Integration (FDI) specification. The merger offers significant potential to harmonise many aspects of the two protocols, making it easier for end users and suppliers to implement the technology and obtain the full benefits of each technology in plant operations and maintenance. In preliminary discussions, Richard J Timoney, Fieldbus Foundation and Ted Masters, HART Communication Foundation, added that many synergies already exist and the decision will provide momentum for a major step forward in the evolution of intelligent devices and the world of industrial communications.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

SENSORS SAFETY RFID

INDUCTIVE SENSORS

FULL INOX BASIC

ROBUST INDUCTIVE SENSORS FOR THE ENTRY LEVEL

KEY ADVANTAGES 9 Mechanically and chemically extremely robust

9 High quality Contrinex ASIC sensor 9 Factor 1 on steel and aluminum 9 Corrosion resistant 9 IP68 and IP69K 9 Excellent temperature compensation 9 Vibration and shock-resistant

www.contrinex.com

LEAD STORY MANAGEMENT

IMAGE COURTESY: SIEMENS

10

Driven by end user requirements The article deals with the changing landscape of the automation industry with due consideration to the adoption of different strategies by suppliers to address the growing needs of their client base and the needs of the various industry verticals for flexibility, greater modularity and reconfigurability.

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

E

merging markets, such as India occupy centre stage in terms of untapped potential and demand.

With a growing, aspirational middleclass segment with higher discretionary spending, consumption patterns are

changing. Suppliers are also adopting different strategies with a clear focus on tapping the opportunities that India offers.

Several automation suppliers continue to make acquisitions to address the growing needs of their client base and the needs of

industry in emerging nations. Previously, the market was dictated by suppliers, but now end users, with more access to technology without boundaries are voicing their demands and changing market trends. They demand greater modularity, A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

11 flexibility and re-configurability. Effective supplier-end user synchronisation can be achieved only via collaboration between the two ends of the scale. To achieve this, end users should work with equipment and automation suppliers for optimising performance of their systems; bridge the skill and technology gap by adopting latest trends, techniques, and remain updated; reap the benefits of available and proven IT technologies to improve business operations.

Effective migration strategy Automation and technology are advancing so rapidly that unless companies have constant upgrades or migration strategies in place, their processes will soon become obsolete. The phases in which migration is effected is important. Two popular methods adopted are “total replacement” and “phased migration.”

The kind of migration strategy adopted is determined by the nature of manufacturing process itself. Though replacement in one go offers certain advantages, it is least feasible option for a typical Indian process plant. Most installed automation assets have differing life cycles. HMI workstations have the shortest life cycle followed by controllers and I/O modules and associated wiring.

HMI work stations may demand priority replacement as their operating systems (OS) undergo regular version changes.

This may dissuade total replacement.

Regardless of the type of migration chosen, users must keep the overall goal of achieving a maximum business value and seek to capitalise the capabilities of target migration system. This means both minimising risk and reducing downtime and involves significant preparation, planning, and testing.

Understanding cost components in a migration effort relative to different approaches is vital to control the budget and steer it in the right direction. The greatest opportunity to reduce the cost lies in the engineering domain, consisting of system engineering, instrument engineering, and installation (especially when rewiring is involved). All major control system suppliers have a migration strategy to offer. This could be either Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

End users and suppliers ought to follow these three business imperatives to succeed in the fluctuating marketplace

suppliers’ own systems or their peers.

However, end users need to have in place a rational basis in evaluating suppliers based on performance, reliability, and host of other issues.

Faster implementation needed The biggest area of discontent is implementation time. ARC recognises that many variables and factors contribute to this, and a “deep dive” here will be too time-consuming. But the takeaway is clear – users want to be able to implement their systems faster. In cases where multiple plants are involved, awareness of the importance of rapid implementation tends to arise early. The implementation team then develops a plan to minimise the efforts at individual plants. In practice, this should favour suppliers who can demonstrate that their solution has the tools and processes to facilitate rapid multi-plant implementations. In smaller projects, the temptation to customise things can derail plans, increase costs, and decrease satisfaction. There is some reason to think that, as an industry, we are getting better at avoiding this trap, but we still have a long way to go.

Integration still a problem Users would also like to see the integration to ERP and automation systems simplified.

The users fall into one of two camps – those

who have “figured it out” and expect their next integration to be straightforward and relatively simple; and those for whom the integration piece remains daunting. This is certainly not an optimal situation, but progress has been made. Some rely on extensive integration with other systems, while others get by with little or no integration, or phase it in later. With such variability, users can’t realistically expect to see a valid, side-by-side numerical comparison of implementation times.

The only practical way a user can assess the fit is by conducting a thorough analysis of the key suppliers and then by pressing reference customers for details. Users want suppliers to provide new technologies, help in streamlining production processes, cyber security and innovation.

New technologies: A surprising number of companies are dissatisfied with the pace of new technology introductions by their suppliers. Specifically, they would like to be able to rely on their suppliers for things like Big Data/analytics, SaaS/cloud, mobile solutions, social technologies, 3D visualisation, and the like. This is an opportunity and a challenge for suppliers.

Of course, the challenge is adapting these leading-edge, potentially disruptive technologies to practical solutions. But the opportunity may be greater than expected as well, because new technology may require that the customer be running a current, or fairly current, version of the software. At the moment, users appear to >

LEAD STORY T E C H N O LO G Y

Image courtesy: SIEMENS

12

A wide variety of systems and equipment are deployed in critical automation and control applications

be showing patience, but that could change overnight as soon as a few suppliers unveil real products.

Streamlining production processes: Demands and specifications of end users are driving new automation technologies.

Some of the major trends emerging in machine automation result in streamlining production processes and improving the bottom line. Hardware is becoming “smarter” and self-configuring, with faster networking capabilities and built-in diagnostics. This has reduced downtime and increased productivity. Mechatronics is another emerging trend that integrates mechanical hardware, electronics and software, leading to more standardised machine sub-assemblies. Meanwhile, PLM tools are revolutionising engineering with their holistic approach to products, systems design and ability to do simulation testing in a virtual environment. DCS technology has also evolved and emerged as more flexible and extensible with the merging of IT, increasing use of standards, building the system around Ethernet, and more collaboration between business and production management functions. The demand for intelligent instruments and software (PAM, APM, EAM) to manage assets is also projected to grow.

Cyber security: Every industrial organisation needs to address the growing challenges of protecting its plants and facilities from cyber intrusions. With organisations becoming more dependent on network connectivity through mobile systems and other emerging platforms,

Automation systems have evolved from mere logic solvers to full-fledged business support tools. The focus is on the importance of automation in the plant lifecycle

security of operations is critical for business continuity and delivery of services. The growing complexity of organisational operations, numerous applications, global architecture, and all-pervasive nature of cyber threats make security more difficult to achieve. Implementing a good security technology infrastructure is essential, but not a complete answer. Persistent hackers and cyber criminals will always find new vulnerabilities and novel ways to exploit organisational weaknesses. A broad strategy that anticipates change and includes ongoing vigilance is the only real defense. To prevent cyber-attacks automation and IT need to be closely coupled.

The appearance of the Stuxnet malware in 2010 dramatically changed the general attitude toward cyber security for industrial automation systems and equipment. PostStuxnet, it is a demonstrated fact that malware can be deployed by countries as a weapon of war, as well as by hackers, malicious or otherwise. Such weapons may be extremely difficult to develop, but are also very difficult to trace to an individual, group, or country. They may also prove widely effective against “soft targets” – meaning industrial devices and systems that are relatively insecure.

Industrial cyber security standards and regulations have generally been developed by vertical industry organisations. A wide variety of systems and equipment are deployed in critical automation and control applications (DCS, safety shutdown systems, PLCs, SCADA systems, drives,

intelligent relays, industrial Ethernet switches, etc.). Vertical industry experts have the specific domain expertise to comprehend how to prioritise and protect their specific types of assets from cyberattack.

Innovation: Fostering and sustaining innovation is vital. Companies rank innovation, risk, cost, and collaboration, in that order, as their primary business challenges. Of these, they regard innovation in product and services as the most important factor for new growth.

Clearly, companies drive innovation beyond just new product development, to include innovative new business and manufacturing processes. Furthermore, companies understand that focus on R&D and the innovation process will be critical in the current economic climate. Innovation can actually create new markets, while helping to sustain a company’s presence in existing markets. Even in an uncertain economic climate the outlook can be good for companies that can successfully innovate. Just as crisis can create an environment for opportunity, those companies that have the ability to bring new products and services to dynamic markets through a sustainable innovation strategy will have a distinct advantage.

While regional economies seek strategies to make it through a global downswing, business leaders will need to focus on factors that will drive the need to innovate.

These include the rapidly changing demographics of the global workforce, continued obsolescence of products and

Image courtesy: SIEMENS

13

Some of the major trends emerging in machine automation result in streamlining production processes and improving the bottom line

services, the need to move rapidly to sustainable manufacturing practices, and the increasing scarcity and cost of both raw materials and energy. CEOs will be able to steer their companies through the storm of economic downturns and capitalise on the boom times by fostering an environment of managed innovation where ideas are transformed into successful products.

These are the major factors that end users are constantly looking for. Below are end user perspectives from two major process industries – Power and Oil & Gas.

End user perspective – Power India’s power generation capacity is presently over 225 GW and is expected to cross over 300 GW by 2017. While the country’s power sector is attracting huge investments, the present power shortage of 5-6% is still very high indicating the growth opportunities. While automation technologies consist of only 4% of the total project costs, it impacts around 95% of the operations in the plant. Automation systems have evolved from mere logic solvers to full-fledged business support tools. The focus is on the importance of automation in the plant lifecycle – both as an analysis tool, and to support safety

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

functions, fault tolerance, process control, plant operation, process monitoring for actionable information, and diagnostics.

An end user at a leading power generation company with over 41 GW of installed capacity mentioned the following user requirements/expectations for suppliers: In addition to quality and reliability, suppliers should guarantee security by incorporating security in the product design itself and not as add-ons Suppliers must keep pace with new and advanced technologies Suppliers should provide an upfront declaration of product lifecycle with clear and transparent support policy Technology should offer a clear value proposition in the business operations Equipment suppliers and automation system suppliers should interact closely to maximise performance for end users.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

End user perspective – Oil & Gas The Oil & Gas industry expects automation suppliers to help overcome space constraints by increasing use of miniaturised design, wireless technologies,

single-board computers, use of smart mobility devices, and so on. In demand are smart sensors that enable self-diagnostic and self-tuning capabilities, remote health check-up, and interoperability.

In recent years, the shale gas revolution has grabbed attention around the world due to the availability of huge shale gas reserves, including in India. However, Oil & Gas companies in India are facing several challenges and are unable to take advantage of the same. Until recently, government policy did not allow exploration of unconventional resources such as shale gas, which is uneconomical due to shale’s low permeability and inadequate technology support. However, the government recently (mid-September) approved a shale gas and oil exploration policy for extraction of shale gas. This will help boost domestic oil & gas production.

The key benefits of intelligent/digital oil fields –a combination of simulation, instrumentation, automation, and telecommunication solutions that collect and analyse the real-time data from the reservoir, oil/gas processing and transmission setups, and transmit it as > useful information for quick and effective decision making. Intelligent oil field technology enables efficient knowledge transfer that helps overcome challenges of maturing workforce; informed decision making with real-time information; efficient communication between their various subsidiaries, and such others.

■

About ARC: Founded in 1986, ARC Advisory Group is the leading research and advisory firm for industry.

ARC covers a wide range of technologies from business systems to asset lifecycle management, supply chain management, operations management, and automation systems; making it the “go-to” firm for business and IT executives around the world. For the complex business issues facing organisations today, ARC analysts have the industry knowledge and first-hand experience to help clients find the best answers. For more information, contact ARC Advisory Group, info@arcweb.com For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

14

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

From the horse’s mouth Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

The article showcases the thought processes of various leaders in the world of automation and highlights the basic needs & strategies required to sustain in the changing economic conditions.

W

ith the paradigm shift in the past few years, automation industry has undergone several changes responding to customers’ need.

Productivity & innovation have become the latest buzzwords to sustain growth momentum and operational excellence during these challenging moments.

Predicting the roadmap for the Indian automation market, and upcoming trends, industrial automation gurus share the present business scenario, market

conditions and strategies to achieve competitive excellence. These thought leaders include Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO, ABB; Ramnath S Mani, Chairman, Emergys Software; P Mahajan, Director (Technical), Engineers India Ltd; Jeff Kodosky, Co-Founder of National Instruments and Founder of LabVIEW; B R Mehta, Senior Vice President, Reliance Industries Ltd and Sunil Khanna, Managing Director, Emerson Network Power.

Industrial automation in India The concept of automation for industrial application in India has evolved over the years starting from early 70’s. On this note, Mani says, “In the early 80’s, the industry in general started looking at automation as a solution to improve process output and productivity. A big boost was given by cement industry followed by others.

Post-liberalisation in early 90’s, most of the international automation companies A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

set up their base in India to cater to the growing demand. While the technology trends till the early 90’s was analogue based, the later part of 90’s saw the emergence of digital technology and connectivity taking the business of automation to the next level. While the end-user industry in India clearly set the rules for the development of automation vendors with exacting demands in terms of requirement, technology and pricing, the vendors developed business models to meet this demand effectively. In short, both the automation suppliers and endusers have played a great collaborative role in the evolution of automation in India”. On the other hand, Spiesshofer focuses on discrete automation. “The discrete automation sector comprises of low voltage drives, medium voltage drives, power electronics, robotics business, and motors and machine business. Though each of them has established customer base, there are lot of opportunities ahead.

India is a market with an automation curve at early stages. In the robotic space, there is a lot of opportunity. We are happy seeing the development and the momentum in the motor machine sector. However, we are continuously expanding our offering in the generator space particularly around mid generators.

We have established a new factory and are ready to serve the market. We have added value locally by transferring technology to India. We have expanded our renewable products offering too – both in wind and solar,” he added.

Challenges in volatile economic conditions Mehta suggests that the economy is going to be more volatile in the coming times as technology deepens and widens in the functioning of the market. “A boundaryless market, coupled with fast changing technology will lead to shorter economic cycles. Companies should be ready to face economic cycles of typical 3 to 5 years duration, by leveraging their inner strengths of people, processes and systems.

Investments in flexible manufacturing practices should be the leading way for all manufacturers and enterprises.

Enterprises should consistently internalise Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

“Economy is going to be more volatile in the coming times as technology deepens and widens in the functioning of the market.”

BR Mehta, Senior Vice President, Reliance Industries Ltd

“The market is picking up and more & more users are approaching automation suppliers for automating their plants or optimising the usage of existing automation systems already in place.”

Sunil Khanna, Managing Director, Emerson Network Power India

“India clearly set the rules for the development of the automation vendors with exacting demands in terms of requirement, technology and pricing, the vendors developed business models to meet this demand effectively” Ramnath S Mani, Chairman, Emergys Software

certain practices to reach high performing levels. They should seek to develop a broader and a deeper view of their market opportunities. At the same time, they have to be more innovative in strategy and structure than their competitors, more collaborative with partners and more questioning of themselves and their potential. They need to take a much more holistic and long-term approach to their intellectual capital and communicating more frequently and transparently to both their internal and external stakeholders.

Broadening the understanding of risk in their market is also necessary along with tightening their execution and key support processes to mitigate that risk. Enterprises should pursue and attain greater speed in making and executing decisions to take advantage of the fast-changing market conditions”.

Highlighting the challenges faced by SMEs and food & beverage industries, Khanna avers, “We have a long way to go when it comes to adopting food

industry best practices that parallel those of developed economies such as the US, Europe, and Japan. India’s processed food and beverage enterprises are primarily family owned business set-ups that do not view advanced forms of automation as a competitive advantage. The growing market for export, as well as increased government crackdown on food safety and traceability, should result in significantly increased adoption of automation over the next several years. Industry partners are made aware of these developments and have made significant penetration more into OEMs and customer places at this juncture. The mantra is about inclusiveness and providing low-cost solutions to cater to different tiers of endusers.

In the context of challenges in PSUs, Mahajan asserts, “Modernisation is a natural process in the life-cycle of an industry, which is not uncommon in PSU’s too. The key issue is the justification for modernisation which should be

16

MANAGEMENT TRENDS explicitly quantifiable. The steps towards justification are improvement in yield / product and quality; CAPEX and OPEX of modernisation; environment impact of modernisation; impact on maintenance cost; commercial benefits of modernisation and time required for modernisation. In short, this is the value for money which justifies the need for modernisation. PSUs have always been on the forefront to modernise their facilities, however they are generally very cautious in adopting newer technologies unless proven.

Kodosky further outlines the challenges in impacting programmers & designers today and the changing architecture of machines as they become massively parallel. “The fundamental challenge in taking advantage of a multicore architecture is that traditional tools are not designed for parallel architectures.

It is very difficult to use a sequential programming language, like C or Basic, to build a parallel application, hence, the need to introduce overly complex and error prone concepts such as threads and mutexes outside the language in order to achieve a semblance of parallelism.

“Multicore systems require a new programming approach for the common person to take advantage of them. A graphical dataflow language such as LabVIEW is inherently parallel and so delivers the benefits of multicore without the pain. When users develop programs in NI LabVIEW, they connect functional blocks on a diagram with wires that represent data. The graphical approach provides a very intuitive method for representing parallelism – wires that are split and connected to different function blocks are automatically assigned to threads by the LabVIEW compiler. For years, users have been creating parallel applications with LabVIEW without even knowing it. They do it naturally when they build their solutions as block diagrams.

Using diagrams engineers and scientists can develop parallel applications far more easily and safely than with traditional sequential languages. The key is that LabVIEW and other similar graphical programs empower engineers and scientists to develop parallel applications much more easily than traditional

“The fundamental challenge in taking advantage of a multicore architecture is that traditional tools are not designed for parallel architectures” Jeff Kodosky, Co-Founder of National Instruments and Founder of LabVIEW

“India is a market with an automation curve at early stages” Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO, ABB

sequential languages.”

Highlighting the benefits to engineers, he says, “This approach enables engineers to explore multiple ways of solving a problem and lock in on the best options more quickly than traditional methods. As engineers visualise system functionality, different system components may need different methods, or models of computation, to best describe that functionality. Graphical system design software can incorporate multiple models of computation, or methods, within a single exploration space to give engineers access to the best methods for the functionality they need. In doing so, graphical system design abstracts complexity at the system level, where system components of different models can be placed together in a single software platform space, and then integrated together visually, functionally, and in an architecturally sound way.

The challenges of programming multicore systems with traditional textbased sequential languages will not go away. These challenges represent a new opportunity for modern graphical tools to empower engineers and scientists to take advantage of current and future multicore machines.”

Adding further, Kodosky notes, “The Internet and telecommunications technologies have made dispersal of technologies and knowledge much easier.

But what continues to be a challenge for technology companies is ensuring the

success of people using those technologies.

As a tools provider, we are enabling our customers to create solutions that have both a local and global impact. To ensure our users’ success, NI invests heavily to offer a direct presence in the regions we do business. This goes beyond a global technical work force, but also includes global R&D offices, manufacturing, and an extensive partner network.”

Strategising approach toward automation According to Khanna, automation enables ‘more for less’ and customers who have benefitted from this know what exactly this means. “The market is picking up and more & more users are approaching automation suppliers for automating their plants or optimising the usage of existing automation systems already in place. We expect this trend to pick up so that end users are ready to reap benefits from the current upward trend in the business cycle after a brief spell of economic recession. My advice to end users who are yet to embrace automation is to interact with others who have benefitted from implementation and invest in technology.

■

Excerpts from A&D India‘s discussions with various industry thought leaders For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

17

CO M PA N Y BUSINESS PROFILE

■

Foundation Year: 1997

Managing Director: Jutta Stürmer

Business Division: Development, production and sales of components for industrial automation

Contact: INDUcoder Messtechnik GmbH Kaiserstraße 316 47178 Duisburg, Germany T +49/203/57047-0 F +49/203/57047-20 info@inducoder.de www.inducoder.de

Xxx/Xxx 2009 | A&D India

INDUcoder Messtechnik GmbH is developing, producing and selling incremental encoders and absolute single- and multi-turn encoders, highresolution encoders with high measuring accuracy, absolute and incremental manual encoders and programmable hand-held terminals, robust encoder systems AWG/AWS, absolute and incremental linear motion transducers and multifunctional display modules.

The brand name INDUcoder® includes encoders of standard series products and encoders for special applications.

Due to an utmost variety of standard encoders: case diameter of 12 mm – 180 mm, up to 900.000 pulses per revolution, high measuring range up to ±5”, up to 30 bit total resolution, wide range of interfaces, linear measurement up to 50 m, robust encoder systems with high load capacity for applications under rough conditions, -40° up to +200° Celsius, INDUcoder® encoders are suitable for a wide range of applications.

In all areas of industrial automation, in steel and heavy machinery industry, up to research projects in farthest areas worldwide, the encoders are absolutely reliable in operation all over the world.

Sometimes there are special customer requests, which can not be fulfilled through INDUcoder® standard encoder product line, in spite of the wide range of products offered. As a competent partner of our customers we develope and construct solutions in exact accordance to our customers’ requirements.

Product range

We measure angles and distances Digitally, Absolutely and Incrementally

Absolute and incremental manual pulse generators and programmable hand-held terminals

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶

▶

ABSOLUTE ENCODER Absolute single- and multi-turn encoder with all fieldbus interfaces INCREMENTAL ENCODER Incremental encoder with high resolution up to 900.000 pulses per revolution HIGH-RESOLUTION ANGULAR ENCODER Angular measurement systems, high measuring accuracy up to ±5” and total resolution up to 30 bit ROBUST ENCODER ROBUST-ENCODER-SYSTEM AWG/AWS for operation under rough environmental conditions LINEAR MOTION TRANSDUCERS Linear displacement transducers with incremental or absolute encoder for distance measuring MANUAL PULSE GENERATOR Absolute and incremental manual encoder and programmable hand-held terminals DISPLAY MODULES Multifunctional programmable eight-digit display modules for simultaneous operation of two encoders, absolute or incremental in any combination ACCESSORIES Encoder mounting accessories, connectors and connection cables

■

17

18

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Prophesying the future roadmap Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

A read into the latest trends in automation and control systems, advanced technologies, innovations and growth prospects in the automation industry.

W

ith the introduction of the hottest and newest technologies, automation over the years has became ‘smart’ with the evolution of standardised industrial communication protocols, such as Ethernet, Fieldbus and OPC greatly improving the level of integration. Indian industry experts are continuously looking at these practices to gain competitive advantages as well as sustain profits in the long run. Sharing their insights with A&D India on strategies for innovations, adoption of advanced technology, achieving competitive excellence, growth prospects and the future of the industry are the thought leaders  Sudipta Bhattacharya, CEO & President, Invensys Operations Management; P Mahajan, Director (Technical), Engineers India Ltd; Sabee Mitra, President, Emerson Process Management Asia-Pacific; Dr Gunther Kegel, Chairman, Fieldbus Foundation & CEO, Pepperl+Fuchs; Kaushal Shah, Director of Technical Support Group & Senior Member of

Technical Staff, Galil Motion Control and Ramnath S Mani, Chairman, Emergys Software.

Latest trends in automation and control systems The development of newer automation technologies is a continuous process.

Mahajan asserts introduction of distributed control system and fieldbus technology has revolutionised the complete control and automation system. “The upgradation and introduction of newer technologies is still continuing. The latest trends in automation and control system are in the direction of faster loop response, increased function blocks in field devices, more reliability and availability, higher safety, integrated asset management, advanced alarm management and advanced manmachine interface (MMI) tools. The enabling computer and communication technologies are also directly influencing the automation and control system. In the

last few years, wireless technology has also been introduced for signal transfer between field devices and MMI. Wireless standards like ISA-100.11a, etc, are being developed to ensure a rugged protocol for secure and continuous data transfer. Presently, such systems are being adopted very cautiously, however, in due course, this technology will also get matured for use in process industry.” Commenting on the major trends that are driving IT in manufacturing, Mani avers, “In the manufacturing sector, IT and industrial automation started as very different functions and the technologies that govern them evolved from dramatically different strategy. The strategy for industrial automation was ‘start from bottom of productivity pyramid in a shopfloor and reach the top to enhance efficient manufacturing’, while IT was evolved as a ‘tool for the top management to set the MIS and control through enterprise solutions’.

Today, manufacturing execution system (MES) provides the power of integrating the real-time manufacturing data to the A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

19 enterprise solution including supply chain, inventory data and distribution across the enterprise. Web-based visualisation solutions extends access to critical plantfloor operations data to enterprise users.

The introduction of information solutions provide on-demand, real-time visualisation using simplicity of web browser, fully scalable with dashboards and key performance indicators including trends and remote monitoring. The future will see the power of IT being fully exploited in manufacturing sector. Manufacturing enterprise with plants in multiple locations around the world will have the facility of using a single automation platform that handles discrete, process and motion control with common programming, human machine interface (HMI) and standards-based networks analysing the metrics and historical trends associated with both the line and the overall process. Wireless devices with communication across plants will facilitate common manufacturing programs, maintenance schedules, asset management, etc. According to me, manufacturing is in for exciting times.”

“Companies that will thrive are those that leverage on productivity/ efficiency, innovation, market focus, global expansion and asset management. While plant automation was primarily focused in efficiency and ease of production in manufacturing units, most developments were on the real-time data collection providing trends, histograms, etc, in the form of SCADA. The IT tools were focused on enterprise solutions (ERP) providing overall business solution encompassing HR, inventory, production, sales & distribution and accounts/finance, etc. The demarcation between manufacturing and business enterprise is vanishing into a total business solution. Co-operation between automation vendors, network technology providers and IT hardware suppliers has become important for data transfer and integrity. Gradually the demarcation between manufacturing and business enterprise is vanishing into a total business solution. As the Indian industry is getting integrated to the global economy the need to automate each area of manufacturing and then linking them becomes imminent,” Mani added.

“The growth of the Indian market Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

“The latest trends in automation and control system are in the direction of faster loop response, increased function blocks in field devices, more reliability and availability, higher safety, integrated asset management, advanced alarm management and advanced man-machine interface (MMI) tools.”

P Mahajan, Director (Technical), Engineers India Ltd

“The growth of the Indian market is being driven by the IT sector. India is a huge captive market and there will be continuous amount of tremendous consumption. And manufacturing plays a key part in any society that is consumption driven.”

Sudipta Bhattacharya, CEO & President, Invensys Operations Management

“Advanced diagnostics moves predictively or preventively towards condition based maintenance. Again cost savings and improved control over the availability of the plant assets are the results. Wireless will open completely new fields of applications for digital communication.”

Dr Gunther Kegel, Chairman, Fieldbus Foundation & CEO, Pepperl + Fuchs

is being driven by the IT sector. India is a huge captive market and there will be continuous amount of tremendous consumption. And manufacturing plays a key part in any society that is consumption driven. Thus, manufacturing efficiently and competing globally will become very important. So to be able to drive the next set of efficiency and productivity into manufacturing, information technology will play a key role. If you can take the entire information management layer and connect it into the automation layer where you have all the real-time information setting, you will enable the customer to build an information management layer

that will leverage the real-time information enabling them to generate from the plants.

And that will make plants more effective as one can act on real time information. As India continues to grow, being able to have information management ability available to drive the productivity into plants will make these plants globally competitive. This is going to be the way to the future. The next set of productivity has to be information management layer,” says Bhattacharya.

Fieldbus technology Various fieldbus technologies have been in use in the process industry since

20

MANAGEMENT TRENDS 90’s. However, out of these, Foundation Fieldbus technology has definite edge over other contemporary technologies and has been most widely accepted in the world. The real differentiator between Foundation Fieldbus and its counterparts in process automation is incorporation of functional block structure and other supporting functions.

Foundation Fieldbus has also replaced earlier network protocols due to its ability to move large amount of data throughout the system transparently and most efficiently.

“A truly enabling technology, Foundation Fieldbus supports a truly distributed automation architecture which has been used successfully in many mission critical environment where assured transfer of data and control integrity is most essential. In addition to above, Foundation Fieldbus has also realised significant operational improvements and business benefits like reduced downtime, improved repeatability, lower maintenance costs, improved safety and enhanced controllability.

This technology has embedded control functionality in field devices which is a key enabler for achieving high availability control, a step towards single loop integrity. It’s a truly inter-operable architecture which has made plug and play technique a reality i.e. devices of different suppliers interface on the same digital control network transparently.

Today Foundation Fieldbus has project coverage of all big or small, grass-root or revamp, critical or non-critical, chemical or metallurgical and power plants across the board. This has made Foundation Fieldbus a most acceptable automation technology which is holding more than 65 per cent of the market share of various fieldbus networks in the process automation industry”, says Mahajan.

Kegel says, “With the released protocol for functional safety, Fieldbus Foundation is offering the next significant customer value. Safety relevant signals do not require a secondary engineering and wiring topology but can be added to the same fieldbus infrastructure which is a huge advantage. Control in the field increases the control system dynamics allowing a much tighter process control without the necessity of highly expensive

“Our whole process is working, ensuring that we make the right innovation. We invest a lot in bringing new technologies to Asia in all sphere of business that we participate.”

Sabee Mitra, , President, Emerson Process Management Asia-Pacific “In the manufacturing sector, IT and industrial automation started as very different functions and the technologies that govern them evolved from dramatically different strategy. The strategy for industrial automation was ‘start from bottom of productivity pyramid in a shop-floor and reach the top to enhance efficient manufacturing.”

Ramnath S Mani, Chairman, Emergys Software

redundant communication to the DCS. Advanced diagnostics moves predictively or preventively towards condition based maintenance. Again cost savings and improved control over the availability of the plant assets are the results.

Wireless will open completely new fields of applications for digital communication.

Locations and applications that either commercially or technically does not allow a wired solution can now be integrated into the overall communication infrastructure. Digital communication in general and the Fieldbus Foundation in particular are continuously adopted by the process industries around the world and we are not even close to a saturation of this adoption curve. Many more endusers are currently just starting to install fieldbus architectures in their plants. The majority of existing fieldbus users have not yet fully explored the potential of digital communication such as improved asset management, condition based maintenance, advanced diagnostics, improved asset availability and reliability, reduced installation and set-up time, reduced re-calibration, single loop integrity and control in the field. The most important goal of Fieldbus Foundation is to communicate this message and further

improve the adoption rate of fieldbus technology.”

Innovations Shah affirms “As pioneer of motion control technology, we are always looking for innovative yet cost effective ways to find new solutions to challenging problems faced by our clients. Over the past twenty years, we have performed over 2,000 customisations to our standard products in order to solve real world problems. Our responsive and creative engineering team can typically perform firmware/software customisations to be done in less than two to three weeks while custom hardware requires only a few months”. Bhattacharya on similar lines says, “Globally all our centres contribute to innovation. We manage our innovation process allowing it to bubble up from within the organisation. We have our own innovation portal within the organsiation where people submit their ideas. All those ideas are voted in a scale of one to ten and thereafter we consolidate the top five or six ideas. Though we screen all the ideas, we select the top rated ones on the basis of the vote. The ideas are selected on people’s votes, especially those who interface with our most important stake holders on a A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

Industrial Automation

Graphite™

• •

The next level of HMI is now here.

•

Sleek. Rugged. Flexible.

•

• •

Sleek indoor and outdoor displays Rugged cast-aluminum construction Flexible plug-in modules Easy protocol conversion Real-time data logging Remote monitoring and control

Plug-In Modules

MADE IN THE USA

Graphite 7” touchscreen

Graphite 9” wide touchscreen

Process Control • • • • •

PID Controllers Data Acquisition RTUs & I/O Modules Signal Conditioners Sensors

Graphite 10” touchscreen

HMIs & Panel Meters • • • •

HMI Operator Panels Panel Meters Large LED Displays Industrial TV Displays

Connect. Monitor. Control. +91 - 9844876540 I india@redlion.net I better.redlion.net

Graphite 12” wide touchscreen

Graphite 15” touchscreen

MANAGEMENT TRENDS day-to-day basis, so there is definitely lot of credibility. At present, there are five projects that have been picked by following this process of democratic innovation. We have institutionalised this continuous process of innovation within Invensys Operations Management. We expect it to be motivating for our people; paying us rich dividends by being able to have a process by which we allow the best ideas to come from our colleagues across the organisation from any part of the world.”

“Engineering innovation is part of our DNA. Whether the industry is in upturn or downturn we invest in R&D across all platforms. We have increased investment in our parent company Emerson which increased R&D from US$458 million to US$473 million. Knowing the importance of innovation that delivers value to our customers, we closely track and measure the results. We are pleased to report that globally out of Emerson’s US$21 billion last year, Emerson Process Management contributed US$6 billion, and almost one third of the revenue has come from new products that were launched in the market in the last five years. This result gives us confidence in our innovation from its relevance and acceptability by customers. Our whole process is working, ensuring that we make the right innovation. We invest a lot in bringing new technologies to Asia in all sphere of business that we participate. We have design centres in India which are very much part of our R&D activities. Our management and leadership team place a very strong emphasis on personnel with skills and knowledge to apply innovative technologies to solve customer problems.

The Indian innovation centre at Pune is an application engineering hub that works independently or joins with other Emerson Process Management centers to develop complete solutions for Indian customers and global usage. The Pune center collaborates with other innovation centers in Asia such as in China, and with centers in the United States and Europe, In addition to these regional centers, each Emerson technology such as Smart Wireless, Process Systems, Fisher Valves, Tank Gauging, etc have innovation centers. When there are complex issues

Image courtesy: SIEMENS

22

New machines are being equipped with the latest state-of-art automation devices

that need engineers from diverse fields to come together to work on solutions, the Indian innovation is at its best. India contributes significantly towards global innovation of Emerson,” says Mitra.

“As intrinsic safety gives accessibility and flexibility, the downturn is the strict limitation of electrical power in the circuit. Pepperl+Fuchs introduced ‘DART – Dynamic Are Recognition and Termination’ – a new method of intrinsic safety to drastically increase the available power. First applications of this new technology are for intrinsically safe fieldbus topology. For the first time, the high power trunk topology is made available as a complete intrinsically safe solution. This will be the most suitable solution to lots of industrial applications in hazardous area, where more energy is required safely,” avers Kegel.

Outlook on the growth of automation The Indian manufacturing industry provides a huge potential for the growth of automation. Till now, manufacturing has been an island by itself with automation playing a role of improving process efficiency and increased productivity. “As the Indian industry is getting integrated to the global economy, the need to automate each area of manufacturing and then linking them becomes imminent. A large number of existing base of manufacturing capacity still needs to be automated to

keep pace with the trends that are in vogue worldwide. Communication and connectivity has become a very important part of an industrial process. New machines are being equipped with the latest stateof-art automation devices, all leading to a large untapped market,” affirms Mahajan.

“For the Indian market to have profitable growth, we need to ensure that we have the scales and the volumes. Hence, we are looking at the growing sectors in India where we have our strength such as oil and gas, power, etc, where we traditionally have always been strong. One level of strategy is to grow in the areas of strength where we have our presence in India and another phase of strategy is expansion. An expansion phase is to be able to meet the market needs. Our ability to hire people in India and bring broader portfolios in India to sell into sectors like F&B, life sciences, waste water, etc, drive additional growth.

We see ourselves well-positioned in some of our brands that we have not yet fully brought in the Indian market in a stronger way. We will push our complete portfolio aggressively in the Indian market.

The next part of our strategy is being able to leverage the talent base in India to help us globally. We have engineering excellence centres (ECCs) in India and large part of development is done here,” concludes Shah.

■

Excerpts from A&D India‘s discussions with various industry thought leaders For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

24

INNOVATION T E C H N O LO G Y

Reverse Reverseinnovation innovation––setting settingaatrend trend

Historically, global companies innovated in their home markets, the developed world, and took those products into developing countries. Reverse innovation, does just the opposite— innovate in emerging markets and then bring those innovations back into developed countries. This article takes a look at this concept with respect to a developing country like India.

■ Vikas Khanvelkar Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

R Vikas Khanvelkar Managing Director Designtech Systems Ltd vikas.khanvelkar@designtechsys.com

everse innovation, the term coined by two Dartmouth University Professors, Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, refers to any innovation that is first introduced in the developing countries with an intention to later launch it in the western or developed markets.

Reverse innovation is also popularly known as trickle-up innovation.

Developing countries like India, today, with their increasing disposable incomes, and the largest and ever-surging middle class with higher than before spending capacities, is now a very lucrative and potent target market for many global companies to venture into and capitalise on or to establish a stronger hold. Though

the middle-class in India today can afford to spend an extra buck for their added necessities and interests, they still find the products developed in the western economies out of reach, highly priced or unaffordable.

Clearly, the products developed in the western or developed economies for their average income families would find very less consumers in countries like India, despite she having the world’s largest middle-class population. This is simply because Indian consumers’ price to features requirements of products do not match with that of the products developed in western markets for their average income families. Simply defeaturing the product and introducing A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

25 the less featuristically loaded product model in the emerging markets would not attract them any more either.

Such markets demand and require the products to be produced keeping in mind their specific requirements, and necessities in terms of product performance and price.

Hence, it would not be a viable and smart strategy for the multinationals to sell the defeatured or demoted version of the product developed for the western consumers in the Indian market. They have to take into consideration the Indian consumers’ buying behaviour, their price sensitivity, product performance expectations, and thereby develop a product in the local markets engineered to match their needs with a cost effective or frugal engineering approach.

With this approach, the companies can develop products that match the local taste while making it affordable for the consumers to own.

The multinationals today, in their attempt to survive, sustain and succeed over competition, are fast adopting reverse innovation as their approach to make a mark on the world market. This is because it facilitates them to open new avenues of growth through creation of an entire new demography through tapping new emerging markets. All the more, these markets also serve as a litmus test for them to evaluate the market response to the product, which they later intend to pioneer in the western market with added applications congruent to their needs and also are consistent with their expectations.

The multinationals clearly stand to benefit from economies of scale or volume sales in the local markets, and higher top-line and bottom-line profit margins gained through low cost production in the developing countries and higher priced product sale in the western market enthused also by currency rate arbitration.

Examples of reverse innovation Some of the examples of reverse innovation include: Tata Nano, the up-scaled or advanced version of which the company plans to introduce in the western market with the new name of Tata Europa; a 1000$ General Electric’s Electrocardiogram device developed in Bangalore.

Although reverse innovation has led Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Reverse innovation is bringing the countries and global markets closer by fading global borders to make ‘one world, one market’ phenomenon a reality

to more disruptive innovations or helped companies develop radically new products, this approach is not limited to it. Reverse innovation does not necessarily mean or go hand-in-hand with disruptive innovation.

It could mean any product innovation (may it be disruptive, incremental, radical or Kaizen) that is incorporated, exercised in or put to use in the developing country to create products which would later be introduced in the western markets as cost effective solutions.

How would reverse innovation benefit India?

Primarily reverse innovation would lead to further boom in industrialisation. As more and more multinationals adopt and opt to produce and/or invent new products in India for local as well as western markets, the Indian economy would witness an increase in FDIs and also the indigenous multinationals would instinctively raise their investments to build advanced R&D facilities that would inspire cutting edge innovation and engineering. It also means the engineers would experience higher employment opportunities, and the consumer market would profit from better products developed to cater to their needs at reasonable prices.

Besides OEMs, reverse innovation would also lead to the overall development of the entire eco-system comprising of Tier I and II suppliers, technology vendors, educational institutions which support,

fortify and facilitate this unprecedented growth through concurrent engineering, providing smart and agile engineering and production solutions to complex challenges, and development of resources.

Reverse innovation is bringing countries and global markets closer by fading the global borders to make ‘one world, one market’ phenomenon a reality.

Reverse innovation would provide further impetus to globalisation while increasing the influence of cross economic dependency and making cross border production and marketing viability plausible and effective.

Key benefits

■

Better products for consumers and a variety of options to choose from at reasonable prices Companies investing higher amounts in building sustainable technological infrastructure that would facilitate advanced engineering. It would thus further stimulate industrialisation Rise in the demand for engineers Reverse innovation would definitely reform, and revolutionise industry standards, market imperatives, and global expansion and success strategy perspectives for multinationals who are constantly required to keep exploring various distinctive ways and means to become resilient in the perilous market conditions.

■ ■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

■

26

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Building innovation roadmap

■

Image courtesy: ABB

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

With technological change coming in fast with the increasing pace of innovation, research & development, this feature analyses the research themes that global companies are following, demand trends for these innovations and what lies in the future Sumedha Mahorey

I

ndustrial automation has enabled the evolution of the manufacturing sector this decade with the help of back-to-back developments in all its segments – be it process or discrete. The basic challenges now facing the future of industrial automation is to achieve even better results by improving real-time responsiveness, reliability, safety, accuracy, precision & overall sophistication.

Essential to meet these challenges will be continued & progressive developments, advanced technologies that connect and streamline communication, increased emphasis on software & electronics and the will to strengthen & invest in R&D. To help analyse the various trends emerging in new technology & product development, industry experts Samir Yajnik, President – Sales & COO – Asia Pacific, Tata Technologies; P V Sivaram, MD, B&R Industrial Automation; Raj

Singh Rathee, MD, Kuka Robotics India; Ravi Agarwal, Director, Pepperl + Fuchs (Factory Automation); and Giandomenico Testi, CTO, ABB India, have elaborated on their innovation roadmap, R&D demand drivers and provided the backdrop for the extrapolation of current trend lines for the future of industrial automation.

R&D trends Presently, in hyper-competitive global markets, efficient industrial production is dependent on efficient and innovative automation systems which provide for speed, accuracy, reliability of each of the factory’s automation systems. To provide for the need of such highly effective systems, multi-fold research and development activities are being taken up by global automation majors. Sharing his views on the technology developments in factory & process automation segment,

Sivaram elaborates, “Mass customisation of machines is an emerging trend.

Modular machines that will have addon mechatronic units can be installed even after machine is commissioned and running. This way customisation will be very quick, cost-effective and can be implemented for every manufacturer. The degree of customisation in series machine manufacturing will increase to the levels that have not been heard before. Second is the increasing importance of software in industrial automation. In machine building, the emphasis has been on the mechanical and electrical aspects of design. Gradually, a stage has come, where the machines become more a juxtaposition of standard units or assemblies. The distinct features of the machine reside more and more in the software. Several factors like development of faster controllers, increasing process knowhow, have strengthened the role played by software in the machine automation.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

27

Accordingly, software development has quickly gained importance.”

Incorporating the expertise and knowhow into software has many advantages. It allows quick innovation and improvements even during the life of the plant, without long downtimes.

Powerful simulation tools both pure SW simulation as well as HW-in-Loop simulation, can reduce implementation time. Adding further on another major trend i.e. open technologies, he points out, “The need of the hour is for industrial automation to provide same freedom of choice as office automation. What it means is that the products need to comply to standards, which are open and in public domain. This allows more competition, and allows the owners more choice from many vendors. This in turn enables long time availability of products, and a secure upgrade path. Ethernet POWERLINK, a real-time Ethernet protocol promoted by EPSG is an example to this point. This is a multi-vendor protocol administered by a not-for-profit organisation, and where the stack for implementation is available free on Internet.”

Emphasising on other R&D trends, Agarwal avers, “In factory automation, more R&D is happening in the intelligent sensing, measurement, & precision products domain. While in process automation, fieldbus, modular systems and in-field signal processing, wireless communication are being pursued. On component level, safety at the shop floor and human traffic safety in public access systems is an important trend. Open protocol and wireless standards for factory automation and discrete apparatus, robotic vision and positioning, and 3D vision are some of the other upcoming trends in the industry.”

Sharing the R&D themes in his company, Testi highlights, “At ABB, technology trends are multifold; the key pillar of our strategy is to ensure energy efficient components. This is true throughout the value chain – motors, rotating machines and drives. There it is a continuous struggle to ensure that the efficiency of these products is the highest possible. Whatever we do is economically driven. Thus, after a certain point in the maturity curve of the technology, we Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

“In the future, innovation shall be the mainstay and would be continuously changing the rules of the game.”

Ravi Agarwal, Director, Pepperl + Fuchs (Factory Automation) “Companies need to learn to use technology to integrate better & drive collaboration through social media and various interactive channels.”

Samir Yajnik, President – Sales & COO – Asia Pacific, Tata Technologies

need to choose or compromise between performance and cost. This is certainly a major trend where our R&D is focusing.

Another trend is to make operators more and more intelligent. We want to be able to connect them to the brain in the smartest way possible. We want the operators to have certain self-diagnostic capability. These should be able to execute certain functions according to the optimum condition point of the process.” Elaborating further, he says, “The latest speed of the motor and who has to drive the motor is another very important trend. The third trend is absolutely fundamental to be able to deliver to the customer. Customers normally expect us to deliver continuous support to cut-costs.

Now cutting cost has two dimensions – one is design which includes the structure of component & related materials. The second is the processes used in the entire value chain. Thus, to cut cost and be more competitive for a given profit, one has to leverage science and technology. This has been an emerging trend on the operators’ side, which has become a cornerstone for our business.”

Identifying the technologies already at maturity, Testi notes, “Many developments like human machine interface, touch screen voice commands, graphics and type & selection of the information and alarm management have come up. These technologies are in continuous development phase. Another trend is to make the overall control system - the brain more compact.

One can hardly distinguish the I/O from

the control, from communication, & the various layers that are present in the control system from the basic software and application software. This tendency will work. Many are cloning this trend – moving from classical automation system to enterprise automation systems. It is also called collapsing architecture because it is becoming leaner and leaner. If this trend is further stretched, we move from the confined environment in the industry space to the “cloud”. But cloud as of today, from the technology stand point is not a bottleneck. The bottleneck is on acceptance and cyber security. With this progress, choices have suddenly become wider.”

Commenting on the R&D trends in the robotics segment, Rathee asserts, “India is still in the infancy stage in robotic automation as compared to the global market. It will take more time to think about cloud automation. In factory automation, as compared to the trends five years back, more and more companies are now adopting robotics as an automation solution. The number of users that we are seeing in the market who want the system to be more flexible, robust and energy efficient has increased over the years. Robots have become the most suited technology to achieve energy efficiency in the industry.”

Demand drivers With the changing mindset towards new technology adoption, automation

28

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS companies have found the confidence to work on new technology development.

This has resulted into many innovations being developed in the automation industry. Yajnik affirms, “Whilst there are developments in the area of core industrial machine design and manufacturing, there is a larger impact of disruptive technologies in industrial automation. Some specific problems that are driving research include implementing statistically driven control & improvement methodologies; improving production planning; controlling rejection quantity; improving manufacturing line over all throughput; centralised data collection; and connected machines.” For Agarwal, the drivers are increased demand for speed, flexibility and interoperability.

He affirms, “The demand is more on intelligence percolating to component levels, to the bottom of the pyramid of automation.” On similar lines, Sivaram mentions, “With the ever growing automation components in machines and process plants, manufacturers are worried about seamless integration of these components and ensuring higher production outputs and through-puts.

Along with quality of the production, safety of the operator has received due attention.

Concepts like Intelligent Safety Reaction will help to ensure human safety without hampering production the way emergency shut downs hamper it today.” On the robotics front, Rathee says, “Demand drivers are coming from the customers’ end. For example, if a business is not able to provide the kind of productivity to manual or semi-automatic operation, they need to have robotics system to ensure more productivity. Quality issues are also addressed by adoption of robotics. Robotics is the right choice for foundry and forging industry where the environment is not very suitable for human being to handle basic operations.”

On the other hand, Testi believes, “New technology adoption is more on the suppliers’ side rather than customers’ side.

The separate concepts of PLCs and DCSs for process and discrete applications will be banished. Companies will compact scalable automation platform where you can’t talk about PLC or DCS or their combination.

Then of course, the dimension will change, requirement in application will change

“The need of the hour is for industrial automation to provide same freedom of choice as office automation.”

P V Sivaram, Managing Director, B&R Industrial Automation “If a business is not able to provide the kind of productivity to manual or semi-automatic operation, they need to have robotics system to ensure more productivity” Raj Singh Rathee, MD, Kuka Robotics India

but this will also be incorporated in the platform.”

Projects in progress With multiple developments, let us delve into the various themes that automation companies are working on. Sivaram asserts, “B&R, with its program ‘Scalability+’ is taking scalability to an all new level by allowing automation solutions to be perfectly tailored to machine requirements.

As requirements change, hardware and software can be scaled up or down accordingly at any time, guaranteeing ultimate flexibility without compromise.

Our reACTION technology ensures the absolute fastest automation speeds with response times as low as 1 µs. This new technology not only drastically reduces costs, it also reduces the load on the controller while increasing performance at the same time. With reACTION technology, programs are executed directly on B&R I/O modules. We take advantage of its integrated software tool - Automation Studio 4 development environment’s ability to easily engineer complicated applications.”

For Tata Technologies, the focus areas are weaved with business growth opportunities.

Yajnik explains, “Currently, our company is focusing on digital factory automation as connected to manufacturing execution systems, where in the benefits are reduced cycle time, throughput improvement and traceability; process automation – both digital and physical; connected machines

after sales and in the design process as the after-sales connection is expected to revolutionise the way machines are sold, used and in fact maintained.” For P+F (Factory Automation), as per Agarwal, the theme revolves around enabling precision and flexibility at higher speeds, better plant maintenance and diagnostics, lower down times, smart factories, high interactivity with easier and safer handling of equipment. Stressing on some of these initiatives by P+F (Factory Automation), he says, “These include products and technology for 2D and 3D scanners with time of flight measurement which shall enhance ease of positioning and operation of in plant equipment. It shall give a direct fillip to quasi vision systems thereby using profiling, measurement processes for an intelligent and flexible control. In the domain of RFID development and usage of UHF, technology would increase ease of use and reduce cost of ownership and maintenance requirements on the user.”

Sharing the recent developments at B&R Automation, Sivaram elaborates, “We have launched the 4th generation of integrated engineering tool - Automation Studio. This is a single development environment for every aspect of automation – from control and motion technology to HMI and integrated safety technology. It not only handles various programming aspects but also helps in simulation, commissioning and diagnostics of the entire system.

Another development is integrated Safety through openSAFETY. Present safety A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

30

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS systems consist of discrete components like PLC, inputs and outputs, safety relays, safety devices. All these components have to be connected to each other through wires.

Our integrated safety solution overcomes this challenge through openSAFETY which is a communication protocol for transferring safety data, independent of the bus system and interoperable with all transport protocols thanks to the black channel principle. This means that any transport protocol can be used to transfer the safety-oriented data which is packed in a special frame format.”

So how do these companies decide on the themes for research & development?

Agarwal elaborates, “We have been charting the innovation map to bring products and technology which bring more value to the customer. We should be able to have smarter components in domain of sensing and measurement which are more a plug and play for the customer and easy to use under varied environments.”

Influence of global concepts Many global concepts like Industry 4.0, Factory of the Future, Internet of Things have come up in the recent times. Have these concepts and its worldwide adoption influenced or affected automation companies’ research & development strategy? Yajnik explains, “The global manufacturing industry has entered in an era of customisable mass production. We are in the early days of adding more scalability, flexibility and individualisation to the product lifecycle and/or manufacturing process. The capability of bringing products to the market at an accelerated speed is a critical aspect today. As the manufacturing industry tries to improve efficiencies in collating and analysing huge amounts of data for decision making processes and deliver better designed products, the biggest opportunity for engineering services companies like Tata Technologies will be on the software and services side of the business. The global automation industry is expected to cross over $200 billion by 2016.

In order to capitalise on the huge business opportunity, we are heavily investing in resources and building newer capabilities to help design products of the future. In addition to this, we are building domain

“One needs to understand that there is a bridge between technology development in the industry and commercialisation of that technology.”

Giandomenico Testi, CTO, ABB India

expertise in sectors such as construction & heavy engineering, aerospace engineering, etc. We have mechanical engineering at our core and we continue to build capabilities around it by investing in research & development.”

Sharing his viewpoint, Agarwal asserts, “Industry 4.0 is real and has been conceptualised as it happens. Embedded smartness and easy interactivity are already the name of the game. Microelectronics and software have already been a game changer and are shaping up how we think and act in our everyday personal and work life. So this embodies another cycle of evolution of manufacturing and products of how they appear and work. This accelerated avatar of industrial evolution delimits boundaries of working space and manufacturing. Given such a foundational shift, products would have to be re-aligned to sail through these unchartered yet very much needed waters.

So our labs are also in the fray to meet up these interesting challenges. Products and concepts like “Smart Bridge” and “Time of flight of light” are already in advanced stages of our concepts and development.”

Sivaram adds, “We have always foreseen the future and adapted our R&D efforts and the subsequent innovations. Therefore, bringing out solutions for Industry 4.0 does not call for special efforts. For example, innovations like Ethernet POWERLINK and openSAFETY which are open technologies for the industrial communication, B&R has already started helping customers to build the strong base for the factories of the future.”

Providing a different angle to the factors influencing R&D, Testi highlights, “Industry 4.0 has been a continuous trend and there is nothing new in this. The entire industry & suppliers are struggling to develop smarter machines. Another keyword is augmented operator which is being discussed since the past 20 years.

One needs to understand that there is a bridge between technology development in the industry and commercialisation of that technology. This bridge can be measured in terms of time to market, which can even be 10-25 years. New technologies which were developed have been dropped. But these may be resumed later on. Some of the technologies have been too early in the development cycle. Companies have spent their money, but are not able to commercialise the new technology for a certain reason. For example, the industry has not adopted common standard; even today the customer is not able to be bound to one supplier, etc. Thus, when we discuss technology trends, we need to consider these situations. Also, companies must be able to declare that this technology exists.”

So, what are the reasons for not adopting these technologies? Testi gives an example of wireless technologies. “Wireless devices have been available since long, protocols and devices are also available. But these technologies have not been adopted as customers do not want to take risk. It is a matter of CAPEX. That’s why the journey to prove technology commercially may be a long one.”

Open innovations in automation As per Yajnik, crowd sourcing or co-creation of product and services has always been an important element of engineering next generation products. However, the concept is gaining critical mass with increase in collaboration multiple stakeholders due to rise in Internet connectivity and the overall concept of collaboration. As business leaders have realised the benefits of crowd sourcing against conventional problem solving or product development, there will be an increase in its adoption. With the availability of better tools to collate and analyse huge amount of information has A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

32

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS also led to a better use of crowd sourcing.

In fact, it is already widely adopted in few sectors such as the automotive industry. So is crowd sourcing likely to be adopted in the development of automation technologies?

Agarwal comments, “If we talk of flexibility, smart factories and interoperability then open innovations/protocols and crowd sourcing have already taken a centre stage. We possibly cannot talk of these concepts by closeting everything into individual labs and forays.” As per Sivaram, “Industrial automation (IA) strongly benefits from the products developed for office automation. To this extent of course, open innovations influence IA. But the needs of IA are somewhat more specific, so it means in effect, the ‘crowd’ is much smaller. This group of course interacts amongst the members all the time, and generates idea. Out of such interactions are born great ideas for open innovation like PLCopen, like PackML.” Advising on the use of crowd sourcing, Yajnik points out, “Organisations that can successfully tap and incorporate feedback and ideas from a variety of stakeholders will be able to enhance products, create better customer experiences and gain a competitive edge.

Companies need to learn to use technology to integrate better and drive collaboration through social media and various interactive channels. Products are required to be designed almost in real-time and need to offer a sense of personalisation, which can only be possible with better crowd sourcing initiatives starting from conceptualisation and design stage of products.”

Sharing his thoughts on crowd sourcing as the next level for technology development, Testi asserts, “I also head the Intellectual Property for ABB worldwide.

Open innovation is a situation where we work with non-competitors, noncompeting industries and academia. Basic technologists’ are enabling technology for each and every one. We are not only open to that but we are doing that. But if open innovation is a situation where we have to work with our competitors the answer is no, unless it is a standardisation activity.”

Future of industrial automation technologies Industrial automation is the answer to

In factory automation, more R&D is happening in the intelligent sensing, measurement, & precision products domain

India’s pursuit for being a world-class competitor and this confidence runs across all industry verticals as Indian market slowly begins to feel the stimulus for the instrumentation, control and automation industry. Yajnik comprehends, “Indian automation is advancing at a fast pace, yet there is a lot to be achieved in terms of identifying technological trends and the innovations that can potentially thrust the implementation of automation in other countries. Significant developments in these areas may define the future of automation in India. Today, manufacturers have also discovered the opportunity that awaits them in almost all production facilities in vertical industries which is a result of high awareness levels among customers about the latest technology innovations. Even smaller industries and manufacturing units are beginning to see automation in a new light because of their low productivity levels.” Rathee notes, “The use of robotics is growing in India and it will continue to grow by 2020. Though there may not be major breakthroughs in the market, unless technology changes drastically. These technologies are limited by the hardware that is available. For example, consider a motor that is required to produce a particular amount of torque. If you consider the material or technological challenges behind automation or robotics, you need to consider the motor, gear, and drive technologies. If there is a major change happening in the motor technology, then subsequent impact can be anticipated in robotics as well. We also expect changes in the drive technology with the shift to

software.”

As per Sivaram, focus on automation software and robots & human working in a team are the prime future possibilities.

According to Agarwal, “Future is not finite. It is evolving. So if we talk of a 5-7 year horizon in IA, we would see many smart products coming into the market and many initiatives in standardisation of open systems. Old models on ownership of technology shall downscale and performance shall take centre stage.

Products in industrial domain shall be competing hard for appeal to the customer.

The hazard may be that the product life cycles would be short. Innovation shall be the mainstay and would be continuously changing the rules of the game.” Adding his views, Testi says, “Automation systems will be much slimmer than today.

Architecture will be much simplified due to the advances in computing technologies, higher computational capability in a lower space. Protocols and standards will be widely adopted and this will be seamless & independent of the suppliers. We foresee that internet will play a significant role.

Point-to-point communication using public infrastructure will be there. We also see a mix of pre-date communication. Internetbased security will become a keyword and security will become discriminating factor among subscribers. Companies will be able to supply whatever clients need from a laptop and monitor, download, upload and make diagnostic decisions. Diagnostic features will be much more advanced.”

Further information at

■

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

INTERVIEW INDUSTRY

33

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW Driving into the automation future While tracking the rapid progress in the automation industry, we spoke to leading industry experts and technology adopters in the Indian market to draw a trend line for 2014-15 in terms of emerging technology developments, innovations, R&D strategies and market drivers. This interview series provides insights on the automation & robotics market from solution providers’ & end users’ perspectives, and paints the future of industrial automation in India.

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Advt

34

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Encouraging motion and I/O control” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Highlighting the current trends in the field of technology solutions, Wayne Baron, President, Galil Motion Control, discusses the market scenario in India and latest innovations, during an interview with Srimoyee Lahiri.

■ What are the current trends ■ How do you look at the in the field of technology solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

OEMs designing systems are looking for turn-key solutions that minimise time-to-market to be competitive in their industry. Embedded Ethernet has become a standard communication protocol for controllers. Internal switching provides better performance and saves on equipment cost because external switches are not required. Modbus TCP, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT will continue to be some of the standard protocols used for motion and I/O control. Wireless for remote I/O will become prevalent as tablets and smart phones become common for remote application management.

Controllers will continue to get smaller, less expensive and more intelligent due to better integration & higher performing processors resulting in quicker positioning and finer resolution in less time. As the processors deliver higher speed and performance, motion controllers will take advantage of that with complex motion in nonCartesian planes.

Motion controller capabilities are expanding to perform various tasks including high speed data acquisition as well as other machine control functions.

current business scenario in India, and the confidence level in your end-user industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

We consider the scenario in India as one of growth.

The tariff situation is still a major concern, but we still have a great deal of faith in industrial growth in India.

We expect to be a participant and key contributor, and will continue to help the growth of developing technology.

Galil has been selling controllers in India for over

planned for this year?

We are currently working on releasing support for EtherCAT, and we continually release new and innovative features for our motion and RIO product families. We are investigating wireless applications, and interactive software tools that leverage distributed architectures.

■

How does R&D work in your domain?

We continue to be a leading innovator by being a customer driven company. We evaluate our customers’ unique motion

“We are currently working on releasing support for EtherCAT, and continually release new and innovative features for our motion and RIO product families”.

Wayne Baron 20 years. Our customers include BARC, IIT Mumbai, Indian Navy, Mahindra & Mahindra, TIFR, BHEL, and HMT to name a few. We are looking for opportunities to expand our India footprint by adding distributors & sales representatives. The Indian market is one of our focused growth regions for the coming years.

■

Brief us on new technologies & innovations from Galil Motion Control

and I/O challenges and solve them by providing the best technological solution at a competitive price. We are innovators and trend setters.

We were the first motion controller company to develop an Ethernet interface for our controllers. We quickly followed that trend by embedding an Ethernet switch in our products, so customers could daisy-chain multiple motion and I/O controllers together without the cost of an external switch.

We are actively involved in innovation and encouraging the future of motion and I/O control by partnering and supporting research projects in India as well as all over the world.

■

How do today’s automation solutions address current manufacturing challenges such as productivity improvement, cost reduction, efficient processes, etc, in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

By having programmable control automation equipment, products can be designed to be more flexible and precise which allows continuous quality improvements, smaller scale runs, increased customisation, lower capital outlay and reduced labour costs.

■

What is your agenda for 2014-2015?

We hope to expand our penetration in emerging economies while maintaining our focus on providing worldclass customer support and high-quality highvalue controllers that solve real problems for the OEM marketplace. We will continue to invest in growth industries and emerging markets.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS | Intelligent Drivesystems, Worldwide Services

(QHUJ\ HIÀFLHQW GULYH VROXWLRQV IRU ,QGLD V IDVW JURZLQJ LQGXVWU\ All over the world industries rely on NORD DRIVESYSTEMS for extremely energy-efficient motors, highly efficient gear units and advanced drive electronics with energy-saving functions - because NORD provides savings up to 40% along with robustness and reliability

We are well aware of our responsibility to the environment and to our customers; and sustainability continues to be an important part of our company policy, as it has for many years. Find out more at: http://energy.nord.com NORD DRIVESYSTEMS Pvt.Ltd. 282/2, 283/2, Village Mann, Taluka Mulshi, Adj.Hinjewadi MIDC-II, Pune- 411057 Maharashtra INDIA Phone +91 20 39801 -217, Fax +91 20 39801 - 216 India@nord.com, www.nord.com Member of the NORD DRIVESYSTEMS GROUP

IND_Energy_175x250_170414.indd 1

DRIVESYSTEMS 12.03.14 10:52

36

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Simpler tax structure will help” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Raj Singh Rathee, Managing Director, KUKA Robotics India, in this interview with Srimoyee Lahiri, suggests that the Government needs to make policies which are industry-friendly & optimistic ■

How do today’s automation & robotics solutions address current manufacturing challenges in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

Productivity improvement is interlinked with cost reduction and efficient processes. If we are improving productivity, the cost of production will automatically reduce. By achieving this, the process automatically becomes efficient. We are coming up with new technologies and ideas with our partners to improve productivity in a particular environment. An interesting example here will be machining centre loading & unloading application. The conventional loading and unloading for a machining centre is where the machine is catered manually. In a normal process, it was calculated and found that the overall productivity of the complete system was only up to 50%.

With the robotic automation it was possible to optimise and increase the productivity.

■What

are your recommendations on achieving operational excellence and sustaining the growth momentum in today’s uncertain market conditions?

Operational excellence can be achieved by planning everything in the right way

from the beginning, aligned with the correct amount of automation considering the long-term productivity. We provide a vast range of robots with few product families to the global industry, covering majority of application areas.

Using a family of robots, rather than each robot type as a unique one, becomes easier for the customers. Across a family, when the parts are common, maintainability of the equipment becomes easy.

As far as safety is concerned,

In general, the business scenario in India has always been average. But for us, the scenario has been slightly different and encouraging.

We are at a very low automation level as compared to developed countries.

Increase in automation is a part of this process and the development of the country is linked with manufacturing.

If manufacturing is going in the right direction with good amount of automation then for sure, the future would

“Currently, the automotive sector is not performing to its potential but other industries like machine tool, plastics and metal, foundry & forging are generating requirements for robotic automation.”

Raj Singh Rathee we are the world leaders in safe robot technology. We have implemented safe technology in our robots that makes manmachine cooperation possible.

Safety is also well judged by applications in the aerospace, entertainment and medical industry.

■

How do you look at the current business scenario in India, and the confidence level in your end-user industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

be very bright for Indian industry as a whole. Currently, the automotive sector is not performing to its potential but other industries like machine tool, plastics and metal, foundry & forging are generating requirements for robotic automation. This makes the overall industry look positive as of today.

We think the Government needs to support the industry by making policies which are industry-friendly and optimistic. Processes which

are future-proof & easy; and simplification of the current tax structure would help. In future, the industry will grow at a similar pace. Unless, we are working on the current challenges there won’t be a huge change.

■

Brief us on new technologies & innovations from your company planned for this year.

We have recently launched a new series of small robots named KR AGILUS, meant for various applications in industries. KR AGILUS families have multiple variants based on reach, payload and axis.

They are small sized, fast and portable. With our latest KRC4 compact controller and software, KR AGILUS are easy to set up and simpler in operation. It needs a singlephase socket similar to power sockets available at home. We also launched recently the new series of heavy payload robots KR Fortec family with payload ranging from 360 to 600 kg.

■

What is your agenda or 2014-2015?

We want to further increase our presence in the Indian market. We also look forward to continue putting our best efforts by meeting customer’s needs and expectations.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

Simplify, Consolidate, and Alleviate Your Big Data Worries Moxa MXcloud: The Cloud Management Tool for Solar Superiority

• Geographical visualization of device status for easier remote management • Custom analytics for large grid-oriented data sets saves time and money • Effortless adoption on existing software systems • Simple and intuitive interface design for easy navigation

MXcloud Supported Computers • UC-8481 RISC Computer • UC-8110 RISC Computer UC-8481

RISC-based mobile Linux computer • Supports Wi-Fi, cellular, and GPS modules • Independent power switches for cellular modules • Extra Wi-Fi and cellular slots for crossoperator expansions UC-8110

RISC-based energy monitoring computer • Innovative cybersecurity software protects both data and the platform • Programmable LED for customized notifications • Debian 7 for ARM with Linux 3.2 kernel ioLogik E1242

Ethernet Remote I/O • Integrated 2 port Ethernet switch for daisy chain topologies • Patented Active OPC Server • Supports SNMPv1/v2c • User-defined Modbus/TCP addressing

Moxa USA

Vasundara ProSys Pvt. Ltd. No. 3, Sy No. 89, Vishweshwarayya Industrial Layout, Alahalli, Off Kanakapura Road, Bangalore - 560 062 Tel: +91-80-67726777, Fax: +91-80-67726778 www.vasundara.com, query@vasundara.com

www.moxa.com india@moxa.com Tel: +91-80-4172-9088

38

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Demand is in for smart shopfloors” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Suggesting smarter and interoperable products, offering flexibility & reliability are ruling the roost, Ravi Agarwal, Director, Pepperl+Fuchs (FA), shares his insights on achieving operational excellence, during an interaction with Srimoyee Lahiri ■

How do today’s automation solutions address current manufacturing challenges such as productivity improvement, cost reduction, efficient processes, etc, in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

The economic conditions worldwide are in unchartered waters, so short-term analysis should evaluate how automation can cater to the quick swings of the economic conditions leading to apt action on the shop floors. As a matter of fact, it is more relevant and exciting to see how automation transforms and enables manufacturing in such sensitive and highly swaying economic conditions.

The most popular and successful innovations in automation already enable better throughput of the plant and utilisation of equipment.

The current trends and solutions in the domain of automation cater to and also impart flexibility of production lines, better energy efficiency, quick scaling and adaptions in production lines, quick reacting supply chain that are already addressing the challenges in question.

A quick reference to one of the latest marvels in the domain of automation – the 3D printers shows how this comprehensive product that summates multi-disciplinary automation has already created a revolution in rapid

prototyping, quick designing and unique product fabrication right from the desktop. This is a giant leap in designing and fabrication which directly lands higher efficiency and resource optimisation.

■

Which technology trends have been witnessed in 2013?

What are the expectations for 2014-15?

Creation of smarter and interoperable products which also offer flexibility and reliability are ruling the roost.

This trend is likely to continue.

We are likely to see better and

These challenges are not disjointed in the current times.

Any product, innovation and technology that empower the manufacturer or the consumer in the respective times would invariably impart operational excellence and growth to the owner/manufacturer.

■

What are the current trends in the field of technology solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

How is your company’s approach towards this?

Smart and flexible shop floors that can cater to wide swings in

“Smart thinking and quick precipitation into tangible results would impart high growth for the manufacturer”.

Ravi Agarwal improved products along the same lines in next couple of years.

■What

are your recommendations on achieving operational excellence and sustaining the growth momentum in today’s uncertain market conditions?

Smart thinking and quick precipitation into tangible results would impart high growth for the manufacturer.

Operational excellence is just the other side of the coin.

demands and product variants/ supply chain are the need of the day. Wireless technology, inter-communicating equipment, ability to handle newer, complex, lighter and nonconventional material, are some areas that are taking the centre stage.

Our company is also working to bring improved technology and products along the same direction.

■

How do you look at the current business scenario in India, and the confidence

level in your end-user industry segment?

The business scenario in India remains positive yet spiced by the short-term swings. Probably in longer term perspective, we would be calling the current times to be one of consolidation and repositioning which are required for the country as diverse as India.

■

Brief us on new technologies & innovations from your company planned for this year.

Besides latest development of smarter and interaction centric products, we are focused on further derivation of our patented time of flight measurement technology and products. A 2D and later 3D scanner based on this technology is highly anticipated.

■

What according to you will be the future of industrial automation technologies?

Like our society, technology and products too are in constant state of evolution.

Decentralised, efficient and smart production would govern industrial automation.

The product life cycles will be increasingly short and innovation would be the game changer.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

maxon product range

The solution is always a matter of the right combination.

If versatility and intelligent drive solutions are called for, the maxon product range provides the answer: A wide range of brushed and brushless DC motors up to 500 watts complemented by gearheads, sensors, brakes, positioning controllers and accessories offer a consistent modular system to realize whatever you have in mind.

maxon motor is the world’s leading supplier of high-precision drives and systems of up to 500 watts power output. maxon motor stands for customer specific solutions, high quality, innovation, competitive prices and a worldwide distribution network.

See what we can do for you: www.maxonmotor.in

40

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Creating a fresh wave of thinking” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Analysing uncertain market conditions, Dr Ashish Manchanda, Managing Director, Finder India, highlights the requirement of technology products in the automation segment, in this interaction with Srimoyee Lahiri ■ How

does today ’s automation solutions address current manufacturing challenges in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

Irrespective of the uncertainties in the economic conditions, instrumentation & automation solutions have always been the key enablers to meet the challenges of the manufacturing industry.

Challenges in the industry today with higher scale configuration, increased amount of data management, increased value added product profile and higher complexity of operations, etc require greater inclination toward remote I/Os, real-time analytics for batch processing, energy saving switching, etc. Under the fluctuating economic scenario, specialised automation technologies that are able to meet the ever-increasing demand for higher productivity, enhanced plant efficiency, increased reliability and security are now available. It is time for plant managers to keep a prudent view on the need for plant intelligence solutions that help in connecting and integrate systems that are working in isolation.

■What

are your r e co m m e n d at i o n s on achieving operational excellence and sustaining the

growth momentum in today’s uncertain market conditions?

Under uncertain market conditions, operational excellence & sustaining growth have become two parallel tracks or the banks of a flowing river that never seem to meet.

However, the answer lies in creating a fresh wave of thinking among the decision makers who have to be prepared in advance with a strategy to create a balance. During such a time, it becomes vital to make use of the automation technology to closely monitor

endeavour of the plant level end users as well as the commercial team. As a result, the market is seeking to achieve full functionality as per operating requirements and at the same time, demanding lower costs.

Hence, we are continuously developing and improvising our product basket with an objective of cost innovations.

■ How do you look at the

current business scenario in India, and the confidence level in your end-user

“India is a fast emerging market and we believe in serving the market with an experienced an competent workforce. ” Dr Ashish Manchanda important process parameters, to reduce wastage, diagnose defects proactively to reduce in-efficient downtime and manage power supply.

■ What are the current trends

in the field of technology solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

How is your company’s approach towards this?

The specification for the technology products in many automation system requirements are now being governed by a combined

industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

The Indian economy is under strain. At the beginning of this year, we have witnessed a positive turn of events which is largely in the nature of modernisation and few green field projects for segments such as metallurgy, infrastructure, oil & gas, automotive, food processing, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, conventional as well as renewable energy and building automation.

Consequently, we see a typical

positive trend in the machine building industry especially among the special purpose machine manufacturers.

■ Brief us on new technologies & innovations from your company planned for this year.

The innovations include the new generation of interposing and contact multiplication relays with modular protection, concepts of EMI filters, surge suppressors, fuse, freewheeling diodes, polarity protection, etc, along with a reliable base/ socket that does not need additional terminal blocks.

We are also increasing our solutions related to thermal management in control cabinets by introducing industrial grade thermostats, fans with filters and space heaters.

■ What is your agenda for 2014-2015?

Despite the certain degree of uncertainty, we plan to stay on the growth path by taking continued action on investment in innovation and growth in emerging markets such as India, China, Africa and South America. India is a fast emerging market and we believe in serving the market with an experienced an competent workforce.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

Projekt2 05.09.13 14:18 Seite 1

42

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Focus is on core technology” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Somshubhro Pal Choudhury, Managing Director, Analog Devices India, discusses the latest offerings for the automation industry and focuses on Industry 4.0, during this interview with Srimoyee Lahiri ■ How do today’s automation

solution address current manufacturing challenges in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

Industrial automation is the key for operational efficiency in increasing productivity, reducing cost and improving efficiency. While companies are pinched for cash, some of these efficiency projects could be initiated in a phased manner with immediate benefits to both the top line and bottom line.

There are various facets of factory automation. The biggest benefit of automation is that it saves labour. However, it is also used to save energy, materials, improve quality and getting better management visibility of the entire manufacturing which are much more important for emerging lower labour cost economies.

■ Which technology trends

have been witnessed in 2013?

What are the expectations for 2014-15?

Energy efficiency, use of more and more sensors, machine vision, and integration back to IT systems and pre-emptive maintenance of machines are the emerging trends. In terms of markets, we can expect more automation needs coming from the developing markets beyond China where there would be a step up of manufacturing and productivity improvement. We

expect to see a renewed focus on manufacturing in India post the elections.

■ What are the current trends

in the field of technology solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

How is your company’s approach towards this?

Industrial automation industry is characterised by smaller volumes and a huge variety of applications servicing diverse needs. Hence, automation companies customise products

in India, and the confidence level in your end-user industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

Challenges for the Indian manufacturers are in terms of R&D and manufacturing scale.

The biggest challenge is to innovate and provide a robust reliable cost optimised solution for the Indian market. We are seeing Indian arms of large MNCs and Indian design houses also doing good amount of system designs in India besides Indian manufacturers.

“Challenges for the Indian manufacturers are in terms of R&D and manufacturing scale” Somshubhro Pal Choudhury for specific applications and end users’ requirements.

Innovation hence, comes more from targeted applications and less from the application of the newest technologies like in consumer electronics.

Our broad portfolio can be categorised under: application specific processors for industrial controls, digital isolation technologies between data and power, signal chain for programmable logic controllers (PLC) and distributed control systems (DCS), etc.

■ Brief us on new technologies

& innovations from your company planned for this year.

The focus is on core technology that would result in improving the precision and resolution of our analog to digital and digital to analog converter portfolio hence improving the reliability and accuracy. The application specific product would result in custom solutions for the market integrating many of the signal chain functions, sensors, software and much more.

■ How do you look at the ■ What according to you will current business scenario

be the future of industrial

automation technologies?

Industry 4.0 is an integration of the sensor world, seamless integration to the Internet and enterprise IT systems with machines and factories taking real time decisions on the most optimum efficiency. We are a long way off and would take decades, but the inclusion of sensors, integration of IT systems, intelligent machine vision and predictive analysis of machines is already starting to happen. The other area worth following is the emergence of 3D printing, the technology and cost of 3D printing and what it would do the world of lower volume customised manufacturing.

■ What is your agenda for 2014-2015?

Analog Devices as a company would continue to develop core technologies and ASSPs for the industrial automation market focused on our customers. In India, we would expect the market pick up post elections with a renewed focus on manufacturing. While we are already working with the larger MNCs at a global and local level, we see opportunities with a large number of Indian industrial automation solutions providers who would continue to develop affordable niche products for the India market.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

n s t h g t a e n T e f o h f y d d d

r

y e e t n e s n e r l s f n d e e

■

INTERVIEW INDUSTRY

43

“Consistency in product quality” Deepak Aran, Country Manager, Contrinex Automation, suggests proper automation solutions to achieve less downtime and rejection to provide high level of consistency, in this interaction with Srimoyee Lahiri.

■

Which technology trends have been witnessed in 2013?

What are the expectations for 2014-15?

as far as possible within the budget constraints to achieve operational excellence.

In 2013, as a general trend, everyone had put the thrust on reliability, i.e. no failure products. For example, in sensor field, the technology trends have been mostly to improve robustness and reliability because failure of one single sensor can stop the whole process. So, the designers were looking for reliable and robust sensors, and manufacturers were busy designing high reliability sensors like ASIC. As far as expectations for 201415 are concerned, apart from reliability and robustness, thrust is now on speed/ modes of communication in automation processes, miniaturisation, and remote operations.

What are the current trends in the field of technology solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

How is your company’s approach towards this?

■What

are your re com men dat ions on achieving operational excellence and sustaining the growth momentum in today’s uncertain market conditions?

Any business has to be set up with long-term vision and consistency of product quality along with production capacities. This is an important factor for a long and fruitful business setup. But, quality comes at a cost and it is recommended to use best quality products Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

■

The current trends are improvements in communication protocols, speed and safety of processes.

Reliability on the other hand is the most important factor. In 2013 we have given the world some innovative products like

help to achieve less downtime and rejection and thus, provide high level of consistency, quality, and reliability. This helps the industry to face the challenges like productivity improvement, cost reduction, efficient processes, etc, in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions.

■

How do you look at the current business scenario in India, and the confidence level in your end-user industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

The current business scenario is

“The future of industrial automation technologies lies in more efficient and power saving drives/equipment with a high level of consistency” Deepak Aran

spectacular benefit to user in terms of reliability. This year we are working on technology improvement in our product range to cover the other products with ASIC technology.

Furthermore, we are working to provide better communication options through IO-Link facility in our sensor range.

■

What according to you will be the future of industrial automation technologies?

The future of industrial automation technologies lies in more efficient and power saving drives/equipment with a high level of consistency.

Also, the control systems like PLCs, sensors, safety, etc will have to gear up for faster communication to reduce cycle times thus reducing production time and increasing productivity.

■

What is your agenda for 2014-2015? “world’s smallest sensor” and an “economic and virtually indestructible sensor”. We will continue on our approach of providing innovative products with high level of quality.

■

How do today’s automation solutions address current manufacturing challenges such as productivity improvement, cost reduction, efficient processes, etc, in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

Proper automation solutions

showing signs of improvement.

The confidence level is better in our end-user industry segment. The projects have been revived at some places which shows the brighter side of future.

■

Brief us on new technologies & innovations from your company planned for this year.

Contrinex has introduced the smallest sensor and a reliable range of sensors with ASIC technology which provides

Contrinex is known for developing special sensors like “Enterprise” in Star Trek – exploring places where no one has endeavoured before. We look forward to expand our product range of sensors with ASIC technology and come up with more special sensors to help the designers in achieving the tasks through automation which was earlier not possible due to non-availability of proper/reliable sensors.

For digital edition, visit:

■

> www.AandD24.in

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

44

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Invest in appropriate automation” Bipin Jirge, Managing Director, ifm electronic India Pvt Ltd, suggests that investments in appropriate automation is the need of the hour to address the present challenges, during an interview with Srimoyee Lahiri.

■ How can today’s automation

solutions address current manufacturing challenges such as productivity improvement, cost reduction, efficient processes, etc, in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

In these challenging situations, long-term productivity improvements, cost reductions, and quality improvement potential can be achieved by optimising automation.

Appropriate automation must be aligned with value engineering.

the future also. In recent times, there have been advances in specific application sensors which provide high reliability and better features required particularly for an application area. All the parameters like accuracy, reliability, response time, etc have been only getting better at the same price point for the customer. Addressing the same, ifm electronic has introduced a new vibration monitoring sensor as well as a

■ What are the current trends in the field of technology

“The current business scenario in India is challenging. Fewer investments are being made in plants”

■ Which technology trends have been witnessed in 2013 in your sector?

The sensors are becoming more intelligent and the technologies like “I/O LINK” are the latest trends. In many cases of sensors, ifm already has sensors with built-in I/O LINK technology. Sensors are becoming more and more intelligent, capable of taking decisions locally. Sensors are also using bus systems to reduce the wiring in the plant.

In India, there are many sensor players, including many global companies offering solutions at different technology levels as well as price points. The situations will only get better from the user’s point of view as there will be more players in

including indirect benefits like quality improvements, improved safety of operation as well as reduction of rejections.

During these days we need to spare some time, in which we should improve the training, upgrade the skills of man power, which can definitely compliment the automation there by adding productivity.

Bipin Jirge

in plants. The medium-term outlook is good provided we get the projects.

■ Brief us on new technologies & innovations from your company planned for this year.

We have already launched opto-electronic sensors with time of flight technology in the standard sensor range (costeffective as compared to usual sensors working on time of flight principle). These sensors provide easy programming, compact housing, and are insensitive to extraneous light.

These sensors allow detection of colour shades that can be set separately.

■ What is your agenda for 2014-2015?

new 3D vision sensor, which is very innovative.

■What

are your r e co m m e n d at i o n s on achieving operational excellence and sustaining the growth momentum in today’s uncertain market conditions?

We look forward to invest in appropriate automation in these challenging times.

Although the investment for these appropriate solutions has to come in these difficult times, we should think of long-term benefit of these investments;

solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

The current trend clearly is to have more productive / value engineered investments in automation and our company aims to offer such solutions.

■ How do you look at the

current business scenario in India, and the confidence level in your end-user industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

The current business scenario in India is challenging. Fewer investments are being made

ifm electronics aims for quality, innovation in the automation segment. From position and process sensors, object recognition, diagnostic and identification systems up to networking and control systems, our product portfolio is tailored for specific customers’ needs. We look forward to serve our customers continuosly with “appropriately engineered sensor solutions”.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

Automation: complete and simple!

ō Full diagnostic options for reduced machine downtimes ō Open communication for high flexibility ō Innovative software solutions for easy configuration and programming ō High scalability for individual solutions ō One system for safety and automation

Pilz GmbH & Co. KG

73760 Ostfildern

+49 711 3409-0

AD_Automation_complete_a_simple_210x297_DE_EN_FR_2014_01.indd 1

info@pilz.com

www.pilz.com

28.02.14 14:24

46

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Networking is catching up fast” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Bhadresh Dani, Head – Drives Division, Bharat Bijlee, in this interview with Srimoyee Lahiri, suggests that in 2014-15, information sharing may get introduced for manufacturing ■ How do today’s automation solutions address current manufacturing challenges in the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions?

Automation provides solutions to reduce manual intervention, thus improving productivity and accuracy. It also reduces energy consumption, manpower cost per article/ goods and thereby, reduces manufacturing cost per article for any industrial goods. Most automation solutions are costeffective with 1-2 years payback period and the same can be used by retrofitting existing manual processes. Majority of industries are focusing on energy efficient automation solutions to improve or at least maintain profitability at the same level in difficult economic situation.

■ Which technology trends

have been witnessed in 2013 in your sector?

We have seen that networking as a concept is catching up very fast in automation, especially for the manufacturing sector. In the year 2014-15, information sharing may get introduced for manufacturing.

■What

are your recommendations on achieving operational excellence and sustaining the growth momentum in today’s uncertain market conditions?

We feel that the adoption

of new and innovative technology in manufacturing, automation solutions with respect to benchmark in the industry and continuous small improvement (Kaizen) will be a key to operational excellence & sustainable growth. Instead of top-down approach, management should create SGA (Small Group Activity) project for Kaizen with participative approach for each employee. Shrinking of value chain can also be one

blower and high speed spindle applications. We at Bharat Bijlee are geared up with KEB servo drive with high speed application up to 1.6 KHz and also PMSM solutions with high resolution and accuracy.

■ How do you look at the current business scenario in India, and the confidence level in your end-user industry segment? What is your outlook for the future?

Our major focus industry

“Drives technology is moving from normal induction motor +VFD to PMSM +servo drive technology and many customers are moving for this technology to gain 20-25 per cent more savings.”

Bhadresh Dani of the focus areas to improve operational effectiveness.

■ What are the current trends

in the field of technology solutions for manufacturing vis-à-vis market dynamics?

How is your company’s approach towards this?

Drives technology is moving from normal induction motor +VFD to PMSM +servo drive technology and many customers are moving for this technology to gain 20-25 per cent more savings. We have also seen the trend of high speed applications like turbo

segments are plastic, steel, machine tools, sugar, textile, oil & gas. We have seen positive trend in plastic, textile, oil & gas industries. The outlook is also positive. We believe sugar and machine tools will have positive outlook in the future.

We have grown by 20 per cent over last year’s business and expect even more growth next year.

■ Brief

us on new technologies & innovations from your company planned for this year.

Presently, we offer high-end

servo solutions (up to 400 NM) for very challenging applications used in earlier mentioned industry segments.

Now, we would like to offer complete solutions from Aix to control along with HMI, multi-axis controller, HMI for any machine/line automation, which can provide user-friendly operations even in harsh environmental conditions.

■ What according to you will

be the future of industrial automation technologies?

The control points of industrial automation will be remote.

The information transfer & sharing will be very fast.

The analysis of faults will be online & this will help in taking quick decisions online. Also, slowly mobile applications will be developed dedicated for products commissioning, trouble shooting, etc.

■ What is your agenda for 2014-2015?

We would like to understand the issues/pain points of automations solutions users (customers like OEM, end user, solution provider) & would like to offer solutions which can solve their issues. We would like to differentiate ourselves by creating benchmark in the industry with best application and after sales support.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

48

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Manufacturers need multi connectivity” Umesh Sakle, CEO, Hilscher India, elaborates on the growth of industrial communication in the Indian automation market, emerging trends and the future of industrial automation technologies, in this interview with Srimoyee Lahiri.

■ Which technology trends have been witnessed in 2013?

What are the expectations for 2014-15?

From traditional discreet wired control systems to de-centralised control systems-fieldbus, industrial communication technology is moving toward distributed intelligence using industrial Ethernet. Fieldbuses are still the dominating technology.

But all network development in 2013 was focused on industrial ethernet which replaced common fieldbuses.

There are different standards in the world for Ethernet like Profinet, Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP, etc. We help the customers in terms of offering a single hardware that is compatible with different real time Ethernet standards available in the market. This is helpful for customers who have to supply to different market segments. We hope this trend to continue in 201415 as well.

■ How do you see the growth

of industrial communication in the Indian automation market?

In India, device manufacturers need multi-connectivity to serve a wide range of automation applications and vertical market segments in

order to grow business and multi-network connectivity.

Being an entry ticket into the global automation, Indian firms are quite open to experiment hi-tech industrial communication solutions and this trend is growing with each passing day.

■ What according to you will

be the future of industrial automation technologies?

Hilscher

deals

with

smarter manner. The market for industrial communication is very fragmented and there won’t be any single standard protocol in the future.

■ How does R&D work in your domain?

Being a world leader in hi-tech industrial communication, our staff of R&D engineers, sales & application engineers must have wide & deep product knowledge. They always

“We want to be measured by the success of our customers with their competitive products. Adaptation to the customer needs with swift expert response is very important to succeed in India.”

Umesh Sakle technologies that cover a very broad range from CANOpen, CC-Link DeviceNet to Profibus & Profinet, etc. As far as the company is concerned, apart from the sales of our standard protocol solutions, we provide customised solutions as per the customers’ requirements.

With the means of R&D, programming & customisation support, we want to simplify technological maze for our clients to help them in attaining results in a faster and

must be prepared to support customers. For that we invest.

Together with our customers we aim to develop hi-tech industrial communication solutions. We train our staff of engineers & sales team from India and in Germany for technical support and innovative use of our products.

It is a regular endeavour from our end to support Indian customers in a best possible way as training and R&D is an important element in

such hi-tech industrial communication field.

■ How

do you align your strategic plans in these volatile market situations?

Competence in the communication-products, technologies and service at the leading edge of industrial communication technology is our requirement. We want to be measured by the success of our customers with their competitive products.

Adaptation to the customer needs with swift expert response is very important to succeed in India.

■ What is your agenda for 2014-2015?

Our aspiration is to help Indian customers use hi-tech industrial communication products. Unfortunately, India being a very cost sensitive market, the strategy for next few years is not to optimise profit, but penetration of our products in Indian market so that Indian customers will use and benefit from our low cost & technologically advanced gateways, embedded modules, PC cards, net analysers & other communication solutions.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

INTERVIEW INDUSTRY

“High level of service quality expected” Ajay K Dhir, Chairman, Oranda Global and former Group CIO, Lanco Infratech and JSL Limited, highlights the requirement for simplification of HMI and stronger analytics, specifically predictive analytics in the automation systems, during this interaction with Sumedha Mahorey ■ Which considerations are identified along with the results as per the objectives proposition does taken into account while adopting new automation or IT technologies or upgrading to new automation systems?

I strongly believe in the premise that IT is all about people, process and technology. While adopting new technologies or upgrading to new automation systems, it is very important to understand the objective first, before deciding to invest. Technology should never be thrust on people but if they see the return and WIIFM (What’s In It For Me), then the process is easier.

Therefore, we should see the adaptability, ease of use, integration with existing systems, cost of training and manpower, return on Investment and most important – alignment with strategic objectives of the organisation.

■ How should a company

optimise on the various sub-segments of automation systems – control system, HMI, MIS, etc?

These are interrelated and work together in an operational environment.

Once the basic need of the automation has been Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

control system, the HMI is an integral part with MIS, which can be extracted in a realtime from the historian. The skill in integration of these components is not in just getting the technology pieces together, but in making these work in an effective manner.

■ What are the concerns and

challenges that are faced while implementing a new automation system?

& strategy, as well as return on the investment made. This requires experience of large scale automation projects in diverse environment and scenarios, with maturity, people management skills, experience of handling complex projects and the right fiscal exposure.

■ What are your demands

from automation solution providers?

“Management of Big Data is a challenge and if automation systems help an organisation to become more intelligent, responsive and customer focused, the adoption would be more and easier than what it is as of now”.

Ajay K Dhir The first challenge is in the ‘people’ aspect, the ‘buy in’ needs to be established at all levels. Next challenges come in getting the processes right, as per the automation and synchronisation with the systems required, and last but not the least – having the right sized technology which will give the desired

We expect very high level of service quality, understanding the client’s needs and alignment of the right solution for the same.

All this has to be executed in a constrained environment with proper management of time, cost and resources.

■ What

an a u t o m at i o n solution provider bring in the manufacturing processes?

The automation service provider brings in (or is expected to bring) a superior value proposition to the manufacturing processes by way of industry knowledge and expertise in the domain, competence in the systems being proposed to the user organisation and knowledge transfer so that the systems can be run in an optimised manner.

■ Which are the new age

technologies that you wish to be incorporated in automation systems for your industry vertical?

We would require simplification of HMI and stronger analytics, specifically predictive analytics in the automation systems.

Management of Big Data is a challenge and if the automation systems help an organisation to become more ‘intelligent’, ‘responsive’ and ‘customer focused’, the adoption would be more and easier than what it is as of now.

■

For digital edition, visit:

sort

of

value

> www.AandD24.in

49

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

50

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“No dependence on service expert” Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Jasbir Singh, Vice President – Business Development, Essar Projects (India), discusses the effects of right selection of system hardware, field devices, software licenses, MIS packages & diagnostic software tool, during this conversation with Sumedha Mahorey.

■

How does your company optimise on the various sub-segments of automation systems?

A design concept at the beginning of the project that satisfies all of the design specifications is a necessary component of a successful project. This includes selection of suitable system hardware, right field devices, optimum level of software licenses, minimum number of MIS packages/diagnostic software tool, and finally a minimum level of redundancy in hardware component based on the criticality of processes/ loop. Hardware redundancy increases the overall cost of the automation project.

Increased redundancy not only increases the CAPEX but a recurring maintenance cost.

The additional down side is that sometimes maintenance engineers are so careless that even a single failure takes a long time to get rectified. In some instances, we found that the failure information at operator panel, that the system is running at hot standby, is left without configuration.

■ What are the concerns and

challenges that are faced while implementing a new automation system?

Latest developments in automation are based on

digital technology. One needs to develop skills set to understand new features.

It is important that people should undergo suitable training during induction of new automation/upgradation in system, which require for configuration of devices and diagnostic capability during operation.

The Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an important component at the beginning of project ordering because it clearly defines what an

new application software during initial setup stage is essential. Once it has been implemented, training on how to use these software services for easy addition, modification and taking software back-up is necessary.

■

What are your demands from automation solution providers?

Time has changed and we always expect that system should be trouble-free, have high uptime, call for minimum

“The system should be trouble-free, have high uptime, call for minimum maintenance need, easy to diagnose during failure and support fast recovery by plant maintenance staff.”

Jasbir Singh equipment/system service provider is offering and also the consequences, if they fail to deliver these services, to the agreed standard. To avoid problems at a later time and to ensure that we are getting exactly what vendors have been paid for, an acceptance should be reached for SLA before actually signing any contracts. To avoid problems in the future, training of staff on how to access new software and the use of

maintenance need, are easy to diagnose during failure and support fast recovery by plant maintenance staff. We anticipate no dependence on service expert from automation vendor.

■

What sort of value proposition does your automation solution provider bring in your manufacturing processes?

Presently, providers

many solution do not limit

themselves to supply the system as a product but use this as a platform to further understand the shortcomings.

Continuous addition to new features is only possible if they take regular feedback or become part of the operation process to test new features in the same operating conditions. Businesses no longer require as many hardware such as physical servers or software licenses for their on-premise software applications as before. Thus, by decreasing the number of physical servers that a business has been running within its internal infrastructure and the number of licensed software operating systems or software applications, a business can save money in the long run.

■

Which are the new age technologies that you wish to be incorporated in automation systems for your industry vertical?

Due to the increased cost of cabling, its protection, wireless transmission in automation is becoming increasingly popular. We would like to see hybrid systems in place. Physical layer, for control should not be used for diagnostic or health monitoring of the devices.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

52

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

“Adhere to safety to drive excellence“ Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Anil Gupta, Site Head - Taloja, Dow India, suggests online equipment monitoring systems as the need-of-the-hour to deliver higher reliability of operations & customer connect, in this interview with Sumedha Mahorey ■ What are the considerations

taken into account while adopting new automation technologies?

Today, manufacturing and engineering expertise can determine who will be a champion in the industry.

Therefore, while adopting new technologies one needs to consider a few factors to be able to achieve manufacturing excellence, which drives value.

An important aspect is to achieve improved performance from automation & control systems, to provide higher level of safety, quality, productivity, consistency & reliability. Other aspect that needs to be looked at is after sales services. These factors are holistic in nature & will ensure seamless processes, thus achieving maximum benefits from the upgraded technology. This is the yardstick that we use at Dow India and it has worked well for us.

■ How does your company

optimise on the various subsegments of automation systems – control system, HMI, MIS, among others?

At Dow India, the goal of the optimising the systems is to boost quality as well as efficiency of production. To optimise the sub segments of automation systems, we introduce additional segments to enhance the effectiveness of the control system. This includes installation of new

hardware and software systems, which are in line with the basic objectives of the automation strategy of the site.

While doing so, we are aware that continuous improvements in plant efficiency & strict environment protection measures require ever-closer networking and greater transparency of all available data & information, throughout the production chain. We adhere to these standards as a standard practice.

processes is advantageous, in order to achieve this. However, there are a few challenges that pose as barriers. These include compatibility with existing systems; cost of new systems to remain cost-competitive in the market; fast service availability of the new systems in the country; training operations team & adapting to the change in technology or process.

■ What

are your demands from automation solution providers (ASP)?

“To increase overall production efficiency, sharper focus is needed on increasing equipment uptime and securing stable production, according to defined production standards.”

Anil Gupta

■ What are the concerns and challenges that are faced while implementing new automation systems?

The world of automation changes quickly, and often dramatically, providing a constant challenge for companies to stay up-todate with the latest trends and business solutions. For profitable operations in today’s manufacturing plants, it is vital to improve overall efficiency, while lowering costs. Usage of new automation systems and

Thriving in today’s business climate requires more insight, acumen, resources and time, than before. You are required to do more with less, since there is a constant pressure to produce high-quality products at lower costs. Thus, to increase overall production efficiency, sharper focus is needed on increasing equipment uptime and securing stable production, according to defined production standards.

And so, the ASP should be capable of providing fast &

enhanced servicing of the entire system, including the availability, maintenance & replacement of spare parts.

■ What

sort of value proposition does your automation solution provider bring in your manufacturing processes?

At Dow globally and in India, we actively promote the use of technology in manufacturing, while adhering to safety to drive excellence. All our service providers are expected to bring in increased safety of processes, consistency in quality, increased productivity and reliable operations. We do not compromise on safety and strongly believe in our ‘safety first’ motto.

■ Which

are the new age technologies that you wish to be incorporated in automation systems for your industry vertical?

We believe in forward-thinking solutions that can accelerate business success and expand growth opportunities for our customers and us. Hence, as we progress, we see “online equipment monitoring systems” as one of the needof-the-hour to deliver higher reliability of operations and customer connect.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

TECHNOLOGY & MARKET Developments & trends Showcasing the recent advancements in test & measurement, drives & motors, sensors and fieldbuses, and other technologies, this article series brings the latest developments from the world of industrial automation and robotics for various industry verticals including automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical and process, power, food & beverage, steel & metal, etc.

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

54

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Low-cost automation - An insight Competitiveness, primarily with high productivity and quality at low cost, is a major manufacturing need, which can be fulfilled by low-cost automation The current financial crisis faced all over the world has posed tremendous challenges on the manufacturing organisations. Even at low volumes, and large variety, they have to be competitive with minimum investment. Low-cost automation can play an important role in this situation Prof N Ramakrishnan

â–

Prof N Ramakrishnan Mechanical Engineering Department IIT-Mumbai ramkrish@me.iitb.ac.in

H

uge corporations with tremendous financial strength, technical leadership and multinational market can achieve quality even in severe competition. But organisations in developing countries with

constraints on all the above, i.e. finance, technical leadership and limited market and very low labour productivity have to achieve productivity and quality through strategies workable under such conditions.

There are many methods available to A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

55 increase competitiveness.

One of the very practical, safe, economical, rewarding methods is the application of low-cost automation (LCA) pursued in Japan with a lot of enthusiasm from around 1960s. In India also LCA has been found to be useful for small enterprises employing a few people to huge manufacturing organisations employing thousands of people. Big organisations like L&T, Siemens, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, etc, made a separate cell involved in in-house development of LCA. However, these devices were useful only to replace the muscular effort of the labour.

Developments in microelectronics started during 1970s and have added considerable power to LCA. Electronic sensing, data acquisition, data processing and sophisticated controllers have given an excellent combination of hi-technology at low cost. This adds considerable intelligence into the automation system.

The author coined the terminology ‘Low cost Hi-tech automation’ (LCHA) in 1994 to highlight the significance of the combination.

Low-cost automation LCA is a technology that creates some degree of automation around the existing equipment, tools, methods, people, etc, using mostly standard components available in the market with low investment so that the payback period is short (a few weeks to less than a year).

Low-cost high-tech automation Low-cost automation coupled with sensors, microcontrollers and data storage/

Figure 1: Methodology for LCHA

processing facility with considerable capability enhancement is LCHA.

The following advantages have made LCHA very popular.

Financial constraint does not hinder LCHA. Capital equipment is very expensive and has long payback period. On the other hand, it is built around existing resources. Hence the investments required are lower and payback period is short. Going in a progressive way, the same money can be used again and again when the payback period is shorter Labour productivity can be increased.

This will reduce the percentage of labour cost in the total cost Smaller batch size also becomes viable for LCHA. Expensive automation will need sufficiently large batch size to be cost-effective Rising raw materials cost necessitates better utilisation of the material, less W.I.P. and less rejection.

■

■ ■

LCHA can help in these as below: In-house development: since the people involved in the activity are encouraged to participate in the development, the people develop skill to maintain, and even repair them.

This reduces the break-down cost and time

■

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

■

Listing advantages

■

Figure 3: Mechanical system

Figure 2: LCHA Development cycle

Risk is less: One goes step-by-step approach. Hence the risk due to heavy investment or selection of wrong technology, etc, is minimised

Of limitations However, LCHA has also some limitations.

Development takes time: When you buy a ready-made automatic machine, time involved in developing, troubleshooting, modification, etc, is avoided. LCHA, being custom built and generally inhouse, takes more time Learning time: Technology like CNC needs very little time for changing from one drawing to another, since the skill is inbuilt into the programme. LCHA uses manual participation and hence will take some time to learn whenever change is incorporated.

■

■

It is needless to add that the advantages far outweigh the limitations. In Japan and what are called Asian Tigers, this has been widely used because this is the most attractive proposition for small entrepreneurs.

Fields of application It is very interesting to state that any manufacturing activity is a potential >

56

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

LCHA is a very effective, competitive and cost effective tool for the manufacturing industries

candidate for LCHA. To clarify this point further: All activities related to discrete manufacturing: Irrespective of the product, all activities like loadings feeding, clamping, machinery welding, forming, gauging, assembly, packing, etc Process industries: Chemicals, oils, powders, pharmaceuticals, etc Mining: very useful for mining operations Manufacture of explosives: volatile products like LPG, etc

■

■ ■ ■

The advantage of pneumatics, which is widely used in LCHA (namely the fact that air is a very medium against fire), makes LCHA very attractive for the following: Printing & Packing: LCHA widely used Agriculture: tilling, sawing, plucking Stock breeding: Controlled mixing and distribution of food, collecting milk, eggs, cleaning the cages, etc, can be done with LCHA Food processing: this is a newly developing area with considerable growth potential

■ ■ ■ ■

It is obvious from above that any area of productive activity has potential for application of LCHA.

Methodology for LCHA Figure 1 shows the methodology used for LCHA, which is simple and selfexplanatory.

What is important to note here is that stages 1 and 2 are very crucial for stage 3. Since many alternatives are possible, an in-depth study of the existing system and ability to visualise the modifications to make automation easier can make the implementation much easier. The third stage, conceptual development brings out the ingenuity of the designer of LCHA system in coming out with an elegant solution. During these three stages, good interaction between the people working in the areas chosen for LCHA and the designer of the LCHA system is essential.

With more than twenty-five years in these areas, I can confidently say that the success or failure of LCHA, during implementation, is highly influenced by the thoroughness of preparation during these three stages. The experience of the LCHA expert in conceptualising a viable solution using appropriate technologies, considering the economic viability and easiness of maintenance right at this state is the most important requirement for successful implementation.

The well-known techniques in industrial engineering, like work sampling, pre-determined motion and time studies (PMTS), developing a better method (DBM) coupled with the principles of ‘design for automation’, and the comparative evaluation of available techniques for LCHA will be very useful in implementation.

System synthesis & development Figure 2 shows how the designer should proceed in a systematic manner for developing LCHA systems. A variety of systems (mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and electronics) are available.

Since each system has its own advantages and limitations, one can build up a simple LCHA device using one of them based on technical evaluation. However, in most of the practical applications, hybrid systems are used where the advantages of different devices are made use for minimising the effect of the disadvantages.

Mechatronics Mechatronics is a synergetic integration of precision mechanical control system

with microelectronics, computers and information technology. When LCA is upgraded with mechatronics it becomes LCHA. This enhances the system capability many times with little additional investment. The advantages of adding mechatronics in LCHA are: Using low-cost highly reliable sensors critical parameters of the system can be continuously monitored Using microcontrollers very sophisticated control programs can be incorporated Using parallel subunits reliability can be enhanced Using communication ports and information technology different subunits can communicate with each other and enhance the advantages of integration Systems can be made capable to communicate with other systems to improve system performance System can generate data regularity and store the result so that performance history is easily available

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

LCHA and India India has a tremendous advantage over the developed countries. To begin with: LCHA is custom-built. Design and development cost cannot be recovered by large volume production.

Compared to the developed nations, the cost of engineering personnel is significantly lower than developed countries. Hence, in India we can make it much cheaper than many other nations Custom-built automation with LCHA can take care of the production volume consideration. This can avoid under automation or over automation Micro electronics and sensors add reliability, quality and appropriate intelligence to the machine. Hence the cost to benefit ratio will be very high.

■

■ ■

It can be reasonably stated that a sophisticated automatic system can be developed within 25 to 35 per cent of the cost incurred in developed nations. There is no doubt that India will be a major power in global manufacturing. LCHA is a very effective, competitive and cost-effective > A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

57

Figure 4: Hydraulic system

tool for the manufacturing industries irrespective of what product they make and the production volume.

Review of technologies A look at the review of the technologies:

Mechanical systems Mechanical systems are very beneficial for appropriate conditions. Figure 3 shows a fully mechanical system, operated by cams. These mechanical systems have the limitation of being useful for mass production of identical components.

Hydraulic systems They use pressurised oil for operation.

Hydraulic pumps, valves, actuators and auxiliary elements like accumulators, intensifiers, etc, are used to develop

Figure 6: Electric system

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Figure 5: Pneumatic system

hydraulic systems. Figure 4 shows an example of hydraulic system. The major advantage of hydraulic systems is their high power density. This makes them very compact in heavy load applications controlling speed force torque, etc.

Pneumatic systems When the loads are low and speeds are high, in generally light industries, pneumatics is an attractive solution. Most of the medium and big industries provide compressed air as a service in their plants. A large variety of components (valves, cylinders, motors, etc) are available in the market.

High speed manufacturing operations (filling, packing, printing, small sub unit assemblies, etc) use pneumatic units very extensively. Figure 5 shows an example of a pneumatic circuit.

Electric systems The electric drives and control technology has seen tremendous growth in the last few decades. Variable speed AC motors, AC or DC servo motors, stepper motors, linear motors, etc, are available today in different sizes, power levels and capabilities.

Earlier, the concept was to use minimum number of motors and mechanical systems (gearboxes, mechanisms, indexing devices, chain drives, belts, etc) for multiple components. The current trend is to use a large number of motors for operating individual elements and minimising

mechanical subsystems. This will add to flexibility, compactness, weight reduction, more reliability and less maintenance.

Figure 6 shows an electric system.

Hybrid Systems If we combine the individual advantages of the above mentioned types of systems in an appropriate way, we can get a hybrid system which will be the best custom-built solution to a set of specific requirements.

In conclusion When the manufacturing industry in India was excited about the economic boom and the expansion of almost all manufacturing units to meet the increasing demand, it appeared that we are ready to be a global manufacturing hub.

The worldwide recession, slump in demand for products and the precarious condition of the automobile industry have created a sense of confusion, gloom and uncertainty. The author feels understanding and application of LCHA will be one of the strategies that may help us. This recession period can be a good time to get into it.

â–

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance provided by his graduate student, Abraham Palaty for the preparation of this article.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

58

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Symphony of the absolute Despite slowdown, systems integration is one of the largest growth segments in the instrumentation systems and automation market System integrators (SI) offer extensive experience in the design, implementation, project management and maintenance of industrial control systems. They provide innovative control and automation solutions to keep processes online and production right from initial design and consultation through system development, commissioning and support.

Mukund Muley

â–

I

Mukund Muley Managing Director Cotmac Electronics Pvt Ltd mukund@cotmac.com

n today’s business world there is a need for systems integrators, as integration across systems helps in providing a complete view of a business, its internal operations, supply chain and customers who may interact with the company. To accomplish this,

an effective integration plan backed by experienced systems integrators needs to be in place.

SI in industrial automation domain integrate products such as PLC, CNC, DCS, field devices, sensors and instrumentation, HMI or SCADA A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

59 Syste m Inte grat ion

Ranking of system integrator

systems, RFID products, and software products. The scope of work includes services like design, engineering, software development, field installation, supply of hardware with electrical control panels, commissioning, training, etc.

A SI or control system integrator (CSI) is an independent value-added engineering that focuses on industrial control systems, manufacturing execution systems and plant automation that requires application knowledge and technical expertise for sales, design, implementation, installation, etc. In the face of the present business slowdown, SI is one of the largest growth segments in the instrumentation systems and automation market.

A control system integrator takes a problem that may have some engineering input and that has general requirements and specifications and provides an integrated solution. It includes an answer which might be final project engineering, documentation, procurement of hardware, development of custom software, installation, testing, and commissioning.

The essence of SI Earlier, there were manufacturers of instrumentation and controls like Siemens, Rockwell, Invensys, Honeywell, Emerson etc, and contractors who would execute projects in consultation with the consulting or engineering firms. With the invention and popularisation of PLC, SI started offering solutions for automation of special purpose machines (SPM), Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

System integrator offerings

replacement of contactor logic, etc. As the processors gained power to handle the analogue signals and closed loop controllers, SI started giving automation solutions for the processes. As personal computers grew in popularity and power, from the late 1980s onwards, softwarebased HMIs were developed to permit supervisory control over sensors and control systems.

Systems such as Wonderware, Intellution, Wincc, COROS, CiTect and others were developed to interface with sensors, analogue controllers, valves, positioners, and PLC directly. In addition, the PLC, with telecommunications added, began to replace the previous generation of analogue long-range data acquisition and telemetry systems. Soon, there was a new industry for digital supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Wireless technology, integrated safety and RFID are new trends in SI offerings. Reconditioning or retrofitting is also an upcoming market served by the SIs.

The SI market The market for SI is split into three specific niches: factory automation and shop floor machine control, process control, and MES/Supply Chain/CFR21 part 11 (FDA).

System integrators are specialised in one or more niches, and are experts in one or many of verticals out of automotive, pulp & paper, power, steel, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals & biochemical,

petrochemicals, cement, infrastructure, and water & waste water.

Some types of SI limit themselves to machine control, or factory floor control, or process control; some only deal with SCADA, only doing the control systems for theme park rides. Some only do manufacturing execution system (MES) and IT work such as supply chain integration. Others have diversified from the factory floor control systems of early days into the true enablers of enterprise integration.

Market trends There are some significant trends to watch in the market for SI, including general trends in the global automation market, and some which are specific to system integration. Major automation & controls vendors and major engineering firms have been undergoing severe consolidation since the early 1990s. This trend has resulted in outsourcing of the services through system integrators. Partly, the emergence of the CSI can be traced to this stream of industry professionals.

This trend has also led to the growth of the CSIs. Enormous working pressures in growing economy and entrepreneur skills among the new generation have also given birth to many individual SIs.

Competition The success of the SI, and the growth of the market for CSI to such a large worldwide value, has caused hard- >

60

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS pressed manufacturers and software vendors like Siemens, ABB, Rockwell/ Allen-Bradley, Invensys and Emerson to establish their own integration divisions. In some cases SIs are now competing directly with the companies that make the software and hardware which the SI had been using for years to integrate projects.

On one hand, SIs are combating encroachment by automation and controls vendors, on other, they are differentiating themselves from other SI by providing proprietary value-added features and services. For example, several high-end SIs that regularly operate in the MES space are now providing proprietary templates and other proprietary tools and methodologies to their clients. These tools often include prescribed modules so that it becomes considerably more cost effective to link factory floor systems to the enterprise business systems.

Registration or certification In 1997, the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) established its best practices and benchmark standards programme in cooperation with its membership’s leading Fortune 500 customers. These standards set up and measure a control system integrator’s performance in seven critical areas: general management, human resources, project management, quality management, financial management, business development and risk management.

Control System Integrators Association defines an integrator as an independent (or profit-loss division) value-added engineering organisation that focuses on industrial control and information systems, manufacturing execution systems, and plant automation that require application knowledge and technical expertise for sales, design, implementation, installation, commissioning, and support. As the control system integration function becomes more comprehensible and more visible the importance of clearly defining, delineating and delimiting the role of the pure-play integrator becomes paramount. That clarity takes on even more significance as industrial

Knowledge @SI

automation hardware and software suppliers, resellers, distributors and others blur the line between themselves and dedicated control and information system integrators.

CSIA certification of integrators involves an audit process that goes beyond verifying that they have the technical skills to do the job. The association establishes a set of best practices for system integrators and the audit assesses integrators’ adherence to those practices. The CSIA best practices are comprehensive and specifically developed for control system integrators. For example, a certified integrator must have demonstrated a good financial track record, good management team with a transition plan if disaster strikes, etc.

Importance of industrial IT There is a convergence between process engineering function and enterprise Information Technology (IT) function.

Earlier integration projects rarely left the factory floor, whereas now often they include MES integration into the enterprise business systems. It is becoming more and more common for IT to be in at least partial charge of integration projects, rather than plant engineering. The CSI, with feet in both process and IT camps, is often used, not only as the vehicle to perform the integration, but also as the intermediary and translator between the

engineering and IT functions within the enterprise. This trend is likely to continue in the next decade, as CSI becomes more oriented to total enterprise integration.

Selection of the SI Price and global capabilities aren’t nearly as important as knowledge and relationship history when selecting a system integrator.

A machine or process control system should not only perform to expectations, but must integrate seamlessly into the rest of the end-user’s operation. When we look at the reasons behind a failed industrial system integration project on an industrial machine, it typically isn’t the control technology that failed. For any given integration project, there are multiple technologies that will do the job.

The difference is in the application of the technology. And this comes down to the skills of the integrator and how well the integrator interacts and communicates with the machine builder and the enduser. It depends on the domain knowledge and experience an SI has acquired over few years.

Most system integrators have an internal manual of best practices, along with a set of standard procedures for programming and design that is found in their quality manual. They also have an internal training program and mentoring plan. A qualified SI typically uses a more formal project management structure A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

61 than an internal resource that occasionally delivers an integration project might use. A formal project methodology helps a professional integrator to identify the activities, milestones and resource loading required keeping the project schedule on track.

Bringing value

Get Automated...

Reasons galore for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to use SIs. To begin with it helps OEMs implement new technologies or platforms. It helps justify an OEM to not to have a full-time staff as with an SI, the engineering expense ends when the project ends. The OEMs do not have the expertise to deliver and perform as required by customers or end-users.

For an industrial automation project with potential for substantial return or savings, the cost of the systems integration resource may be small compared to the lost opportunity associated with waiting or delays caused by internal schedule conflicts. For large and/or complex projects, a professional SI company is probably a wise choice. A quality systems integration firm will have a team of full-time people skilled in technology and structured project methodology necessary for implementing projects.

Most professional integrators create documents at various stages of the project, which is valuable in the support and maintenance of a project over its lifecycle. A professional SI also delivers a project in accordance with its best practices and standard quality procedures; whereas an owner’s internal technical resource uses whatever method seems best to them at the time. A qualified SI can also be an excellent advisor mapping out an integration plan and architecture for a client’s larger plant or enterprise. Having a long-term strategy allows each project to be designed in such a way to be included in a larger integration plan.

Minimising risk The overall risk generally lowers down in a professionally SI run company. Professional systems integration firms align with latest technologies and train their staff to work on projects using best design and development practices. Relying on structured design, programming standards and good documentation, qualified integrators can deliver a successful project on time and within budget. The integrator provides improved production and longterm planning. Even the total cost of ownership for the owner is likely to be less than internal resources could provide.

In today’s competitive economic environment, it comes as no surprise that many owners trust a SI to guide them through the risk associated with automating their systems and processes. To conclude, allowing an integrator to deliver large and/or complex projects saves time and money, and allows internal staff to concentrate on the things they do best!

â–

5IF POMZ JOEVTUSJBM NBHB[JOF JO *OEJB UIBU PĂľFST B UISFF EJNFOTJPOBM QFSTQFDUJWF PO UFDIOPMPHZ NBSLFU BOE NBOBHFNFOU BTQFDUT PG NBOVGBDUVSJOH 'PS TVCTDSJQUJPO BEWFSUJTJOH DPOUBDU publish-industry India Pvt Ltd

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Tel: +91 (20) 64 51 57 52 Email: AandD.india@publish-industry.net

62

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Unravelling the intelligence Process intelligence enables discrete manufacturers to reduce machine setup times, speed up manufacturing and enhance product quality In a competitive market, manufacturing process impact the production output, and subsequently business. By capturing the knowledge hidden in the process data, manufacturers have the opportunity to get ahead of the race. Process intelligence bridges the gap between shop floor and management, leading to a perfect synchrony in attaining business objectives.

Aniruddha Kadkol

â–

P

Aniruddha Kadkol Former Project Manager - MACS Tata Technologies Ltd

rocesses are at the core of value creation in manufacturing.

Manufacturing processes evolve from work practices that incorporate sets of events in a sequence. By definition, manufacturing processes are either manually or automatically executed, and the

key to process intelligence lies in improving manual or automatic processes. Discrete manufacturing is a style of manufacturing that allows a large number of event iterations aimed at improving the overall process, in small or large steps and sections, without adversely impacting the upstream or down A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

63

Improving process

HMI/SCADA

stream activities, which are parts of the larger process. Let us take a look at how discrete manufacturers can capitalise on process intelligence.

Measuring process improvements It is important when working to develop manufacturing process changes to have the ability to measure improvements that allow for perceptible changes in outcome against a widely accepted benchmark or standard, and allow for the definition of a perceived or actual value of the improved or changing parameter.

Processes impact business Today’s dynamic and fast changing markets place a large strain on manufacturing processes. It is important to consider that all discrete manufacturing processes have a threshold in terms of process time, quality achievable at specific price points as well as the setup time. Each of these areas is generally considered to have set values, within limits, to be able to generate a certain output which extrapolates into a selling price, and demand in the market.

Business environment today demand an ever changing approach for each of these three parameters: a reduction in process time, an enhancement of quality, and decrease in set up time. If businesses or organisations are unable to affect positive changes in any of the above three, the process faces challenges Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

KPIs in various activities can be analysed to understand their interconnection

of being exterminated by more evolving processes, which compete in creating contemporary products.

Layers of process intelligence Every step of every process generates a range of information. This information is separate from the information needed to run the process. The difference can be highlighted by the fact that the information needed to run the process through its steps is largely constant through the life of the process itself. Whereas, the information generated by the process is largely dependent upon the time at which the process under question is being measured. Information generated by a process can be measured from the job on which the process is being performed, the process apparatus or machine itself, or the environment in which the process and job take place.

Local process intelligence The information generated is primarily dependent upon the data points gathered from the process itself. The quality of information gathered, is also a function of the fidelity of the data points and their degree of resolution. Types of information thus generated include cycle time of machines, machine efficiency, as well as process parameters at critical junctures viz, weld current, pressure of clamping, die temperature, job temperature, etc.

All these examples of data points normally convey the values of a particular process and are thus represented in terms of a higher level-set of associated meanings associated with process parameters. The value extracted from such information is mainly related to interdependent behaviour between processed job, process parameters and process environment and could be a function of this interdependence.

Machine layer intelligence This extracted value allows the user to affect changes to a stable process - with a definite goal of further improvement while allowing the user to benchmark the improvements against contemporary global standards on a machine layer.

The key to harvesting the intelligence mentioned above lies in pinpointing the area which needs to undergo changes and the degree to which the changes need to be affected. Employing an HMI/SCADA is helpful in accomplishing such a goal. To affect these changes parameters are set on the HMI of the machine. Contemporary data acquisition methods can gather data from a very wide range of processes. Usage of devices like PLCs, DCS allows the processes to be extremely transparent.

Deployment of databases at well designed locations provides a repository of captured data points in the form of categorised information with unique time stamping. The changes affected, after analysis, are generally at the machine >

64

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS layer. Such changes, though facilitated by the local HMI/SCADA, are able to improve individual processes in a fixed range.

Legacy machinery and processes The creation of an item of machinery is generally an evolution after a number of historical steps towards perfection - with mechanisation and automation seen as the culminating effort of the steps and where the outcome of the process is therefore tied to historical levels of expectation. Actual usage of such machinery or processes can also generate data - depending on the complex real life conditions of process execution. This generated data is not necessarily based on any expected set of variables, so similar processes may therefore yield different results based on several parameters.

In order to make a process competitive, it is necessary to recognise the qualifying factors - other than machine settings identified at best and changed to the optimum through machine SCADA. It is necessary to recognise the fact that several other factors besides machine symbolising of the local process are capable of improving the overall effectiveness and yield of the process.

It is necessary to identify variables that are expected to influence process output, adapt data recording methods for such variables and establish an environment in which the data sets that have been recorded can be analysed. A systematic approach to correlate such factors is a precursor to any understanding and approach for discovering process intelligence.

Cell layer or work flow Machines are not deployed as single point entities in any manufacturing environment.

They are a part of a connected workflow involving multiple machines, numerous people with differing skills and varying environmental conditions, as well as varied material quality parameters.

Such a plethora of machines and processes represent non uniform data sets.

Intelligence, by a more common definition, is an ability to see patterns among noncongruent or non-uniform data sets. As cycle times and quality parameters come

Use of DCS helps make the process extremely transparent

under tighter pressures, the ability to manually analyse patterns from secluded islands of information (machines) and then correlate these with the remaining machinery processes is heavily taxed.

The more manufacturing processes affect a product’s competitiveness, the more critical it becomes to be able to find relevant and effective patterns amongst the voluminous data generated from interlinked processes.

Coherence Processes, under dynamic conditions and while being subjected to a variety of complex material and people interactions, generate a coherent signature that can be analysed to represent conditions of optimum or maximum yield conditions.

The goal for such analysis through data capture of extrinsic events must be defined in a general direction, through a derivation from the key performance indicators (KPI), for a larger set of connected activities either within the machine layer or above the machine layer.

The business layer requirements of a manufacturing setup, provide a useful backdrop for creating a new set of benchmarks and derived indicators against which not only machinery, but their

interlinking data sets can be measured.

Business requirements often dictate the level of information to be gathered, which is normally implicit in a process.

For example, a sequential collection of values from sensors built up over a period will thus generate certain patterns. These patterns, present themselves as a new layer of dynamic activity – not normally seen through observational methods – of macro objects involving only repetitive machine sequences and a run of PLC programs, or the OK/Not OK of digital conformance for completing automatic sequential conditions.

Generating value In a die casting foundry, for example, parameters such as the actual behaviour of a die temperature, vis-à-vis the shifting time and temperature of poured metal produces a unique set of data. This information is not necessarily considered during analysis of the original process control points. However, facilitating the recording of such process intrinsic data – not generally predicted and built in by the manufacturer of the machine/process – would yield vital results in understanding the resultant behaviour. It would provide crucial information about the two distinct A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

65

PLC programming

processes and would result in a drastic reduction in rejections, increasing the competitive advantage of the organisation.

It is of immeasurable value to manufacturers that an application be developed that would use this generated data to analyse the interrelationship among process, material, equipment, and environment. This is what is meant by the process intelligence layer. This application would use business intelligence to evaluate the results generated by the repetitive process vis-à-vis its interaction with

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

other parameters. In some processes, such as steel tube manufacturing, it may be necessary to correctly detect material properties before starting the process or in a vehicle assembly process, to conform the identity of assembled items during assembly itself.

This level of analysis, which may be used to validate the sequential steps, is commonly known as mistake proofing a process. This set of local decision making algorithms, enhances the robustness of legacy processes, at a low cost, while generating tremendous value through yield improvement.

Carrying the concept forward – again for steel tube manufacturing – with the help of high speed data acquisition devices and high speed databases, a window can be opened into complex processes like welding and enabling data categorisation for analysis. Using generic devices such as encoders and data splicing techniques, one can create a rich layer of vital process data enabling online process validation for ever-changing contemporary norms. This activity releases phenomenal value, to the

manufacturer, while allowing unforeseen levels of root cause analysis (RCA) into legacy processes. Needless to say, this initiative also results in increasing the competitive advantage of the process itself.

Conclusion Process intelligence is a critical determinant of value in the marketplace. It is by its nature capable of setting competitive quality benchmarks, and as a dynamic entity it is undergoing constant rediscovery at various points of time. It also needs to be seen beyond the narrow confines of machine technology, and must be able to be redefined by business requirements.

An approach, therefore, that makes use of existing data points while at the same time envisioning evolution on lines of derived data and business requirements including material, people and environmental parameters is the beginning of discovering process intelligence.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

66

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Guide map for Appropriate Automation

By implementing automation for better utilisation of the available resources directly results in increase in profitability While selecting automation projects and the technologies to use, several important criteria must be considered. The first and the foremost thing that needs attention is to consider the plant requirement and management objective, and then adaptability to change within the organisation. Here’s a discussion on some of the important strategic points that are to be considered before hand.

Naresh Kantoor

■

W

Naresh Kantoor Managing Director EnconSys Technologies Pvt Ltd nkantoor@enconsystems.com

henever we ask a question as to why do we want to automate, there are several standard answers which come to our mind – increase productivity; better use of men, machine, material & money; increase quality of manufactured products; increase safety of operation; decrease waste; optimisation of manpower, etc.

Of course, there are several mundane operations which are performed by the operator like handling of component, simple assembly operation, transferring from one machine to another, loading unloading, etc. Since these operations do not require much skill, the fatigue factor sets in after certain time, thus periodically leading to loss of productivity. By putting A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

67

Selecting automation projects and technologies require thorough understanding of important criteria

in simple automated systems, the production can be increased.

Men, machine, material and money are all the important resources in a plant. By implementing automation for better utilisation of these resources will directly result in increase in profitability.

By improving repeatability of operations, on-line inspections and corrective measures, the quality improvements are possible.

Safety of operators and equipment are equally important issues and can be address by implementing automation besides following safety standards.

In today’s competitive environment, particularly when the resources and money supply are becoming scarce in global meltdown, any money spent on plant and process automation and upgradation needs substantial thinking and planning.

However, there are several aspects which we sometimes tend to ignore, but are very important with the fact that like many other projects and policies, automation is also a journey which starts with the first step when one thinks of automating a process or a manufacturing operation, and goes long way in the future. Let us discuss some of the important strategic points that are to be considered before hand.

Strategy to automate When we take a journey for any industrial automation project, it becomes important to consider various aspects not only with regard to the particular project which is being handled, but also a bunch of important issues. Are we prepared with the right technology and strategy to ensure the success of the project? Or are we prepared to take the project forward by multiplying the success stories? Or are we looking into all the aspects of drawing a full roadmap so that we are able to have a seamless expansion of the first step we have taken in industrial automation?

Technical aspects such as the important characteristics with regards to process, the component being handled or manufactured and the fixtures or tools being used for this component is to be taken into account. A classic case of simple automation can be Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

the integration of various operations, hitherto being done on several machines or several setups, by designing some specialty tools and handling system which can reduce cycle time and increase productivity. Every process has several non-value added operations and focus should be to see if these operations can be eliminated or at least minimised or speeded up. Some such operation are very simple to automate, like operator moving Advt.

68

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

There are different tools and equipment available to build automation solutions

the components from one location to another can be handled by introducing conveyors or relocating machines for simple transfer. Similarly, loading and unloading in the machines can eat away lot of time. Loading of the component in the machine can be critical and skillful job in certain cases, however, mostly unloading will seldom require special skills. Hence it will be most appropriate to automate the unloading operations first by simple low cost automation techniques and, later, the loading can also be automated. Similarly if we are able to first make operations easier for operator, then it becomes easy to automate.

While selecting automation projects and the technologies to use, several important criteria must be considered.

First thing that needs attention is to consider the plant requirement and management objective. Many times it is possible to automate the operations by implementing low cost automation (LCA) techniques, but the management’s desire to implement high-end technologies like robots to showcase its ability to use high-end technologies would change the decision in favour of robot, although expensive. There have been several cases wherein solutions with pneumatics and servo systems were possible but the management insisted to use a cluster of robots. Management felt that sooner or later, looking at the production forecast,

they will have to go for robotics solutions hence, they decided to send a message to their workforce that the company is leading a path towards robotics and hence, workforce should start polishing their skill levels. In another case, the management objective has been not to increase the manpower with increased production; hence, they went in for robotics solution, although it cost them much more compared to the conventional method of manufacturing as being done at present.

Therefore it becomes very important for the managers to seek the management objective and the technological directions before deciding the technologies to use.

Another important strategic consideration is to first look inwards and evaluate the adaptability to change within the organisation. The complex automation solutions will succeed if the technical and managerial staff are ready to learn and upgrade their technological base, work culture and environment matching the solution they intend to use.

If the managerial and supervisory team in general is of orthodox view and see technology adaptation as burden, no matter how expensive, reliable and latest solutions management bat for, the possibilities are it will fail. There are several instances where very high end solutions lie unused because of in-house technical inabilities resulting in waste of large investments.

In-house technical strength also helps in better upkeep of the automation solutions. The organisation can ask for support from the vendors as and when required, but getting total dependence on out-sourcing can be very expensive.

Therefore if an organisation has tech savvy management, forward looking managerial and technical staff eager to learn and adapt new technologies, and strong inhouse technical strengths, any automation project they plan to implement is bound to succeed.

Which automation to choose?

Having analysed the strategically important aspects, and with well-defined requirement, strengths and goals, it is important to choose the right technology and level of automation solutions available.

There are so many different tools and

equipment available in the market that can build the automation solutions. These can vary from low level solutions like use of power tools, automated mechanical aids, simple sequence controls, etc, or pick and place systems, conveying and transfer systems, robotics control, e-manufacturing solutions, etc.

In a nutshell, there can not be a generalised solution to suit any industry but the solution has to be very specific, most appropriate and the one which is best suitable for each plant’s need because every plant is unique.

Roadmap for automation For implementing the automation solutions the first step is to build an internal team by drawing team members from various departments and within the organisation and finding a group leader.

By group discussions within the team, and with information interchange, the common and specialised benefits each would receive from the project to be implemented must be charted out. It would be best to start with the simple to implement project with larger batch size and with not many complex operations. While planning to implement, the system expansion possibilities should also be considered. It should be such that whenever the scope is expanded, the earlier installation should not become redundant. Presently, the computers make deep inroads in the shop floor in some or other form. On-line data capturing, generating production reports, OEE calculations, breakdown analysis, etc, are becoming common at work place.

Hence, if the provisions for implementing these industrial specific IT solutions are also kept in the roadmap, it would be possible to expand and implement these seamlessly in future.

In conclusion, the automation team which plans the systems by reviewing the present need, management objective, adaptability to change, with a vision for tomorrow and taking a logical path to evolve e-manufacturing would succeed with appropriate technology and in a most cost-effective manner.

â–

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

MARKET TRENDS

69

Selecting the right vendor The selection of a supplier for large control systems is a complex undertaking.

Here’s a checklist to help end-users with automation vendor selection

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

In today’s competitive global markets, end-users are scrambling to reduce costs and improve asset utilisation. Many large companies have eliminated systems engineering and maintenance, and preferred outsourcing of these functions.

Jim Pinto

■

L

arge control vendors are expanding their offerings to ‘total solutions’ responsibility, including systems integration, supply logistics, training and maintenance services.

Large process control systems typically include many different products, beyond Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

the portfolio of even the largest suppliers.

In the past, this type of business used to be the realm of consulting engineers (C&E) and systems integrators (SI). Today major automation suppliers are developing broader systems integration and services skills, sometimes directly competing

Jim Pinto Founder (formerly President & CEO) Action Instruments jim@jimpinto.com

70

MARKET TRENDS with their customers—the SIs and C&E firms. This makes difficult for end-users to select automation vendors. Go the old route, with local design firms and systems integrators? Or develop a partnership with a large, global automation supplier?

There’s another fact of life which complicates this matter. With the continuing saga of acquisitions and downsizing, one may start out with one supplier and end up with another. When companies are sold, the buyer usually wants the customer base, but will make significant changes as products and systems are integrated and consolidated. It becomes expensive and resource consuming for the end-user.

Checklist for end-users A sneak peak into the checklist organised in 10 categories on what automation endusers need to know about vendors.

1. Early signs and proposal depth Vendors respond to bids, rather than one’s needs. They may sell lower initial costs when they should really be selling utilisation and integration benefits. They understand tactical marketing and sales, but often can’t deliver on their sales promises. For large systems, one should expect to see senior people who can make longer-term commitments beyond the immediate purchase.

2. Watch for licensing fees and add-ons Some vendors become very creative in selling systems with minimal software, and then having lots of surprise software additions that end up costing a substantial amount of money and engineering time to get installed and operational. Trying to figure out where the real cost will end up requires a significant knowledge of all the vendor’s products and how they interrelate.

Avoid that kind of problem by talking with past customers who have already installed similar systems.

3. Old versus new Don’t go for the extras, the bells and whistles. First find out whether the system can do your basic job of control, I/O, alarming, trending, logging, and displaying. Can you make changes,

End-users must select right suppliers who can manage ongoing technology

and support the system without lots of complex training? Is the technology new and your company the guinea pig? On the other hand, are the systems already obsolete, and will you be asked to embark on an expensive upgrade a couple of years downstream? Don’t get caught between old and the new platforms; there can be an arduous and expensive changeover process.

6. Training and services The vendors should provide training that is up-to-date, matching the system that is being installed, plus training for upgrade.

They should allocate sufficient staff to hold your hand when new systems are installed, until you are comfortable with local support. What services do they provide, and how does that interface with your other service contractors?

4. Standards What is proprietary and what is not? All vendors claim ‘open’ systems, but few are truly open. Are common industry protocols used without any vendor specific enhancements? The new system should integrate easily with your existing communications interfaces, such as HART, Modbus, Serial, Ethernet, etc.

7. Long term support How easily can you talk with the vendor?

Does your specific point of contact have a high enough standing in their company to obtain the best support resources a year or two down the road? Is there a defined structure in place for problemescalation? Can you get your project manager replaced, or will you be stuck with someone you may not like? Are you encouraged to have direct contacts at higher levels, or is there an impenetrable hierarchy?

5. Quality and customer support Ask for customer satisfaction and quality metrics. Get a user list and ask past customers how does this company come through when the chips are down? Do they do what they say they’ll do? Is there a trail of broken promises?

8. Business and regional focus What is the vendor’s primary business? Is it pure hardware, software, services, or a A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

71

To r e m e m b e r With the continuing saga of acquisitions and downsizing, one may start out with one supplier and end up with another.

When companies are sold, the buyer usually wants the customer base, but will make significant changes as products and systems are integrated and consolidated. It becomes expensive and resource consuming for the end-user.

true solution supplier with industry knowledge and the ability to handle large projects? Where does the company manufacture, engineer and have support centres? Especially if your company has global operations, find out the supplier’s regional and global revenue breakdown, for the places where your company has major facilities.

9. Financial stability Review the corporate annual reports. How much of the total company’s business is automation? Is automation their primary business, or just part of a much larger business? How stable is the senior management? Do they have automation experience, or are they just ‘bean-counters?’

Over the long haul, you become dependent on your supplier’s technology. What is their commitment to their technology? Find out what ratio of revenues is invested in new and sustaining developments, both in good times and bad. Can they financially support their system and their agreements with your company for the foreseeable future? Remember, if they go out of business, you may end up looking for replacements, or providing costly internal support for obsolete systems.

10. Partnership development Many vendors look at partnerships simply as way to lock-in the customer. Are they willing to sign longer-term agreements, beyond the immediate contract? Though many sales people will sign confidentiality agreements, they can’t be expected to fully understand and retain confidentiality. Hence, look for long-term signals.

Future trends Technology will continue to accelerate in next few years and there will only be a few large systems suppliers. The customer base and technology environment will not support R&D expenses for several different control systems platforms.

The small, local systems integrators will remain, but the big suppliers are going to provide much better global coverage over the next few decades.

There are two automation groups evolving for large distributed control systems: Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

■

■

Group A is investing heavily in a control room, knowledge-base approach. There is more connection from enterprise to field for data-to-knowledge-to-local/ enterprise decision-making. Focused on making timely, safe and profitable decisions at the control room and above the open server architecture. Honeywell and Invensys fall in this group Group B put the ‘smarts’ in their field products, and uses their product volume approach to move into the control room and enterprise level.

Depending on one’s specific application requirements, sooner or later, one will need to make a strategic choice. Going with both approaches in different divisions of one’s company may simply be too expensive. End-users must spend time and effort to select winning suppliers who can manage ongoing technology changes, so that they themselves can focus on core process improvements and market shifts.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Advt.

46 72

M ANAGEMENT S T R AT E G Y

The Kaizen point No Kaizen event, whether it is a full week or one day, will succeed without proper advance planning Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Have you ever been understaffed and lacked time to do a full-week Kaizen to shorten the process and call it a point Kaizen? If so, then you are guilty of doing point Kaizens for the wrong reasons.

William Sample

â–

I

William Sample Senior Management Consultant, TBM tbm@tbmcg.com

n a point Kaizen, the Kaizen week to one, two or three days to attack simpler issues or projects with a narrow focus, are a powerful tool, but can also be a pitfall. Hazards include running a point Kaizen for the wrong reason or way. Bad reasons for point Kaizens include inadequate staffing for a full-week event, last-minute event planning with no area volunteers, a cheaper alternative to a

Kaizen week, a belief that this event doesn’t require much lean experience and wanting to skip the training day.

For a point Kaizen to be successful, the team members should be experienced in lean events. The very nature of a point Kaizen, the shortened schedule means that the team members need to be able to condense all the processes of the full-week Kaizen into one day or, at most, three.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

73 Someone who hasn’t experienced a fullweek Kaizen won’t have the understanding necessary to perform the shortened version and achieve a good result. So, in fact, a point Kaizen actually requires more lean experience of the team members than a standard week-long Kaizen does because the only way to skip a training day is to make sure that all team members are so well-versed in Kaizen events that skipping training won’t cost the team when it comes to getting results.

If the team doesn’t carefully choose goals and objectives and prepare to quantify results, then there’s no way to hit the ground running, especially if the event is a one-day point Kaizen. And a company isn’t likely to save money on a shorter Kaizen event if that event isn’t well-planned and well-staffed, in fact, a poorly planned point Kaizen could actually end up costing a company if the lack of planning and proper staffing results in no workable solution to the problem being tackled.

Citing examples Examples of good candidates for a point Kaizen include: A particular operator or workstation in a cell is over takt time A bottleneck exists in production A particular operation has a high defect rate A need for standard work is evident at a particular workstation (because of multishift variation at the workstation) A narrowly focused issue exists that has a severely negative impact on flow An item on a 30-day list from a previous Kaizen week remains unresolved or uncompleted

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The plan How do you plan for and conduct that point Kaizen to ensure the greatest chance of success? First, consider scheduling point Kaizens only after the plant or office already has conducted at least four regular week-long events, with 8–12 Kaizens being a better goal, and when team members understand the Kaizen process.

One common mistake is to assume that experience with a single week-long event Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

is adequate preparation for conducting a point Kaizen. As with any new process, there is a learning curve, and companies that attempt a point Kaizen after having completed just one or two week-long events often fail. This failure is largely due to not having the experience to choose the appropriate people to run the point Kaizen, and that experience comes from participating in several week-long events.

If for some reason, a planned week-long event has to be shortened, then call it a point Kaizen and treat as such using the guidelines presented here.

Once you have staff that are wellversed in week-long Kaizen events, you are ready to try point Kaizens. To maximise your chances for success, identify a number of issues that could benefit from point Kaizens and then consider including your consultant as the leader for a week’s worth of those events – your point Kaizen training week.

Second, plan to have two people from the KPO lead the event. The team should include three additional members: the affected operator, the internal supplier and the internal customer. The length of a point Kaizen depends on the scope of the problem and is best determined by an experienced and knowledgeable continuous improvement staff person.

Third, run the point Kaizen to a tight agenda. Remember, you want to complete all the steps contained in a week-long event in the shortened schedule of the point Kaizen, and so you want to be just as rigorous in defining the problem to be addressed and planning for the shorter event.

The solution Reporting out a point Kaizen can be problematic if the team needs to report to top management in the middle of the week. Some solutions companies have used are to have point Kaizen reporting on the shirt-tail of regular Friday reports (for the week-long events), to report out several point Kaizens at one time (perhaps at the end of the week in which they were held) or to have all report outs conducted at a regular time, perhaps once a month.

No matter what report out method one chooses one needs to have only one team

A point Kaizen is an improvement activity intensely directed at a single workstation

member available to present the report and the report should last no longer than 15 minutes.

With a point Kaizen, the team must deliver something by the end of the day.

Unlike with a week-long event, which has evolution time built-in to try ideas out and rethink or rework them if necessary, a point Kaizen has a much tighter focus. But at the end of the day sustainment requires follow up, whether for a point Kaizen or a week-long event, and sustainment is the measure by which the success of an event can be judged.

In short Once a plant or office has made it through a point Kaizen training week, its site is recommended to conduct one point Kaizen per month for the next 6–12 months, then increase to two point Kaizens per month and ultimately to one point Kaizen per week. Successfully sustained results from previous point Kaizens are the benchmark by which a site can determine when to accelerate the frequency of events. Point Kaizens are focused tools especially for lean transformation. Its power can be harnessed for the good of the company, employees and customers.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

74

M ANAGEMENT S T R AT E G Y

An insightful perspective Exposure to global competition and ambitious market plans calls for adoption of modern advanced techniques in manufacturing The rapid pace of change makes the definition of ‘advanced’ manufacturing technologies (AMT) a moving target. When a new AMT is introduced, the shift in technology demands justification for the huge capital investment required. AMT has generally required leadership taking ‘judgment calls’. At every stage, sourcing, assessing and purchasing new technology involve decisions fraught with uncertainty.

Sumita Kale

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

■

G

Sumita Kale Chief Economist, Indicus Analytics, Ex-faculty, Department of Economics, University of Pune sumita@indicus.net

iven the magnitude of investment and absence of any ironclad guarantee of the benefits outweighing the costs, most firms prefer to take the short-term ‘wait and watch’ policy. Yet, there is a risk of another firm implementing the new technology and gaining a larger market share. Meanwhile, over time, with ‘maturity’, yesterday’s AMT is today’s conventional manufacturing technology, leaving some firms ahead in the game.

AMT brings strategic, qualitative and quantitative benefits in monetary terms. For instance, in manufacturing automation, involving robotics and automated manufacturing systems, some of the benefits are listed below:

Quantitative

■ ■ ■ ■

Increase in productivity Reduction in manpower costs Reduction in operating costs Reduction in overhead costs

Quantitative

■ ■ ■ ■

Process improvement Quality improvement Operator comfort Safety improvement

Strategic

■

Competitive advantage resulting from quick scale-ups of production A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

75

■ ■ ■

volumes, meeting delivery schedules Operator dependence, long term liabilities and industrial relations issues Technological ability of the organisation to expand usage of new technology rapidly when it becomes the key driver Risk abetment - mitigating risk of operator costs, availability, quality for the long term

Conventional capital investment justification budgeting techniques assign a zero value to qualitative and strategic benefits. According to Kaplan, there is no reason to value them at zero in a capital expenditure analysis. Zero is after all no less arbitrary than any other number.

Conservative accountants who assign zero values to many intangible benefits prefer being precisely wrong to being vaguely right. Managers need not follow their example. Alternative methodologies have been presented earlier by Kaplan, Sinason and others. An insight into an easy to apply practitioner’s technique, based upon three established principles from these earlier studies: First principle - investment in AMT is justified when the ‘hurdle rate’ (expected benefit of investment) is equal to the cost of investment (financial + running cost) Second principle - the present manufacturing process (without AMT) needs to be valued lower to factor in the currently absent qualitative benefits, when comparing with the future process under evaluation (with AMT) Third principle - the strategic benefits provided in a future process (with AMT) need to be valued higher, when comparing with the present process (without AMT)

Understanding stragegic value of advanced technologies

■ ■

■

of the money value of a utility is possible when the decision maker views the loss or discount associated with not having the particular utility.

For example, looking at a qualitative feature which has no established market value, it is easier for a respondent to estimate the discount needed for a commodity without that feature, rather than to estimate the ‘additional’ (premium) money he is willing to pay for that feature ‘Anchoring’, when faced with a situation where an unknown value is to be estimated, people take recourse to initial anchors as benchmark.

Assigning an abstract, absolute value is much more difficult and inaccurate than estimating value relative to a benchmark ‘Status quo bias’ refers to the preference for individuals to remain at the ‘status quo’, because the disadvantages of leaving it loom larger than the advantages. Bias in judgment arising from pre-established positions should be removed

■

■

The stumbling block while applying the last two principles is the inability to quantify the concepts of ‘valued higher or lower’. The proposed technique overcomes this by using three concepts from behavioural economics.

‘Loss aversion’ is tendency for people to strongly prefer avoiding losses than acquiring gains. Quantification

To demonstrate the practicability of the above technique for quantifying ‘qualitative’ benefits, some experiments were conducted as a pilot testing project.

Respondents were manufacturing and purchasing managers, who typically face the task of justification.

■

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

To quantify ‘quality’ benefit, two samples were shown, one manually welded part and another robotically welded. As respondents were not being faced with a decision of investment, the negative impact of status quo bias was eliminated.

On asking how much lower price would justify their choice in favour of a machine that produces a part of this quality (the manual welded part) than (robotically welded part) quality? Answers varied from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Some even answered that if they have an alternative of a machine producing good quality, they will not buy a machine producing substandard quality, no matter how much cheaper. These values represent the ‘discount’ for qualitative benefit.

A question was asked in regard to quantify ‘predictability’ in quality that how much discount would they need to justify a machine that produces 97 per cent accurate parts, with 3 per cent parts requiring rework or rejection as opposed to that producing 100 per cent accurate parts? The answers varied from 20 per cent to 50 per cent, contrasted with the premium of justification questions, where answers typically focused on ‘cost of rework / rejection’.

The question in context to quantify safety was how much discount would they need to justify a machine that is somewhat unsafe, with a possibility of one accident to worker each year? The response was ‘infinite’. Many of them said that they >

M ANAGEMENT S T R AT E G Y

76

would not accept an unsafe machine, yet with sufficient stimulation and lowering the perceived risk of the accident to a ‘minor’ accident, estimates lay between 30 to 50 per cent. For many manual processes, one or two minor accidents per annum is commonplace.

No matter what the ‘qualitative benefit’, it is always possible to pose a question to allow estimating a ‘discount’ for not getting the benefit. The same technique can be adopted for strategic decisions, which are typically done at corporate management levels. The following questions were presented in the form of a premium for a ‘strategic value’.

■

■

To quantify competitive advantage the question was how much higher overall capital investment will justify gaining an advantage that they can respond to a change in the market requirement three months before than their competitor?

Corporate decision makers attach a high value (10-30 per cent) for first mover advantage. (3-6 months represent the typical difference in retooling, retraining and ramping up production when there is a significant product change between manual setups and flexible automation with robotics.) In today’s competitive world, this advantage can cause a severe impact on the organisation, justifying a double digit percentage of perceived value Similarly, to quantify operator dependence the question asked was how much higher overall capital investment will justify having no uncertainty of human work force availability, skills and industrial relations issues

Given the present scenario of increasing cost and attrition issues, corporate decision makers attach a value of over 20-30 per cent to overcome manual process dependence.

The proposed step-by-step approach is:

Apply first principle:

■ ■

Tabulate costs Investment

Quantifying operator dependence can justify overall capital investment to some extent

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Cost of investment (finance cost-per annum) Running costs-per annum Compute the ‘hurdle rate’ = (finance cost + running cost) / investment Tabulate the predicted benefits– quantifiable, qualitative and strategic Compute quantitative benefits in the form of financial benefit. Compute ROI (benefit / investment) If ROI exceeds the ‘hurdle rate’, investment is justified (even with conventional techniques) - no further analysis required If not, move to second step

Apply second principle:

■

■ ■

Estimate discount factors, for absence of qualitative benefits. Use discount factors multiplicatively to arrive at cumulative discount factor (thus 10, 15, 6 per cent discounts should be computed as 0.9 x 0.85 x 0.94 = 0.72 resulting in 28 per cent cumulative discount) Discount the AMT investment amount by this discount, and recalculate the hurdle rate. If the ROI is higher than hurdle rate, investment is justified If not, move to third step

Apply third principle:

■

Perform strategic analysis. It requires

■ ■ ■

the involvement of corporate management Estimate strategic value, by asking questions as given Discount the investment in AMT further by the strategic value premium, and recalculate the hurdle rate If the benefits are higher than hurdle costs, investment is justified

Words of advice Whether as exporters or in competition with imported goods, increasing integration with world markets has one message for Indian firms: wake up to the challenges of a competitive environment and seek strategic investments to improve market stature internationally. The techniques presented allow managers to make a quantitative assessment of the benefits and strategic value of advanced technologies, and take an informed investment decision. By posing challenging questions, managers can evaluate for themselves the true risks of not investing in emerging technology.

As Henry Ford succinctly put it, “If you need a machine and don’t buy it, then you pay for it without getting it.” While caution is justified while making large capital investments, the risk of not investing can be ignored no longer!

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

T E C H N O LO G Y AUTOMOTIVE

77

Working in sync Exploring the challenges and opportunities for automotive suppliers in a competitive global environment Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Automotive suppliers must have the flexibility to produce a wide range of products in any of their worldwide plants so that they can maximise the use of their plant assets as well as meet today’s customer demands. This requirement creates the need for a new approach to general assembly manufacturing.

Vivek Marwaha

â–

F

or automotive suppliers, the present global environment presents many challenges that influence their ability to effectively plan the assembly process. Plants need to be flexible in their assembly capabilities; at the same time they must operate at maximum efficiency. Cost and timeto-market pressures also are important factors since competition forces lower margins while faster product development cycles can make the difference between being the first or the last to market.

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

The way automotive suppliers execute process planning has to change.

Changes need to be made throughout all cross-functional aspects of the planning process – from strategic manufacturing planning to product development, manufacturing quoting and change management, planning and validation, plant design and optimisation and production execution. The effectiveness of the overall manufacturing planning process depends on how well automotive suppliers link and interactively manage these factors.

Vivek Marwaha Director Marketing Siemens PLM Software vivek.marwaha@siemens.com

78

AUTOMOTIVE T E C H N O LO G Y

Visualising the future A strategic manufacturing plan sets the direction for a company’s future manufacturing approach; this plan is expected to lead to significant competitive advantage. Throughout the planning process, manufacturing engineering must take many factors into consideration. They must review their current assembly facilities and decide whether or not it would be worthwhile to invest in updates or expansion.

In developing the manufacturing strategic plan, manufacturers have difficulty in designing and validating new manufacturing processes, tooling, and techniques without building physical prototypes of the manufacturing process.

Building manufacturing prototypes becomes very expensive. Getting physical prototype parts and assemblies from product engineering and suppliers is another challenge. So is accessing support data, such as future market segmentation and local labour laws.

Automotive companies that want to give themselves a competitive edge are creating a digital manufacturing environment to assist them in strategic, portfolio-level manufacturing planning. When digital manufacturing is used for strategic manufacturing planning, companies create their plans much faster and at a much lower cost than is otherwise possible.

Collaboration During product development, product engineers define and validate product assemblies and components, and generate bills of material (BOM) for various product configurations. Manufacturing engineers define and validate the assembly processes, fixtures, and tools required for assembling the product, along with plant designs and material distribution plans. Most companies want manufacturing to work in parallel with product engineering in order to reduce overall product development time. But sometimes the link between these organisations is weak at best. Tight collaboration does not exist, forcing the overall process to be more serial.

Manufacturing and design engineers find it difficult to work together concurrently because they lack access to up-to-date

Matching process to product

product information early in the design process, and as the design progresses, they are inhibited by inconsistent and unreliable change management procedures.

It is difficult to synchronise or link evolving manufacturing process definitions with the evolving product definition, resulting in delays that affect the manufacturing planning process and overall product development cycle. Sometimes errors in the process definition get passed to the plant floor at product launch.

A better way to manage assembly process planning is to provide manufacturing engineers with early access to design information and to help them collaborate digitally with design engineering so that manufacturing considerations can influence design decisions. Leading companies are implementing digital manufacturing environment that are tied to product BOM configurations and the associated CAD data early in the design process and as the design progresses. This kind of digital manufacturing environment allows companies to automatically synchronise their bill of process to related product information, so that accurate manufacturing processes can be defined.

Financial decisions In the planning and quoting phase, suppliers must manage changes from customers, product engineering, their suppliers and their own manufacturing operations.

If a change is initiated by the customer, manufacturing must be notified before the change is approved for implementation so that its impact on production can be assessed. Conversely, the customer or product engineering must also be notified

Quoting process

if manufacturing makes a change to either the tooling or the manufacturing process.

Manufacturing must then communicate the cost of these changes to a product program manager in the form of a quote.

It is difficult for companies to manage these changes and accurately assess their cost in a timely fashion. This is especially true for suppliers that have multiple OEM customers and provide hundreds of different parts for each one. The root cause of most cost estimation problems lies in the way that automotive companies capture and retrieve manufacturing cost data today. In order to generate accurate and meaningful manufacturing cost data, virtual process planning tools are required. When manufacturing cost information is available at key decision points, suppliers and OEMs can rapidly perform a thorough impact analysis and establish accurate estimates of the cost of either a new design or a change.

Digital environment As the assembly process is designed, manufacturing engineering usually validates and optimises the tooling and processes in an environment that supports physical prototyping before releasing the product to the plant. Numerous people representing the many functions involved in planning the assembly process need to work together to create the best possible process. In traditional processes, complete collaboration does not occur unless all of these people are physically present in one location for a design review.

However, when that collaboration session ends, people go back to their individual jobs and collaboration becomes difficult again.

As events evolve throughout the > A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

79

Assembly line balance

development and planning process, the lack of continued collaboration leads to assembly processes that do not match the latest part revisions, process changes and/ or tooling – with an end result that impedes the overall assembly process.

To alleviate these problems, manufacturers can implement a digital manufacturing environment that manages the entire workflow of the assembly planning process. This environment allows engineers to collaborate from anywhere in the world around the clock, removing physical and geographical barriers.

Engineers can be notified immediately if their designs need to be revised or if someone else in the workflow requires information from them. Engineers can design their tooling, fixtures and processes within the context of the virtual plant floor and access data from other departments without physically having to track it down.

Processes, tooling and fixtures also can be stored and re-used in this environment, saving overall product development time and fostering continuous improvement.

Validating efficiency Plant design and optimisation must be performed whether a company is dealing with a green field or brown field assembly facility. When facilities engineers design the plant, they must consider every factor involved in assembling a product.

Plant designers receive information from manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, materials handling and the plant (if it is a brown field). They also must consider other factors such as environmental, local government and ergonomic requirements. The assembly Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

process itself is primarily the responsibility of the process engineers within the industrial engineering organisation. They must decide on the assembly sequence and method of assembly, as well as validate that the correct tooling is used in each plant.

Many major manufacturers now have global production capabilities. This has presented new challenges for plant design.

While the process has always been a complicated one, its complexity has risen to a whole new level. There are many more factors to consider on a global or holistic level, such as commonality across all plants, real-time plant floor layout updates, change control and country-specific requirements.

Assembly plants should not have to worry about validating and optimising plant designs. That is why manufacturers are now beginning to use 3D digital tools in the plant design process to ensure that their design is valid. With advanced simulation tools, engineers can walk through the plant as if they were in the physical structure themselves. They can see the plant in operation and validate the number of products being produced per hour. What-if scenarios can be run to optimise the design configurations of the building, tooling, carriers, material handling devices, operator walk path and more. Manufacturers can actually run a plant before they ever put a shovel in the ground to build it.

Capturing information Today, some manufacturing engineers and suppliers take up temporary residence at the assembly plant as they prepare to launch a new product. They work with their counterparts in the plant to ensure that new processes, methods, layout and tooling are implemented as designed.

With more global product programs, this practice takes the engineers away from their primary roles for too long. The impact of waiting until the product is released to the plant to fix problems has become a growing financial burden for companies, as have expenses related to travel.

Companies that do not want to leave surprises for the assembly plant are taking a different approach. First, they realise that all parties need to be involved in the assembly planning process, including plant personnel. Since plant personnel

cannot afford to leave the plant for extended periods of time, companies want a common environment that allows plant personnel to fully participate in the overall collaboration while making the best use of their time. Second, companies also want to be able to capture the best practices and lessons learned on the plant floor, so that they can be leveraged across other plants and future improvement processes. They have found that this can be done very effectively through a digital manufacturing environment that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere.

Product lifecycle management Companies are transforming how they define their manufacturing processes through digital manufacturing. With this approach, manufacturers are focusing on the optimisation of production processes, reducing time to product launch, and cutting the cost of commissioning production systems. PLM solutions provide ideal tools for implementing a digital manufacturing environment. They allow companies to build a digital manufacturing backbone that links all cross-functional aspects of the planning process.

PLM ensures that all production and assembly issues can be anticipated and resolved well before product launch, eliminating the need to debug at the plant level. Virtual prototyping of parts, tooling, or entire product portfolios greatly improves strategic planning, ensuring that plants hit full capacity as soon as products are released for production. Detailed scenarios ensure synchronised, flexible and highly efficient production and assembly processes. Built-in feedback mechanisms make it possible to establish continuous improvement as a standard practice.

In order to remain competitive and to ensure that they have the most capable, low-cost general assembly manufacturing process, automotive suppliers need to fully embrace PLM. Companies that implement PLM-based digital manufacturing can manage today’s complexity and optimise their assembly operations from a strategic global perspective.

â–

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

80

CHEMICAL & PROCESS T E C H N O LO G Y

Automation in the offing In the coming years, chemical manufacturers are likely to bank on automation solutions for a competitive edge Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

In spite of the severe recession currently impacting the chemical industry, automation spend in the chemical process industry (CPI) over the next five years is expected to increase, driven by strong demand for chemical products, particularly in India & China. Given here is an overview of established and upcoming technologies, trends for automation in this industry.

Brendan Sheehan

â–

C

Brendan Sheehan Senior Segment Marketing Manager - Chemicals Honeywell Process Solutions Brendan.sheehan@honeywell.com

hemical companies today need to enhance their supply chains and business processes to remain competitive. While large integrated oil and petrochemical companies can fare better by taking advantage of internal transfer prices and lower overall cost position, other manufacturers are focusing on smaller specialty chemicals where the products performance will determine pricing power.

From an automation perspective, these specialty chemical manufacturers are moving towards smaller production batches,

which require additional investment in automation, and highly flexible control platforms.

Instruments and devices The use of wireless networks and wireless sensors makes it possible to access information from remote locations such as tank farms, or add additional information needed for advanced control applications cost-effectively. These can then be pulled into the distributed control system (DCS) A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

81

Experion Process Knowledge System

for advanced control and optimisation applications. Within the specialty chemical sector, material handling is a large contributor to quality, consistency, and raw material optimisation. Automation of the material handling functions coupled with integrated bar code scanners on the manufacturing floor can provide significant benefits in this area.

New technologies Wireless sensors reduce the cost of installation and make available process information that was previously unseen or only recorded manually. Mobile tools allow outside operators to record information during their rounds that can be collected and stored for use by other applications.

Other tools allow outside operators to see DCS information while making their rounds, helping make better decisions.

Latest technology is also being deployed in the area of integrated safety and security systems. Integrated safety instrumented systems, such as Honeywell’s Safety Manager, integrate well with Experion Process Knowledge System and provide unprecedented connectivity through all levels of process and business operations to optimise work processes, improve routine maintenance efficiencies, enhance safety management and release personnel from manual processes. Safety instrumented systems provide the final element of process protection to manufacturers that Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

now look to deploy multiple layers of security and safety in the form of a variety of technologies, ranging from well-designed procedures and well-trained operators using embedded automated procedural operations and dynamic simulators, to mode-based alarming and improved operator graphics, physical security applications to protect and monitor boundaries and personnel tracking and mustering applications. New levels of batch reliability are also available by moving higher level sequencing and management functions down into the controller from traditional server based applications.

Variable parameters Optimisation strategies for chemical processes vary depending on the process itself, but some aspects are broadly similar.

Typically, production rate is optimised to meet planning targets or maximised against multiple process constraints such as cooling or hydraulic limits. In addition, key quality specifications must be maintained while maximising the yield of the most valuable products. Also of increasing importance is the minimisation of energy costs and the reduction in off-spec material.

Solutions for SMEs Honeywell offers several solutions to small and medium chemicals enterprises (SMEs), focused on improved integration between the manufacturing process and

the business enterprise. Applications that improve visibility across the supply chain, like planning and scheduling tools, help manufacturers source the lowest cost raw material to meet their customers’ demands.

Integrated with production management applications, these solutions help SMEs increase their flexibility and reliability and enable them to offer customised, quality products to their customers in time and cost-effectively. The company offers a scalable platform for SMEs, ranging from a PLC/SCADA solution, to Experion LS, for low I/O count sites with scaled down DCS characteristics, or up to a typical Experion Process Knowledge System offering with applications and integration with various third party components. The components of the scalable platform are available in the Indian market today.

Energy efficiency In spite of the recent fall in energy prices, the business case for investing in technologies that deliver energy efficiencies remains very strong, because improved business performance often goes hand in-hand with reduced energy use and emissions. Energy costs, which are expected to increase again over the next five years, can account for up to 60 per cent of the total production cost in the chemical industry. Additionally, stringent environmental and regulatory norms make it all the more important for companies to focus on energy efficiency to compete globally.

Future trends Increasingly close connections between the process operation and the supply chain will blur the lines between manufacturing and the enterprise. This will encourage more collaborative manufacturing between a chemical manufacturer, its upstream suppliers and downstream customers. The establishment of large, integrated manufacturing sites to achieve economies of scale will continue, while small manufacturers may combine together to achieve the same benefits and remain competitive.

â–

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

82

FOOD & BEVERAGE T E C H N O LO G Y

Towards burgeoning Automation has assumed a significant role in the overall capital expenditure of food & beverage manufacturers Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

The potential for automation in food and beverage (F&B) industry in India is immense, given that less than 10 per cent of food produced in the country is processed. In order to thrive in an increasingly competitive and regulated market, F&B manufacturers constantly improve their operational efficiency and productivity with automation tools.

Chirag Rathi

â–

T

Chirag Rathi Industry Analyst, Automation & Electronics Frost & Sullivan chirag.rathi@frost.com

he F&B industry in India has different types of automation requirements, for example, an automation-savvy global F&B giant, an indigenous mid-sized manufacturer or a small player, depending on its usage.

Differential automation ranges from single loop proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers to individually controlled island of automation to a fully integrated automation & IT system.

Today’s global and highly competitive business environment poses challenges

like increasing business complexity with several product lines and a need to interface several business processes like manufacturing, supply-chain, and marketing. There should be shorter product life cycle with even shorter time-to-market and rising manufacturing costs, fluctuating commodity prices and low margins.

The automation solution Automation of F&B processes presents quite a unique set of challenges. Some of A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

83 the most pressing automation requirements for the industry are: Scalability and flexibility of control to cope with ever-changing product lines, changing customer preferences, and seasonal demands Streamlined manufacturing system for timely manufacturing, because many ingredients have limited shelf-lives Adaptive control system to maintain consistency of taste amid changing recipes, variable quality of ingredients, and other environmental factors Local and international safety compliance standards like international food standards (IFS version 5), HACCP, ISO 22.000:2005, and BRC

■ ■

■ ■

It is important to develop a control system capable of producing consistent quality amid variable environmental effects

Integrated approach Integrated plant-wide control system along with packaging line automation with identification and traceability systems have posed several advantages for the F&B manufactures to enhance efficiency across manufacturing and business processes.

The integrated automation system imparts flexibility, provides scope for improvement ,optimisation, and reduces business risks.

F&B manufacturers need detailed insight into production efficiency, production margins, and final profitability.

The usage of manufacturing execution system (MES) integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) system empowers manufacturers to maintain tighter control on all aspects of business.

Need of domain expertise Automation of F&B processes is unique in the sense that it entails several combinations of process, sequential, batch, and discrete control within one unit. F&B manufacturers pay a premium to automation vendors who demonstrate domain expertise. Domain expertise include understanding of subtle aspects of food technology, regulatory requirements, and substantial working experience with particular F&B segment.

Presently in F&B automation technology the trend is towards having a dedicated suite of automation products targeted at specific end-users. Companies like Siemens and Rockwell Automation have several Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

dedicated product lines targeted at dairy, brewery, tobacco, and edible oils among others. The products comprise several specialised programs and control algorithms targeted at every production process, from the reception of raw materials / ingredients, process control, printing and packaging management till the final dispatch of the finished product. This suite of products provide seamless connectivity to the plant ERP system, enabling the manufacturer to have control on the overall profitability.

Key trends The dairy industry in general has moved from the production of milk to several value-added products like milk powder, cheese, and butter. As production volumes and plant scales have expanded, most of the mega dairies have moved to distributed control system (DCS) control architecture from the control systems based on programmable logic controllers (PLC).

Usage of an advanced control system like model predictive control (MPC) has found success in the milk powder plants of some of the mega dairies. MES has wide acceptance in the Indian dairy industry owing to large manufacturing operations. Data Historian software suites have also found increased usage due to regulatory requirements of the domestic and several export markets.

Brewery automation is a combination of several batch, sequential, and process control in the brewing process and highspeed discrete control in the packaging section. Usage of software suites targeted specifically at the brewery industry, like the Braumat of Siemens and Brewhouse of Rockwell Automation has become a norm.

Future scenario The need for automation in the F&B industry is expected to be fuelled by efficiency requirements, regulatory obligations, and demand for higher profitability. As the scale of operations become increasingly complex for F&B manufacturers, they are expected to become ever more conducive to invest in most new technologies and products to collaborate between various manufacturing and business processes in-house along with network partners.

Automation will increasingly become a key differentiating factor among competitors already challenged by low margins, strict regulations, and shifting customer preferences. As India braces itself for a continued consumer boom, the coming years are expected to be exciting for the F&B Industry.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

84

STEEL & METAL T E C H N O LO G Y

Better steelmaking Optimising steel plant operations requires that we address various aspects of process, operations, methodology and related capital expenditure

Courtesy: ThyssenKrupp AG

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Inside a steel plant it is a whole new world with myriad processes that go into turning iron ore to finished steel products. Bringing in efficiency and order in this complicated world is a daunting challenge for automation systems. Here’s in a nutshell, the scope of application and implementation principles for automation in this industry.

Atanu Mukherjee

â–

A

Atanu Mukherjee President, Technology Consulting Dastur Business and Technology Consulting atanu.mukherjee@dasturco.com

ddressing the subject of optimising operations in a steel plant remains incomplete till a few questions are not answered: What are the levers to increase the plant throughput with minimal capital expenditure? Can a phased plantwide automation strategy be developed considering planned equipment and other technology upgrades? What other capital projects should be undertaken to achieve the next level of improvement? What are the potential savings opportunities, risks and implementation complexities of these

improvements? What are the timelines for achieving these results?

Areas for improvement Inventory optimisation, cycle time reduction, material movement and logistics along with automation are the typical areas to be explored for improvement while planning optimisation. In our experience management of inventory across the production chain can yield significant results.

Inventory management in steel operations is A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

85 complicated by the nature of steel making process from iron and steelmaking to rolling due to the nature of material transformation.

Inventory optimisation ensures a low workin-progress and finished goods inventory.

Along with reduced shipping time between steel making and mills, improved visibility through better real-time tracking across shops coupled with spare parts inventory management, in turn, lead to reduced working capital requirement.

Cycle time reduction entails reduced time between handoffs in converter shops and mills, reduced test time through better integration with test instrumentation and laboratory management systems, improved billet/slab sequencing in reheat furnace area and minimised re-setup time in mills, thus increasing plant throughput.

Better material movement and plant logistics results in improved shop production efficiency. This area draws attention to the movement of products between casting and rolling mills, evaluating options of capital investment on raw material and its scheduling and the hot metal wait time between blast furnace and converters.

Additionally, careful planning of material routing and movement reduces capital expenditures on fleet like locomotives.

We find that simulation exercises are an important mechanism to design efficient material movement and logistics plans.

Automation when leveraged well improves plant wide efficiencies. It increases operational efficiency and flexibility by reducing manual intervention while increasing flow. Automation should be implemented starting from instrumentation right through MES and ERP with integrated systems across all levels in a phased manner with careful consideration to return on capital (ROI).

Implementation principles It is important to understand that automation is not a silver bullet; however, when preceded by process improvements, its efficiency is multiplied.

Process improvement, when implemented in phases, bears lesser risk compared to a big-bang approach which is marked by larger upfront investments and resource deployment, uncertainties in realisation of the full project, coordination Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Process optimisation across SMS, casting & mills

complexity and most importantly higher cash flow drain. The phased approach on the other hand prioritises implementation thus making way for benefits much faster; it minimises risks through progressive learning and better visibility and facilitates progressive deployment of resources which helps limit the project if required.

An integrated system across operations is another important dynamic in a steel plant optimisation. In contrary to shop specific solution, integrated solution is characterised by inter-shop coordination, global optimisation, integrated islands of automation, better end-to-end yields, and better cash flows. An improved cash flow and working capital needs is always set as one of the most important objectives; and the phased approach devises just the right process to meet this objective. This approach minimises capital intensity by extracting maximum operational efficiencies. In this process, capital improvement projects are incrementally deployed and operations are re-optimised to leverage new improvements thus maximising returns on current assets.

Prioritising The first focus in approaching plant-wide integration has to be on process improvement and basic automation, involving material movement and logistics optimisation, process optimisation across SMS, caster and mills, laboratory cycle time reduction and test integration, transport process optimisation, overall automation roadmap and implementing level 1 automation

upgrades where required. The next focus can be on level 2 automation and manufacturing execution system (MES), and finally leveraging IT across all functions. MES involves level 3 automation, while supply chain management constitutes level 4.

Firming up the scope The first step of implementation defines the scope of blueprint exercise, identifies specific process improvement and automation projects to be taken simultaneously, firms up the process improvement analysis areas and tunes the engagement model for the levels to follow.

The second step has two functions operating simultaneously – automation and operational process. Implementation plan is the final step, scope of the implementation complexity is identified followed by the plan migration strategy. The cash flow is then analysed and the financial model created.

And finally the change management process is defined. Improving and optimising existing steel plant operations requires that process analysis be integrated with automation system design. Careful analysis and planning are required for such projects to succeed. This also means that a thorough analysis on return on capital, cash flow is also undertaken. And finally implementation of such projects should be in a phased manner to minimise risks and maximise the return on investments.

â–

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

86

POWER & ENERGY T E C H N O LO G Y

The MV advantage Medium voltage AC drives reduce auxiliary power consumption in thermal power plant Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Path-breaking initiatives to revamp the power sector in the recent past, both in terms of policy pronouncement and programmes, range from bringing about efficiency in generation, through introduction of super critical technology and energy saving in existing thermal power plant, to reducing auxiliary power consumption (APC). A case study‌ Gaurang Bhatt

â–

I

Gaurang Bhatt General Manager, MV Drives Yantra Harvest Energy Pvt Ltd yantra.automation@vsnl.com

ndia had an installed capacity of 132,329 MW as on March 31, 2007, of which the thermal share was 86,015 MW (65 per cent). It is worth considering that even a one per cent reduction in APC from the existing levels would yield 5500 MU of energy annually, worth Rs 1,100 crore.

The medium voltage variable frequency drives (VFD) inducted in thermal power plant auxiliary addressed the various

concerns and issues related to process at large rating power stations with proper methodology of planning, installation and commissioning.

Main potential auxiliaries in thermal power plant are draft system (ID/FD/PA fans) and feed water system consisting of boiler feed water pump (BFP), condensate extraction pump (CEP) and circulating water pump (CWP). All of these are generally HT drives.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

87

engineering stage and that too for limited applications only. Reliance has installed the latest state-of-the-art technology of multilevel SPWM with 36 pulse system in its power plant and achieved good results.

02725 3527(&7,21 5(/$<

,167$17(1(286 29(5 &855(17 $ & 7,0( 29(5 &855(17 5(/$<

/2&.,1* Âą287 5(/$<

75,33,1* 25 75,3 )5(( 5(/$<

$/$50 5(/$<

Control philosophy

96' &(3 $

,Q SXW ,VRODWRU

%\SDVV ,VRODWRU

2XW SXW LVRODWRU

02725

a

The challenge Reliance Energy wanted to install MV drive as a retrofitting application in running power plant, taking care of process, environment (dust and temperature), interfacing with existing control system (DCS) and triple the operation. Here is how Yantra Automation addressed all these concerns.

Environment conditions The project was executed on a turn-key basis. Dust-free VFD room was prepared inside the plant at zero meter level. Air washer system was provided for sufficient air flow to maintain positive pressure inside the room and maintain room temperature between 30Âş to 35Âş C. For longer life and trouble-free operation of MV drive system, proper heat management is important.

Userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concerns REL was concerned about operation of MV drives in extended under-voltage which occurs during external grid disturbances or small jerks in the system. Yantra Automation provided Harvest MV drive with undervoltage sustainability of voltage range of +/- 35 per cent and +/-10 per cent with the time delay of 3 sec to avoid tripping.

The Harvest drive has a unique feature â&#x20AC;&#x201C; auto cell bypass, which has inbuilt redundancy on the inverter side and gives Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Modified SLD for VSD installation

tripless operation. Drive as well as process remains normal even if a power cell fails.

Hence VFD does not hamper the process of power generation, enhancing reliability.

Impact on equipment In many industries, power quality is affected due to installation of VFD: there is more THD in the system due to electronic component used in the drives which is the main source for generation of harmonics in the system. This can be addressed by selecting the proper rating of IGBT technology drives with higher pulses system which meets stringent requirement of international standard of IEEE 519-2000 for harmonic distortion.

In many cases motor bearing failure and cable failure were observed some time after installation of VFD. This was addressed by selecting the PWM waveform with 36 pulse rectifier system which does not affect the motor insulation as well as bearing failure and cable end termination failure due to similar sine wave form from output of VFD.

Induction of MV drives It was revealed by various studies that there is a good potential of energy saving in HT auxiliaries but in India no power plant has inducted the VFDs as retrofitting job with existing plant equipment. In some of the power plants the VFDs were inducted from

New PID controller with auto/manual section is added in existing DCS system for MV drives. Existing PID controller is kept as it is for control valve operation in bypass mode. Same process value was given to new PID controller and value is set to maintain the deaerator level. Control philosophy develops in such a way to take the system in original conventional control mode when bypass mode is selected. New transformer protection relay is added in SF6 breaker room and selection is given through selector switch installed in DCS control room to select drive mode or bypass mode. When drive mode is selected new PID controller will give 4 to 20 mA reference signal to MV drive to operate in auto or manual mode to maintain the required deaerator level.

Encouraging results Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been more than two years since the first installation of MV Drive at REL. With trouble-free performance, highly reliable and attractive energy saving, REL has installed total five MV drives in its power plant at Dahanu and Samalkot.

It is practically observed that due to Harvest driveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest state-of-the-art multi level cascaded SPWM technology with 36 pulse system and power cell bypass facility, Reliance has not observed any illeffect on motor or input like increase in bearing current, DV/DT effect, input and output harmonics, vibrations or winding temperature of motor.

There is an opportunity to reduce the auxiliary power consumption by 1-2 per cent of installed capacity with induction of VFD in thermal power stations. In view of present power crisis faced in the country, even this small saving can serve many households without any adverse impact on environment.

â&#x2013;

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

88

PHARMACEUTICAL T E C H N O LO G Y

Prescribing new horizons The use of automation is immense in the entire pharmaceutical supply chain, from raw materials processing to the end customer

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

In the pharmaceutical sector, automation symbolises itself with bulk drug manufacturing, automated documentation processes related to regulatory compliance and automated formulation plants that include form filling, tableting, packaging, etc.

Mandar Phadke

■

B

illions of drugs are counterfeited every year in the world. This has several undesirable effects including loss of precious lives, wrong data that gets generated about the efficacy of good drugs and loss of revenue to the pharma business owners and the government.

Automation system for drug pedigree Mandar Phadke Former Head - Process Control, Lanxess India Pvt Ltd

To counter this, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has come out with a ‘drug pedigree’ requirement, where each

participant in the pharmaceutical supply chain, has to establish the genuineness of the goods that are exchanged, with a pedigree certificate. If anything goes wrong, not only can the offending drug be easily traced to its source, but also will become very difficult for counterfeiters to inject their deadly goods into the market.

The pedigree requirement will solve diversion of (genuine) drugs from subsidised markets, hospitals and aid schemes to the open market. The pedigree certificate will be issued through a radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

89 tag that will accompany every bulk drug shipment, pallet or bottle. It allows putting small radio transmitters (in the form of a tag or a smart label), that contains digital information. When a RFID reader is in the vicinity of one or more tags, it can read off the tag data at a distance. A single reader can read data from hundreds of RFID tags, almost simultaneously, within seconds. This is enormously faster and easier than reading bar codes that have to be read serially, require a line of sight and are easily tampered with.

Basically the RFID tag emits a signal that is a large serial number. The typical electronic product code (EPC) RFID tag has 96 bits of information; so theoretically, millions of unique serial numbers are possible. This means that every pill bottle produced by any manufacturer can have its own unique RFID tag with a serial number.

This serial number will reside in a central database that has other information about the pill bottle, like when manufactured, by whom, batch number, expiry date and so on. This data has to match with the printed label.

It will be extremely difficult for counterfeiters to beat the system, because though they can stick an RFID label with a random serial number on a bottle containing fake pills, their serial number will never match the rest of the data that has to be printed on the label.

Wireless instruments Wireless instruments measure process parameters and transmit the information wirelessly over a distance. It has an onboard battery that can last for about five years. An antenna on the instrument can communicate with a host (control system) either directly, or through a network of hubs, repeaters, routers and other wireless instruments. The removal of wires means one can mount the instrument practically anywhere, without dressing, shielding and bothering about laying cables. The same transmitter can be used at different times on different equipment. This feature is useful in pharmacy manufacturing plants, as many equipment used in this area, are inherently multi-functional and mobile.

Several times an electronic portable weigh scale is used for batching in one process area. The weights are recorded manually Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

RFID technology protects pharma distribution

for validation, regulatory compliance, and after moving to another area, the process is again repeated. What if the weigh scale was wireless? It could transmit information wirelessly to the control system, every time the operator wished to record the weight.

Things would be much faster, simpler and less prone to errors. Also regulatory compliance can be easily achieved, without sacrificing productivity and inherently increasing the reliability of the readings.

Cleaning-In-Place (CIP) applications are another area where wireless instruments can be used to advantage. Many pharmaceutical processes require regular CIP operations to take place at predefined intervals. There are critical CIP data to be monitored and logged, which includes temperature, cleaning agent flow rates, contact time, conductivity, etc.

For the same instruments that measure temperature, conductivity, flow, etc, are necessary to be mounted on the CIP. The very nature of the CIP equipment makes it amenable to use wireless instruments. All CIP procedures that are now performed can be logged automatically through wireless instruments, for regulatory compliance and in- process documentation. This will increase the reliability of the cleaning process itself.

A type of data logger with a temperature probe that is hermetically sealed is another benchmark in wireless instruments. It can be dropped into a process vessel (a fermentation reactor), where it continues to bob up and down, recording temperature at one minute interval. After the fermentation is over, the data logger

is recovered from the vessel and the data inside is read wirelessly. This entire log of readings is useful for validation. The data can be erased and used again in the next batch. Alternatively, one can also have a non volatile memory, so that the data is preserved for a long time, similar to a check sample or counter sample, till the shelf life of the batch is over.

Protection of intellectual property A company invests millions of dollars in research on a particular molecule, so has to protect its intellectual property (IP) maintain lead, recover investment and make profits, if it becomes a blockbuster.

However, IP thieves, pirates and rival firms are always on the lookout for duplication of such molecules, which can be copied, without having to invest in millions of dollars of research. Keeping the processes under wraps is always a major challenge for the original manufacturer. Here, automation comes as a rescue!

Transcending traditional scope â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Automationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the pharmaceutical sector has grown beyond its traditional role in manufacturing. It now plays an increasingly important role not only in manufacturing, but the entire supply chain. For those who can visualise the future possibilities, times are exciting indeed!

â&#x2013;

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

90

TEST & MEASUREMENT T E C H N O LO G Y

Simple testing solutions Advanced test and measurement instruments ensure safety and reliability of electrical and communication wiring Advanced test and measurement instruments perform the job faster, safer and easier. Reliable and userfriendly industrial clamps, meters, circuit tracers, cable testers and certifiers are easyto-use solutions for tracing and identifying circuit fuses and locating line breaks. A look at the latest developments.

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

S

ince the advent of large scale manufacture of television sets, reliable test and measurement equipment has been required for diagnosis and repair. With the evolution of circuits since decades with sophistication in information technology, the test and measurement equipment has also evolved, setting new standards in safety and diagnosis.

Thanks to rugged, versatile and easy to use equipment, testing is now a lot safer, accurate and reliable. Ideal Industries Inc, USA, not only manufactures and sells state-

of-the-art test equipment, but also supports customers with training material and technical support.

Safety technology Clamp meters or clamp-on ammeters are used to measure currents by passing a conductor from between the jaws of the clamp, while keeping a safe physical distance from dangerous circuits and without disconnecting the wire.

Industrial clamps from Ideal feature the evolutionary TightSight display and high

voltage indicator, indicating the presence of voltage through the test leads even with the dial set to the wrong function. They can measure currents up to 600 AAC & voltage of 70V-600 VAC.

Multimeters Digital multimeters are suitable for commercial, industrial and residential environment where they help take AC/DC voltage readings as well as allow measuring resistance, continuity, capacitance and frequency. Digital multimeters from Ideal A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

91

Clamp meters

feature auto/manual ranging, capacitance and true RMS measurements.

Circuit tracers Circuit tracers can help find shorts, opens and breakers in energised/de-energised circuits. Circuit analysers with arch fault check for voltage drop and arcing, allow residential inspection, find wiring faults, and check to make sure the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) and arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) devices operate correctly. Mainly used for trouble-shooting branch circuits, checking internal grounding system, verifying poor wiring and testing AFCIs and GFCIs for proper operation, they also test for shared neutrals that lead to AFCI nuisance tripping. Power analysers from Ideal are capable of data logging of 1 MB, analyse disturbances and harmonics, help in power factor correction, energy monitoring, trouble-shooting 3-phase electrical systems and 3-phase motors.

LAN cable testing LAN is used in almost all organisations and even homes with multiple PCs. The cables used for networking need to be certified in accordance with international standards.

The Lantek family of high performance cable certification testers support a full range of LAN cable testing. These testers use Idealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patented measurement system that removes the effect of ordinary patch chords, thus making channel and permanent link certification of a cable standard such as CAT6a or ISO-F possible without changing adaptors. The same patented technology also makes dual mode testing possible, so that the Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Digital multimeters

user can get any two results simultaneously.

A special series is designed to support the emerging CAT6, LAN cabling to support applications up to 10G Ethernet.

Visual fault finders The visual fault finder (VFF) is a light source used to locate breaks, poor mechanical splices and damaged connectors in fibre optic cables. A hand held battery powered tool, the VFF projects a highly visible red light into a fibre optic cable. The conductor simply looks at the length of cable and lights up where there is a break. The Ideal VFF is equipped with high-power, extra long life, 650nm laser diode which operates either in continuous (CW) or modulated (MOD; 1 Hz pulse) mode. A push button allows the user to select the mode while preventing accidental operation. Any breaks will be seen as a conspicuously glowing or blinking red light area (in 3 mm or smaller cables). A red LED on the outer case echoes the operation mode selected. The size of a pencil, VFF is very easy to use and identify problems.

Gigabit certifiers A fibre and copper gigabit certifier allows complete testing and documentation of cabling links to support Gigabit Ethernet and provides comprehensive diagnostic test on active networks for additional diagnostics or troubleshooting. These tasks can be performed on copper and fibre networks.

Traditional power meter/light source kits only measure the attenuation of fibre optic links. As Gigabit Ethernet is becoming the standard for backbone and zone fibre optic cabling, attenuation tests alone may not be

Circuit tracers

enough to guarantee error-free performance.

Signaltek-FO from Ideal has a bit error rate testing, adds assurance that fibre optic links can actually support high-speed data in accordance with IEEE 802.3ab standards.

Communication cable tests Installers, contractors and maintenance technicians need to map, test and troubleshoot data and voice communication cable and coax runs. These testers must link between performance, simplicity and value for both residential and complex application. Ideal provides, versatile, easy to use testers which display wiring errors, measures length with test result, send tone with four different signals and displays test results in map format. Eight twisted pair remotes have jacks for longer life and increased testing capabilities. They also test for shield continuity, shorts, opens, wrong wiring, reversals and split pairs with remote connected.

Quality comes first With increasing complexity and technological advancement in virtually every field comes the growing concern for safety and reliability. The quality demands for test instruments leave no room for compromise. Using equipment of the most reliable brands in accordance with international standards could go a long way towards avoiding fatal malfunctioning in an organisational power and communication network.

â&#x2013;

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

92

INDUSTRIAL COMPUTERS T E C H N O LO G Y

Interfacing today It pays to check out the market for the latest and best in HMI devices: the choice available is astounding Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

The technology used in the human machine interface (HMI) that features so significantly in the industrial automation sector is developing at an astounding rate. And this fast-evolving technology is driving progress in industrial HMI products, allowing them to combine greater versatility and enhanced performance with better value for money.

Prafull Sharma

â&#x2013;

H

Prafull Sharma Product Manager HMI & Software Solutions Schneider Electric prafull.sharma@in.schneider-electric.com

MIs these days are seen by users as gateway to connect anything and everything. The demand for easy understanding of a machine and its operations calls for such advanced features as intuitive design workshop, a userfriendly graphic interface, a repository of easily shareable information, easier printing of manufacturing documentation (delivery slip, production reports, etc) historical data for perfect traceability, recipes for flexible and efficient production management, and direct access to machine user manuals.

Now the solutions with web browser, screen snapshots, video, CF card, USB storage and printer support are moreover

standard. Clearly it is in the interest of manufacturers to make sure these figures are maintained, and that means bringing out improved versions on a regular basis to entice new customers and to persuade existing users to upgrade. Just as clearly, with this sort of sales volume, there is plenty of money available to support development.

Processors have also moved on â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are faster and more capable, yet consume less power. Memory prices are falling to allow budget-level devices with huge memory capacities. Finally, many devices now feature improved connectivity with interfaces like USB which have become defacto standards and Ethernet ports which A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

93 have become so inexpensive that they’re fitted by default.

Perfect display Perhaps the most obvious development is the improved display screens which are being fitted to the latest devices. Typically, these can display up to 65,000 colours, a distinct advance over older models which were, at best, limited to 256 colours. With enhanced colour capability, modern screens can display photographic and even video images realistically – an important benefit when the images are used as an aid to process monitoring, or where stored images of plant components are required to be displayed to assist with maintenance and fault finding.

Precision touch-screen technology, originally developed to facilitate handwriting recognition in PDAs, has also found its way into HMIs. This technology provides users with a convenient and accurate way of adjusting process variables, something which could not readily be achieved with the low-resolution touch-screen grids used in older HMIs.

A peep inside Improvement in processor capability is another feature which characterises the latest HMI devices. Not only does this enhance graphical performance allowing, for example, complex animations, it also means that these new products can offer a much wider range of SCADA-like features. Typically, these might include on-board scripting, bridging between multiple communication ports, data logging and comprehensive recipe management facilities.

Fast 10/100 Ethernet support is now also offered as standard on the best HMIs, whereas previous generation products either offered no Ethernet support at all, or only provided it as an expensive optional add-on.

Ethernet support is of increasing importance, as this fieldbus is rapidly becoming a defacto standard for data communications in industrial applications, as well as in the office field where it has already established almost total dominance.

Another convenient connectivity option featured by modern HMIs is one or more USB ports. These allow programs to be downloaded easily, as well as providing Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Solutions with web browser, screen snapshots, video, CF card, USB storage and printer support are standard

plug-and-play support for a whole range of useful peripheral devices such as printers and barcode readers. While older HMIs may have allowed the connection of such devices, this often involved hard-to-use proprietary serial communication drivers.

Memory has traditionally been a limiting factor in the flexibility of HMIs and, in particular, in their ability to store and use complex graphics. The price of memory has fallen dramatically, allowing HMIs to be supplied with ample internal memory capacity without incurring a price premium. Another major data sharing benefit is that a PLC’s register values can be exposed to other PLCs. For example, by sharing data from HMI 2 with HMI 1, HMI 1 can read values from PLC B and write values to PLC A. This allows for smoother synchronisation in communication.

Take your pick While choosing an HMI device, it pays to check and compare the various options available in market. A careful comparison of features like display resolution, processor speed, memory capacity and scalability, communication with modern networks, fieldbuses and peripherals, compliance with latest environmental requirements, data logging on USB port, remote maintenance facility and price will yield the best choice.

The reputation of the supplier in terms of quality and expert technical support should also be considered. Technologically

superior, reliable products are now available at affordable prices and proper research helps identify the best option.

It is important to understand that every touch-screen / windows based PC is not an industrial PC. The factors which make it industrial grade are UL 508 certifications, which is not same as ordinary UL certification. UL 508 covers the requirements for devices rated 1500 volts or less, products intended for use in an ambient temperature of 0-40° C (32-104° F) unless specifically indicated for use in other conditions, and finally industrial control panels that are as assemblies of industrial control devices and other devices associated with the control of motor operated and the related industrial equipment.

Trends in IPCs Openness, integration and flexibility are the key criteria sought after in industrial PCs today. Demand for open systems (integration), client/server, means an open Intranet/Internet communication is replacing proprietary systems.

Interoperability with other control system software, application-specific software, and other windows software is much sought after, as are touch screens and wide TFT LCD flat screens which are replacing smaller screens in front panels.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

94

CONTROL & REGUL ATION T E C H N O LO G Y

Un-tagging the HMI Component object-based supervisory systems provide a number of benefits over tag-based HMI development Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

There are several fundamental differences between component objectbased and traditional tag-based human machine interface (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) products. Let us take a look at how significant savings in development can be achieved with a component object-based SCADA product.

Steve Garbrecht

â&#x2013;

F

Steve Garbrecht Product Marketing Manager Industrial Application Server Wonderware Australia info.india@wonderware.com

rom the inception of PC-based HMI and supervisory products, the development of data access, scripting, alarming and data analysis has been based on the concept of tags. While being simple and very portable from one project to another, a tag-based environment has the downfall of a flat namespace, with no inherent ability to link elements together into more intelligent structures with built-in relationships and interdependencies.

Global changes to a tag database are typically done externally to the development environment as a text file or in tools like Microsoft Excel, and then re-imported into

the application. Re-use in a tag-based system is commonly instituted through dynamic or client-server referencing, which allows a common graphic to be created, and then a script is executed to switch the tags being viewed in run-time. Furthermore, because of the flat structure of the application, changes need to be sought out and analysed as to the effect on the rest of the application.

Object-oriented systems Component-based and object-oriented development in the IT world originally referred to tools which focused on releasing the A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

95 developer from mundane, repetitive program tasks, while maximising re-use through the development of common components.

Predictably, these tools are not fit for the industrial environment. Systems integrators and production engineers are typically not computer programmers, and there are some key architectural differences between IT and production automation applications.

General IT applications typically involve database access from non-deterministic, form-based interfaces that accomplish tasks like online banking, business reporting, financial accounting or static information look-up. Conversely, plant intelligence, production management or supervisory control applications involve the accessing of real-time data in PLC, performing sophisticated calculations to determine flows and production numbers, displaying this real-time data in graphics-intensive client environment or analysis tools, and writing and reading from production and operationalrelated databases.

Automatic replication In component object-based SCADA, application objects contain the aspects or parameters associated with the device they represent. Objects do not just represent plant equipment, they can also model common calculations, database access methods, key performance indicators (KPI), condition monitoring events, enterprise resource planning (ERP) data transfer operations and many other tasks required of the plant information system.

Manufacturing applications typically have a number of common components, including common types of plant devices and equipment, operating procedures, process measurements, calculations and graphics displays. This allows a cookiecutter approach, where typically small software programs are developed as objects or code modules that can be stamped out and joined together to form an application.

Where a component object-based SCADA system is different is that after the cookies are stamped out, the stamp can be changed, and all of the cookies which were already made are automatically changed.

This is possible because of a parent–child relationship, in which parent object templates are developed and then components are Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Replication of objects and change propagation

replicated or instantiated from the parent objects. Now all of the children are tied back to the parent, so a change in the parent can be replicated to all of the children. This is an extremely powerful development capability, because application creation is optimised by using object templates to automatically generate components (replication). Project changes are easily accommodated and ongoing system changes and expansions are easier and more cost effective.

Object-oriented graphics The phrase ‘object-oriented’ is generally used today to refer to the ability to build graphics and draw pictures based on classes or a hierarchy. Object-oriented graphics allow to build a symbol and replicate it across a screen or HMI application, and then have visual changes made to all the similar symbols at the same time. While this is a useful functionality, SCADA applications require more than graphics. For example, much of the work that goes into a supervisory application is for things like alarm monitoring, animation scripts, security scripts, supervisory scripts, historical data storage, integration with other applications and SQL databases, event detection, flow and movement calculations, and device integration. In order to fully realise the benefit of a component objectbased architecture, a SCADA system today needs to depict all of these things, along with the graphics as objects.

Life cycle savings The life cycle savings associated with any SCADA development tool can be

categorised into four basic areas: the initial development savings related to application generation, those related to application changes, maintenance savings throughout the system life cycle, and the savings across all sites.

Using a distributed system significantly reduces maintenance costs through the ability to remotely monitor, change and deploy software to all nodes in the network. This is especially important for geographically distributed networks because users can save both time and money by eliminating the need to travel to each site for maintenance or upgrades. Savings also result from re-using the templates and applications created for one project on other projects.

Selecting a SCADA system Component object-based development provides a number of advantages in development and maintenance of the application, but what about the computing architecture that hosts the SCADA system?

The technical aspects of the system must also be considered, like whether the tool provides realistic models of plant equipment and manufacturing, areas, processes or production lines, integration with network security, flexibility, interfacing ability, availability of centralised diagnostic utilities, scalability, etc. All of these are things that a SCADA package should and can do through the use of innovative software solutions available on the market, today.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

96

DRIVES & COMPONENTS T E C H N O LO G Y

Exploring servo drives Over the last few years, servos have improved tremendously in size, rotational speeds and torque. Digital servo is yet another step forward Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Digital servos have significant operational advantages over analogue servos, even coreless versions. But with these advantages also come minor disadvantages. Where a digital servo differs, is in the way it processes incoming information, and in turn controls initial power to the servomotor, reducing dead band, increasing resolution and generating tremendous holding power.

Ashok Kumar

â&#x2013;

B

Ashok Kumar Additional Chief Engineer Electrical Design National Power Corporation akch2002@yahoo.com

oth brush and brushless servo motors use either analogue or digital amplifiers. The analogue drives have been in use for a long time, whereas the digital drive is a relatively recent innovation. Both types have their merits. In the conventional analogue drive, the input is analogue signal and the motor velocity is represented by an analogue input voltage usually in the range 10 V or so. An experienced person can easily get

the desired voltage quickly, but in some difficult applications it may take longer.

In case we have to repeat the adjustment on subsequent, it may take same time unless there is an easy way of duplicating the potentiometer settings. This is why some proprietary drives use a plug-in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;personality cardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that may be fitted with preset components. However, this not only increases the cost but may preclude the possibility of fine tuning later.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

97

Elements of an analogue velocity amplifier

Digital drives In digitally controlled drives the tuning is performed by sending data from a terminal or computer. The result is easy repetition between units and, since such drives are invariably processor-based, it facilitates fully-automatic self-tuning. It is also possible to have analogue voltage to such a drive but can equally take the form of step and direction signals, like a stepper drive.

Digital drives are used more in conjunction with brushless servo motors than with DC brush motors. Such drives are almost fully digitised with the exception of the power stage, which actually feeds power to the motor. Velocity feedback is derived either from an encoder or resolver and again is processed as digital information. It becomes logical to incorporate a position controller within such a drive, so that incoming step and direction signals can be derived from a conventional steppertype indexer. Equally, the positioner may be controlled by simple commands using a high-level motion control language.

Analogue v/s digital drives The benefits of an analogue drive are the lower cost and very high performance when we use tachometer feedback. The wide bandwidth of the brush tachometer allows high gains to be used without creating stability problems inducing jitter at standstill, resulting in a very ‘stiff ’ system.

On the other hand, the digital drive, while more costly, is comparatively easy to set up and adjustments can be quickly repeated across several units. Automatic self-tuning can be a distinct advantage where the load Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Components of a digital drive for a servo motor

parameters are unknown or difficult to measure. The digital drive also offers the possibility of dynamic tuning – sometimes vital where the load inertia changes dramatically during machine operation.

Such an option is clearly out of the question with a potentiometer-adjusted drive.

Analogue DC drive An analogue velocity amplifier controls the velocity of the motor in response to an analogue input voltage. A tachogenerator attached to the motor shaft measures its velocity. The voltage produced by tachogenerator is proportional to the motor speed that is compared with the incoming velocity demand signal, and the result of this comparison is a torque demand. This type of amplifier is often referred to as a four quadrant drive. The accuracy of speed control can be made very high even when there are large load changes.

Some types of position controller generate a torque output signal rather than a velocity demand, and there are also applications in which torque rather than speed is of primary interest (winding material onto a drum, for instance). Most analogue drives can be easily configured either as velocity or torque amplifiers by means of a switch or jumper links. In practice, the input signal is still taken to the same point, but the velocity amplifier is bypassed.

Digital servo drive operation In digital drive for a servo motor, a microprocessor carries out all the main control functions. This also drives a D-to-A converter to produce an analogue torque

demand signal. From this point on, the drive is very much like an analogue servo amplifier. Feedback information is derived from an encoder attached to the motor shaft. The encoder generates a pulse stream from which the processor can determine the distance travelled, and by calculating the pulse frequency it is possible to measure velocity.

The digital drive performs the same operations as its analogue counterpart, but does so by solving a series of equations.

The microprocessor is programmed with a mathematical model of the equivalent analogue system. This model predicts the behaviour of the system in response to a given input demand and output position.

It also takes into account additional information like the output velocity, the rate of change of the input and the various tuning settings. The tuning of a digital servo is performed either by pushbuttons or by sending numerical data from a computer or terminal. Even if the tuning is carried out using pushbuttons, the final values can be uploaded to a terminal to allow easy repetition.

In conclusion A digital servo sends pulses to the motor at a significantly higher frequency. This means that, as opposed to the motor receiving 50 pulses/sec, it now receives 300. This gives a digital servo an improved dead band, a faster response, quicker and smoother acceleration/deceleration, and better resolution and holding power.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

98

ENERG Y TECHNOLO G Y A P P L I C AT I O N

Optimising energy Effective energy management is the key to conserve energy and improve profitability in the software industry Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

The world is going through an acute energy crisis, with the generated energy constantly lagging behind burgeoning demands. Energy management in this context makes a lot of sense, particularly for the software industry, where disproportionate consumption leaves a big room for improvement.

Kailash Tarde

■

W

ith an annual growth rate of more than 40 per cent, the software industry is becoming a major consumer of electricity in urban areas. About 25 per cent energy of this can be easily saved by effective energy management. Some key areas for energy management are listed below.

Kailash Tarde Energy auditor TÜV SÜD South Asia, Pune Kailash.Tarde@tuv-sud.in www.tuv-sud.in

Illumination Illumination accounts for 20 to 30 per cent of power consumption in a typical IT park. Efficient illumination system calls

for coordination between the architect, consultant and the illumination engineer.

High output compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), electronic ballasts, dimming ballasts couples with photo censors and other modern controls and lighting transformers can save up to 30 per cent of energy on illumination by efficient use of light at the right place and right time.

Air conditioning Cooling systems are made up of various components that must work together to A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

99 operate at their best efficiencies, while ensuring optimum occupant comfort level.

They account for almost 50 per cent of power consumption. Factors like humidity control, air filtration and circulation need to be considered while designing the air conditioning system. The proper design and operation along with regular preventive maintenance can result in substantial savings.

Besides, cooling equipment of the right size, variable air volume system for air handling units, variable speed drives for pumps and cooling tower fans, sequential controllers for controlling on/off operation of air conditioners installed in one location, occupation sensors help save almost 10 per cent energy in large facilities.

Occupancy sensors in conference room contribute to significant energy savings

Servers, PCs and UPS consume about 20 to 25 per cent energy in software industry. New age servers like TX120 consume 40 per cent less energy than conventional tower servers, are only onethird the size and make half the noise. Use of new technology energy efficient servers and LCD screen desktops, IGBT thyristor based UPS systems, etc, will result in significant energy conservation.

make the ECBE mandatory for all new buildings that have a connected load of 500 kW or greater or a contract demand of 600 kVA or greater. The code is also applicable to all buildings with a conditioned floor area of 1,000 sq mt (10,000 sq ft) or greater.

Building envelope, which considers aesthetics, day lighting of interiors, and blending interiors with nature, heat gains, impact on productivity, etc, has also become an important aspect during the design of commercial and software buildings.

Power qualities in software industry

Modern control systems

A large proportion of the industrial, commercial and domestic load is now nonlinear, and the distortion level on the lowvoltage distribution network has become a serious concern. Active harmonic conditioners (AHC), may be installed at different points in the distribution system to reduce the total harmonic distortion current (THDI) by around 10:1 and improve power factor. AHC is not affected by frequency variables. It avoids risk of resonance by any harmonic frequency, doesn’t overload, is flexible and userprogrammable.

Installing control devices and systems into an existing, occupied building requires little or no rewiring to install the new controls in the existing space with minimum labour cost. A sophisticated direct digital control system using fuzzy logic can dynamically adjust schedules according to the occupancy pattern. Auto-restore motion sensors and manual switching and dimming controls have proven to maximise occupant satisfaction and minimise the energy wastage by up to 60 per cent in private offices. The occupancy sensors manual controls can reduce energy and increase productivity by allowing occupants to tailor lighting conditions to their individual needs and satisfaction.

Servers, computers and UPS

Building codes and building envelope The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has developed a draft, Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in India to provide minimum requirements for energy efficient design and construction. It is proposed to Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Control strategies Scheduling the lighting and HVAC systems according to usage, tuning power supply

as per requirement, defining control zones depending on existing wiring methods and occupancy pattern can minimise energy wastage in office. Smaller zones offer greater potential for energy saving, with at least one switch or other control device easily accessible to the occupant.

Energy efficient planning Energy conservation has to be kept in mind while designing any IT Park nowadays. Equipment should be selected for optimum loading. Modern techniques like building management system (BMS) should be used to monitor every aspect of energy and control the energy depending on the requirement. Preference to energy star equipment is a good purchase habit that leads to attractive energy savings in the long run. Properly planned and executed energy efficient upgrades can have a payback period between two to three years.

TÜV SÜD South Asia helps customers in measuring electrical parameters like voltage, current, power and harmonics, etc, recommending procedures to improve the quality of power. Power quality audits are carried out without disturbing power conditions. Energy audit studies and safety audit studies for IT industries have resulted in energy saving of 20 per cent by better energy management and efficient use of energy.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

100

FIELDBUSES & NETWORKS T E C H N O LO G Y

Revamping engineering Asset management with FDT/DTM is simplified by updating the applied19” technology through fieldbus, remote I/O or interface solutions Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

In the 1980’s, 19” racks and plug-in cards became standard for the parting plane for explosion protection in chemical companies.

Accordingly, interface technology also found its way into the control cabinets of numerous control rooms in the form of 19” plug-in cards.

Ryan Kromhout

■

D

Ryan Kromhout Head Product Manager Process Automation Hans Turck GmbH & Co KG sales.india@turck.com

uring decades of successful operation, 19” solutions have grown almost everywhere in the infrastructure of process automation.

Presently there are countless 19” cards in plants that need to be modernised and made ready to handle growing requirements.

Nowadays the constant pressure on plant operators to make their plants more efficient is pressing down even more.

Increasing plant efficiency only succeeds when the individual ‘values’ – the so-called assets – of a plant are optimally used and processes are optimised using current status information. Most plants now have an asset management solution in place even if the opportunities offered by this technology have yet to be exploited to their fullest. While major assets are usually well integrated, it is the small field devices or the physical layer, A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

101 which is the bond between the field device and the process control system that are frequently lacking.

Data acquisition If an operator decides to take on the task of modernising older plant components and develop asset management, he should be able to record and process measured values and diagnostic information. In order to acquire additional data from these plant components, in principle, the plant operator has three alternatives to choose from: pointto-point connection, remote I/Os or fieldbus technology. The classic signal transmission model is point-to-point wiring, also referred as interface technology. With this alternative, the individual measuring signal from one measuring instrument in the field is transmitted directly to the control system. The signals are galvanically separated, formatted and transformed before they arrive from the field to the PLC or the process control system. The purpose of this parting plane is to protect the control system from disruptive signals or undesired transmissions from the field, and support the explosion protection concept of the respective plant operator. For this purpose, the control system must have at its disposal a corresponding number of signal inputs and outputs.

In case of point-to-bus wiring, also called remote I/O, the signals in the field instrumentation are collected at the plant’s I/O station, transmitted to a digital protocol and sent via bus cable to the control system.

So, instead of multiple analog or digital input and output cards, the PLC only needs one bus card. In process automation, the normal data protocols used are Profibus, Foundation fieldbus, DeviceNet or Modbus. Even in the remote I/O stations, the signals are galvanically separated before being transmitted to the digital protocol. In bus-to-bus connection, also called fieldbus technology, the field instrumentation is directly coupled with the bus via the communications protocol – either Profibus or Foundation fieldbus. Each field device is thereby an independent subscriber of the communication bus.

Modernisation concept One should closely examine the advantages and disadvantages of individual connection Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Turck interface product line offers right design for cartridges to DIN rails to the 19” card

concepts, take into account the necessary modifications, while considering modernisation of a plant. The alternatives present have to be borne in mind. How much of the already existing structure can continue to be used, and additional information from the field is required to be able to practice good asset management?

For all three connection alternatives, the following applies: the operator should obtain useful additional data that enables him to conduct anticipated maintenance and/ or schedule maintenance before a possible disruption occurs in plant operation.

Modern FDT/ DTM-supported interface technology in the 19” format

they are designed for field use with the IP67 degree of protection.

Point-to-point

Accessing asset management data requires the field instrumentation to be upgraded if the fieldbus alternative is selected. For this purpose, the measuring points have to be upgraded with evaluation electronics that offer the desired bus protocol – such as Foundation fieldbus or Profibus – as the interface. The existing wiring of the field instrumentation can only be continued to be used for supplying power to the individual measuring points.

For many applications, modernisation of existing 19” technology with modern plug-in cards or interface devices in other configurations is the least expensive alternative for modernising a plant. Compared to other processes, the advantage is that the existing infrastructure – cabling, control cabinet, and field instrumentation can continue to be used in most cases. If replacing a 19” card, the existing infrastructure can remain untouched as a whole because the modern evaluation electronics in the control cabinet are plugged into the same slot.

Modern 19” cards from Turck provide all relevant data for anticipated maintenance.

Additional features, like result-controlled call tracing within an interface module, offer the plant operator capabilities that are frequently not available even on a digital fieldbus. In this case, the operator can retroactively diagnose a disruption in the pre-defined go-status and thereby initiate an investigation into the cause of an emerging disruption.

Point-to-bus

Recapitulation

Continuous asset management requires installation technology so that Hart signals entering the remote I/O station are able to translate to a digital protocol. With pointto-bus wiring, the existing wiring can be allocated per remote I/O after on-site preparation, without a great deal of time and effort. However, the bus cables from the I/O stations to the process control systems have to be re-laid. In case of many remote I/Os, control cabinets become redundant because

In order to modernise plant parts and prepare them for asset management, the existing infrastructure does not necessarily have to be disassembled and equipped with fieldbus cables. Modern interface technology based on FDT/DTM technology offers a reasonable alternative in this case – mostly by recycling the existing infrastructure.

Bus-to-bus

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

102

GEARS & MOTORS T E C H N O LO G Y

Before you order a gearmotor…

10 things everybody ought to know about custom gearmotors A custom gearmotor is one that meets your particular application specifications. It has the correct mechanical and electrical interfaces, fits within the envelope available, meets your performance, maintenance, lifetime and aftermarket criteria while it also fits within your budget. Some simple rules to help you make the right choice…

John Morehead

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

■

T

John Morehead Vice President, Strategic Planning & Marketing Bison Gear & Engineering Corp

here are many questions and considerations involved in specifying the correct gearmotor for your application. They run the gamut from AC or DC, single or three phase, PSC or split phase, PMDC or BLDC, TEFC or TENV, cord or flying leads, parallel shaft or right angle, stub or hollow shaft, keyed or splined, grease or oil lubrication, face or foot mount, just to mention a few!

Determining your torque requirement,

output speed, overhung load, duty cycle and environmental criteria all add up to real design engineering challenge.

If you are designing equipment that will likely require thousands of gearmotors per year then you should be working with a gearmotor supplier who can give you a truly custom solution that meets all your needs and for which you don’t have to pay extra for features or performance in excess of your engineered requirement. To help A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

103 you successfully specify and procure the best custom gearmotor solution, here are ten things you ought to know:

Involve the supplier To the extent that you engage your gearmotor supplier’s application engineers early in your design cycle, you will ensure that you meet all of your specifications as well as your budget target. Skilled and experienced gearmotor application engineers can literally save you months of time. If brought in early, they can understand, and possibly even help you design, your test protocol. A skilled gearmotor application engineer can also help improve your machine’s performance, lifetime and profitability based on what he and his company have learned from thousands of other successful custom gearmotor applications.

Expect early samples It is not unusual to see ‘next day samples’ touted in marketing materials. On reading the fine print, though, that only applies to a limited variety of standard, catalogue products. If your application only requires slight modification to a standard item, such as shaft detail, cord or connector, gear ratio change, etc. it is not unreasonable to expect such prototypes can be turned around in a matter of a couple weeks or so.

A good gearmotor supplier will have the resources to significantly reduce lead times for prototypes.

Can they scale-up… ...to meet your volume? If you are considering changing gearmotor suppliers on an existing high volume project, you need to know if they have a track record of successfully ramping up new, high volume business. They should also have the capability to quickly and effectively ‘reverse engineer’ your existing gearmotor designs. A really good gearmotor supplier is capable of engineering and delivering more than a dozen different gearmotor models that a customer may require to replace his old supplier and ramp up to thousands of units per month production within just a couple of calendar quarters.

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Value-added capability Your gearmotor supplier should be capable of working with you to provide more than just a gearmotor. Increasingly, companies are finding they can increase productivity, and reduce inventories and facility requirements by working together with their gearmotor supplier to provide engineered sub-assemblies or assemblies.

Your gearmotor supplier should be willing to work with you to supply your needs to level of value add you desire.

Customised for specific applications

Get to know supplier team Your gearmotor supplier will be an important element in your company’s supply chain and they should welcome a visit by you and your team. Take this opportunity to assess your gearmotor supplier’s facilities, personnel and quality procedures. In addition to their sales and marketing executives, you want to get to know their engineering, operations and other key executives and managers who will become an important part of your own extended team.

Customer continuity and loyalty You want to do business with a gearmotor supplier that is not only well-established and respected, but also one that builds long-term customer relationships. Keeping customers over periods of five, ten or twenty-five years or more signifies not only the ongoing viability of the gearmotor supplier but also his commitment to continuous improvement and performance excellence.

Your specification, your business

Expanding product portfolio

Your gearmotor supplier should be willing to enter into a nondisclosure agreement with your company to protect the confidentiality of your work. You’ll find that the best gearmotor suppliers often dominate a particular market segment and continue to do so because of their discrete handling of confidential information while working for several competitors in a given market. In addition, the custom gearmotor specification you develop with your gearmotor supplier is your specification that is not to be offered to others in your market, nor to your customers in the aftermarket.

While your short-term focus with a gearmotor supplier may be very well-defined and limited, you will undoubtedly want to align yourself with a supplier whose business model is based not only on performance excellence, but also an expanding portfolio of new products resulting from their own voice of the customer research. Such a gearmotor supplier is more likely to have the more sophisticated, energy efficient gearmotor solutions.

Lead time out of the picture A customer-focused gearmotor supplier should be able to work in cooperation. He should be able to develope process creatively with your supply chain team to ensure that product lead times become a nonissue for you by employing kan-bans and other systems.

You deserve a supplier… …who shows appreciation and expresses thanks for your business: The best customer and gearmotor supplier relationships are based on knowledge and understanding of each other’s businesses. The customer should expect to be able to call on any member of the gearmotor supplier team to solicit input, discuss issues and work on joint projects without reluctance.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

104

IMAGE PROCESSING & MEASUREMENT T E C H N O LO G Y

Automation systems in sight Visual techniques like inspection, orientation, identification, and assembly are used in many key tasks of manufacturing Nothing beats human vision for versatility. Human weaknesses, however, limit productivity in a manufacturing environment.

Boredom, distraction, fatigue, and malice can degrade human performance and in visionrelated factory tasks such as inspection. Factory automation utilising a machine vision system in such tasks can bring many benefits.

Carmen Ciardiello, Steve Geraghty

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

■

M

Carmen Ciardiello Vice President & General Manager, Engineering Specialties Inc carmen@esict.com

Steve Geraghty Vice President, Operations, U.S Director, DALSA’s Industrial Products steve.geraghty@dalsa.com

achine vision systems can perform faster repetitive tasks, more accurately, and with greater consistency than humans. It can reduce labour costs, increase production yields, and eliminate costly errors associated with incomplete or incorrect assembly. It can help automatically identify and correct manufacturing problems on-line by forming part of the factory control network.

The net result is greater productivity and improved customer satisfaction through consistent delivery of quality products.

Implementing a cost-effective machine

vision system, however, is not a casual task.

The selection of components and system programming must accurately reflect the application’s requirements.

Factors such as the time required for system development, installation, and integration with the factory system, operator training (and retraining) costs, project management, maintenance, and software upgrade and modification, all contribute to the total cost of ownership for the system and should be evaluated before investing in a specific system design.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

105

Sort the up-front knowledge While selecting a machine vision system for a factory automation task it is important to closely define the requirements. There are a number of critical questions to ask up front: What task does the system need to perform?

Different tasks may require different vision capabilities. Inspection requires an ability to examine objects in detail and evaluate the image to make pass/ fail decisions. Assembly, on the other hand, requires the ability to scan an image to locate reference marks (called fiducials) and use those marks to determine placement and orientation of parts. A machine vision system designed for one task may not be well suited to the other.

What are the key visual performance criteria?

The vision system’s lighting, camera, and lens must perform adequately.

Factors such as the smallest object or defect to detect, the texture of the parts, measurement accuracy needed, the image size (field of view), speed of image capture and processing, and the need for colour all affect lighting, camera, and lens choices.

What are the environmental factors?

Some cameras are better for stationary views while others are more suitable for viewing moving objects. Temperature, humidity, vibration, and the like can impose needs for protecting vision system components.

With what equipment must the vision system interface?

A vision system that only activates a solenoid to eject failed parts from a production line is considerably easier to implement than one that also reports results to a quality control network or that controls the operation of production equipment based on

■

■

■

■

■

■

Fa s t f o r w a r d Resolve opposing needs of the system design and the runtime operations. One key runtime consideration that affects design is system portability.

Designing for extendibility of the system requires greater effort, grants greater rewards later

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

inspection results. Similarly, a system that interacts with a human operator has different needs than one that interfaces only to other machines.

What information must the system provide?

Machine vision systems in factory automation seldom operate in a stand-alone mode. Instead, they send information to other parts of the factory enterprise for a variety of purposes.

What are the operator requirements?

The extent to which human intervention and control of the machine vision system is required affects many system elements, particularly software. If operators are required to periodically change inspection criteria, such as acceptance tolerances, then software must support such changes. Software may also need to provide security to prevent unauthorised access and parameter changes, and include safeguard to avoid introduction of erroneous parameter values.

Building machine-vision system All vision systems must have an image to inspect. They must operate on a continuous basis and at the fastest practical speed. All systems operate by using the following steps: Position the part or camera so the camera can view the part Capture an image with a camera Process the image Take action based on the image processing results Communicate results to operators and other factory systems

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Because of this commonality, examination of a specific application, such as inspection of objects on an assembly line, will illustrate methods by which developers can build a suitable machine vision system for their application. The essential elements of an inspection system include a delivery system, vision system, response system, and sensors to trigger image capture and system response. The delivery system positions the part for inspection. The vision system, which includes camera, toptics, lighting, and image processor, captures and processes the object image to determine a pass/fail response.

A machine-vision inspection system needs a delivery vehicle as a means of taking action

The response system takes the required action as well as communicating results to operators or other systems. The sensors serve to trigger the vision and response systems, identifying when the object is in the proper position for the systems to perform their tasks.

The reading of an identification number requires close-up imaging, front lighting, and optical character recognition software.

Ensuring factory integration Factory and production specialists need to understand essential steps of vision system design. It is essential to resolve the sometimes-opposing needs of system design and runtime operations. To control design costs the system should have a wellspecified and bounded task. This makes development and programming simpler and allows optimisation of components such as camera, lighting, and optics.

A system that targets a single task with fixed specifications is easier to develop but will require vendor involvement to make even small changes in operation. Hence, Machine vision is a key technology for improving the quality and productivity of manufacturing lines though factory automation.

■

Courtesy: InTech, the official publication of ISA

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

106

SENSORS & ENCODERS T E C H N O LO G Y

The target decides The specific method used for thickness measurement is often selected as per the measurement object Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Thickness is a common topic in measurement technology. Different measuring principles and approaches enable various thickness measurement options: thickness measurement from one side with one or two sensors; thickness measurement from two sides with real-time signal processing; thickness measurement with reference distance; and many more.

A

wide variety of sensors are available in the market for thickness measurement. Largely, the sensors can be classified as contact or non-contact sensors. The benefits of non-contact sensors are that they exert no influence on the measurement object, operate without wear and are still able to function reliably for very fast processes, which is often no longer possible with contact sensors.

Erich Winkler Product Management optoNCDT Micro-Epsilon Messtechnik GmbH & Co KG Erich.Winkler@Micro-Epsilon.de

Measurement type The material of the measurement object, the required accuracy, the environment in

which the measurement takes place and at which speed the measurements should be made, are critical factors in the selection of the best method for measuring thickness.

In the case of thickness measurement of metals, two-sided thickness measurement is usually preferred. For example, one sensor is placed above and another sensor below the measurement object. In the case of dynamic processes, the measured values must be acquired and output synchronously. If both sensors are not operating synchronously, each movement of the target will result in a measurement error. The sensors must also be mounted A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

107

Thickness measurement of metals

Thickness measurement of a metal track from two sides

exactly opposite each other, otherwise differences can occur.

The new CSP2008 Universal Controller from Micro-Epsilon, for example, is available for the synchronous processing of the signals. The CSP2008 Universal Controller handles the processing of up to six sensor signals. Two sensors can be directly connected to the controller.

Four other sensors are connected to the controller via separate Ethercat modules.

The CSP2008 provides a wide range of possible arithmetic calculations of these sensor signals and is therefore one of the most advanced controllers for digital signals on the market today. Due to the very high data transfer rates using Ethernet, Ethercat and RS422, data output is performed extremely quickly. The Ethercat interface is intended for real-time applications.

Measurement on metal The measurement principles suitable for thickness measurement of metals must be selected depending on each individual application. Laser sensors are often used for this, because they offer high resolution and measuring rates with large base distances. However, capacitive sensors or eddy current sensors, which provide a higher resolution than laser sensors, can also be used. The advantage of using eddy current sensors is that they only react to metallic objects. For example, if there are liquids or non-metallic foreign bodies in the measuring gap, these do not influence measurements. Capacitive sensors are also ideal for these tasks. They provide nanometre resolution but require Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Thickness measurement with two different sensors

a clean environment. When using eddy current sensors, the user must distinguish whether measurements will be performed on ferromagnetic metals or not. There are usually no problems when measuring on non-ferromagnetic metals. Also, for ferromagnetic metals, the object is not moved laterally under the sensor. However, if the measurement object under the sensor is moved laterally as, for example, in the thickness measurement of sheet metal strips, increased measurement error will be expected. This physical effect can be attributed to the inconsistent density of the metal.

Transparent objects In contrast to this, single-sided thickness measurement is possible for transparent objects. Confocal sensors are frequently used for this as their light beam penetrates the measurement object. The measurement system is configured so that a peak is detected in the controller at both material transitions. Afterwards, the thickness is calculated from the difference between the two peaks. It is important there are no opaque particles in the measurement object, as the light cannot penetrate the object here. Transparent objects can also be measured from two sides. As well as the confocal system, laser sensors are used if an alternating measuring mode is possible. The sensors are programmed so that they generate the measured values alternately and in this way do not influence the opposing laser. The use of eddy current sensors is not possible here.

Single-sided measurement of transparent objects

Thickness of plastics There are various approaches for measuring the thickness of plastics.

For example, single-sided thickness measurement is the standard for blown film. Here, capacitive sensors react to the non-conductive film in front of the sensor. It is critical that the measurement object is a constant distance from the sensor.

If there is metal behind the plastic, a single-sided thickness measurement can also be performed using a combination sensor. For example, an eddy current sensor can be combined with a laser sensor in such a way that both measure the object in one axis.

Other types of combination sensors are eddy current sensors combined with optical micrometres or with capacitive sensors.

Safety assured Thickness measurements are mainly required in process control and quality assurance, e.g. for the control of extrusion systems. Sheet thickness is also a very important factor in the manufacture of steel strip, particularly with respect to material costs with respect to the steel and coatings. If the sheet is not rolled to the required thickness, material is wasted.

Using the right measuring system will help manufacturers avoid this wastage and increase productivity.

â&#x2013;

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

108

SOFTWARE & ENGINEERING TOOLS T E C H N O LO G Y

A stitch ahead of time An error detected and rectified during the design stage costs almost 100 to 1000 times less than when rectified at the manufacturing stage Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

For innovative products, around 70 per cent of the product cost is committed during the design stage. Design for manufacturability [DFM] is a methodology that involves designing with an intent to minimise the cost of production and time-to-market, without compromising on the quality of the product.

Rahul Rajadhyaksha

â&#x2013;

I

Rahul Rajadhyaksha Product Manager Desktop Products and Technologies Geometric Limited rahul.rajadhyaksha@geometricglobal.com

n the entire production process, the design stage is the one where actual costs incurred are the lowest.

However, its influence on the product cost is the highest. Any decisions taken during the design stage have a cascading cost implication on the entire manufacturing process.

Organisations hence stand to gain a lot by adopting DFM initiatives. DFM adoption can happen in various ways. This may involve

design reviews by senior design engineers who are familiar with the manufacturing processes or inputs from manufacturing engineers during the design stage itself.

Organisations have practiced DFM by forming such dedicated teams with the objective of improving designs, part quality and reducing costs. The aim of such initiatives is to reduce the manufacturing cost, improve part quality and the time-to-market.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

109

Present challenges Though many organisations have advocated DFM practices, they face hurdles in successful implementation for a variety of reasons.

To begin with, DFM principles are far too many to remember. It is impractical for a single person to review a design manually considering all the recommended guidelines.

DFM principles mentioned in handbooks may not get referred to and manual use of checklists can lead to possibilities of errors.

There is no automated mechanism for verification of knowledge transfer. It takes time and effort for manufacturing engineers to transfer manufacturing related inputs to the design team. There is no automatic verification mechanism to ensure that the inputs were incorporated in the design.

This implies that the designs may have to be manually verified to validate their appropriateness.

Moreover, standards or guidelines may have to be repeated and validated for all parts. As the organisation’s process capability improves over time, the guidelines need to be updated accordingly. Similarly, the standard machining tools available in the organisation need to be given preference to save time as well as cost. This requires reference to the active database of tools and processes. All these activities need to be repeated for every design. Any error during the design validation early in the product creation cycle could cost a lot more problems during manufacturing.

DFM proponents advocate concurrent engineering teams consisting of engineers from various departments like design, manufacturing, quality among others.

However, managing teams is not easy.

Additionally, with the global manufacturing scenario, teams are likely to be widely dispersed. For similar parts, it makes sense to have an automated process in place.

Therefore, the need of the hour is a simple, easy to use, yet powerful tool, which allows quick validation of the designs for ease of manufacturing — automating the DFM reviews to a large extent.

Design impact

costly design mistakes. Using DFM review automation and rule customisation, best practices can be captured and disseminated.

A single tool deployed uniformly for design reviews would promote consistency in design quality.

A systematically deployed DFM review automation solution can provide a framework to capture, enforce and improve the manufacturability knowledge within the organisation. The design rule parameters can be calibrated according to the organisational process requirements.

It also helps reduce cost and time. Any rework or iteration costs the organisation time and money. The DFM review software enables to save substantial time, rework and waste resulting from errors escaping reviews.

Required features Software aimed at automating the DFM review process completely or partially must satisfy the following minimum requirements:

■ ■ ■

Benefits of DFM review automation A DFM review tool integrated within the CAD environment can alert the designer regarding any violation of DFM guidelines.

Automation thus reduces the chances of Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

■

DFM review software must be easy to use - it is critical for DFM review software to have a negligible learning curve Standard globally practiced rules must be provided as part of the default package – support for rule adherence is the primary value-add of DFM review software A DFM review tool must seamlessly integrate with the CAD environment – this allows users to be comfortable with the working environment and eliminate losses in data translation The DFM review tool must support imported or native models – because design analysis-manufacturing

DFM review automation within CAD software

■ ■

■

communities are spread across geographies and might not be possible for all vendors and suppliers to have the same CAD/CAM package DFM review automation environment must be extensible – ideally, the software should have in-built extension capabilities to cater to these enhancements DFM review customisation must be easy and also support advanced scenarios – this allows manufacturing engineers to reuse their tool databases and connect the rule validation scripts to this data for access to live tooling data ‘Rule Programming’ environment must be in-built – it will be highly costineffective if users have to spend on a development environment in addition to the DFM review software

Summary Though a software tool is not the panacea for all kinds of manufacturing problems, an effective deployment of such an automation tool will lay the foundation for DFM improvements in the organisation.

A DFM review automation tool helps in identifying areas in a design that are difficult, expensive or impossible to manufacture.

It eases and reduces errors in the design validation process. It promotes adherence to organisational standards [namely, tools, processes, materials].

All in all, a DFM review automation tool saves considerable cost, time and effort by improving productivity and reducing waste.

■

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

110

ROBOTICS & HANDLING T E C H N O LO G Y

Of picking and packing The demand for new automation solutions in industry is rising and nowhere more so than in the packaging industry Automation is an attractive alternative, and picking & packing robotic solutions represents one of the fastest growing markets in the automation industry. ABB with an installed base of over 2,500 delta robots, specifically designed for this type of application, is a world-leader in picking & packing technology.

Klas Bengtsson

Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

â&#x2013;

T

Klas Bengtsson Product Manager, IRB 360, ABB Robotics, Sweden. klas.h.bengtsson@se.abb.com

he packaging industry has for decades used manual labour for picking and packing products into boxes, trays and blisters. A typical application is packing mixed chocolate pralines into blisters, a repetitive task that is performed at very high speed. This type of work is tedious and generally poorly paid, which makes it increasingly difficult to find and retain labour. Additionally, growing concerns about food safety have

encouraged the industry to seek alternative ways to pick and pack food, so that human contact is minimised. For these reasons, the industry has shown a great deal of interest in automation.

The ABB FlexPicker Launched in 1998, ABBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FlexPicker, IRB 340 was uniquely designed for the picking industry, to pick and pack small lightweight A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

111 objects, such as chocolates. Although the robot had a simple design and was easy to build, controlling was altogether more difficult.

Far more challenging was moving the robot at such speeds without causing jerky movements or destroying the manipulator. Hence, ABB overcame such a challenge with the development of its highly successful IRB 360, which can pick and place products quicker and more gently than any other robot.

maintenance. Improved design features have ensured that parts can be replaced easily, even by relatively unskilled technicians.

Such features include enlarged screw dimensions and guiding sections so that service and repairs can be made easily and cannot be made incorrectly.

Second-generation FlexPicker

The new generation IRB 360 has an improved sanitation design, which although heavier, can be more easily cleaned. It has all stainless metal components, including the theta axis, delta plate and arm end caps, as well as a watertight casing (IP 69K), which allows to be cleaned with hot, high-pressure water at close range.

This means that no special time-consuming arrangements need be made to clean the robot. It can be treated just like any other equipment in the plant.

IRB 360 provided solutions for new applications, creating new markets, which in turn boosted sales.

Improvements in the design and strength of components created a more durable and robust robot that required minimal maintenance to achieve maximal operating time. Additional design features have made the new generation delta robots more versatile; a smaller version taking up less space on the factory floor and a new version for the food industry that allows thorough cleaning using standard industrial methods.

One of the most important features of the ABB delta robot is its advanced motion control, which is fundamental to the overall performance of the machine. It is easy to build a delta design robot and incorporate a high torque motor to move it very quickly. The challenge is to make it fast and accurate, while maintaining a long lifespan. The problem is that it is not possible to compensate for poor motion control with a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;strongerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mechanical design, since the weight of the robot slows its movement. High performance comes from advanced motion control. The control loop in the ABB robot controller plans the movement of the manipulator, taking account of its dynamic behaviour to reduce mechanical stress.

Inevitably, during the picking and packing process, products occasionally appear on a picking line in unexpected places.

Sometimes frozen products, for example, can be frozen together and then separate during movement, or products can be repositioned during a sudden conveyor belt shutdown. Such product relocation can cause problems for a robot, resulting in unexpected collisions.

With the FlexPicker the lightweight arm system detaches during a heavy collision. The arm system is held in place by a spring unit that protects the arm from damage during a mechanical impact, even when fully accelerating. This safety feature protects the robot, but a robot that stops moving when the arm system falls off would further protect the product and the conveyor. The new QuickMove and TrueMove motion controller can detect a malfunctioning arm system and automatically stop the robot.

A robust robot A high-speed picking robot can typically make 130 pick-and-place operations a minute. In a production line made up of eight robots, this equates to over one million cycles a day, and over 200 million cycles a year. Even with a low failure rate of one in a million, the probability of a malfunction becomes a daily event. Such a failure rate is unacceptable and can be reduced only by making the robots extremely robust. Universal joints, theta axes and fixation screws are critical elements that had to be improved. Components have been made stronger so that they last longer and require less Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Robot for food industry

Saving floor space Floor space is always at a premium in industry and the food industry is no exception. Increasing productivity within a given area is one of the frequent demands made of robots. The standard > Advt.

96 112

ROBOTICS & HANDLING T E C H N O LO G Y

Flex Picker in operation

IRB 360

ABB robot controller is, however, too large for most food and pharmaceutical industry applications, which is why a modified controller was developed several years ago. A smaller footprint was achieved by packing the components more densely and increasing the unit’s height.

This new controller rapidly gained popularity among picking customers, saving crucial floor space and reducing costs, since the new controller was housed within the customers’ existing control cabinets. When developing a new robot, reducing the size of the footprint is a neutral requirement for the development team; however, keeping the number of parts to a minimum is, for cost reasons, a high priority.

By shortening the upper arms and

DRIVES

PO & COM

NENTS

IC | APPL

decreasing the work envelope, the new IRB 360 requires less floor space, even without changing the base box (a floor space reduction up to 30 per cent). The width of a Flexpicker cell was decreased from 965 to 810 mm and its length reduced from 980 to 820 mm. Even greater space savings can be imagined, when the increased cycle speed of the IRB 360 is considered. Higher performance means that seven new IRB 360 robots can replace eight old IRB 340 robots, providing total floor-space savings of as much as 40 per cent.

From picking to packing

fourth (theta) axis in the middle, so that the robot would be more versatile, increasing its scope for new applications without reducing the lifespan of the robot. Case packing with a Flexpicker is a very common application, yet by expanding the payload from 2 to 3 kg, the number of packing applications was dramatically increased. The IRB 360 robot can pick up heavier products, handling sausage packs of 2 kg with a 1 kg gripper, as compared to the IRB 340 robot, which can only pick up 1.3 kg sausage packs with a 0.7 kg gripper. This improved performance presents the possibility of doubling production throughput.

By separating the parallel arm, the new robot could be made stronger, but would also affect its weight. A further drawback would be an increase in the number of required components, since different arm systems would be needed for different payloads.

Again these problems were solved by the new motion controller. The improvements made in robot movement control actually made it possible to handle 3 kg payloads using the same arm system as before with even shorter cycle times. Smoother robot movement and a greater understanding of the robot’s limitations have given the IRB 360 a 30 per cent performance improvement with a 2 kg payload as compared with the IRB 340 model. Throughput can be increased from 30 to 50 per cent in case of packing applications.

■

IRB 360 was developed to allow an increased payload by increasing the torque on the

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

AT I O N

INVITES ARTICLES Providin

g maxim

um versa

ems’ st Drivesyst of the large with Nord in le deals lopment n system The artic the deve used in productio of solutions ous toothpaste ufacturer discontinu Ekato, a man d by agitator the worl d industrial sted in customise are intere

ment er Lukas Develop Alexand Research & Head of Systems Ekato

y s German Peter Dittmer g Director tems Managin Nord Drivesys

at Schopfheimthe s from for System , Ekato a new plant its sights constr ucted task in Forest has aste. complex rn Black of toothp the southe s production discontinuou

The reach global places. with a a few this ties in acturers ly follow Many manufproduction capaci ries certain batch g indust ever larger larger a concentratin personal care a demand for rmore, is and n , there hygiene aste. Furthe fore, moder Accordingly such as toothp site. There es while at trend. products ced at each large volum this sizes for is produ cing ility. With variants of produ range of um versat capable maxim must be ing plants time provid the same

50

tility

Send us technology articles, application stories, and new product information for publication in A&D India

ction plants aste produ outputs of ty of toothp litres, with um capaci 5,000 The maxim en 4,000 and lie betwe used to 014 -Mar 2

The need

eb dia | F A&D In

Email: sumedha.mahorey@publish-industry.net

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

WIRELESS IN AUTOMATION T E C H N O LO G Y

113

Going wireless Users have expressed their key requirements for plant-wide wireless networks that are to be used for applications in the process industries Download the PDF file from www.AandD24.in

Wireless data communications has been described as a disruptive technology. After the introduction of any new but applicable disruptive technology into an established market, usually a paradigm shift is expected in the products sold into that market, and a reordering of the supplier leadership.

Dick Caro

â&#x2013;

I

n process control, each disruptive technology change has taken 15-20 years for its impact to dominate or replace older technologies for new system configurations and major plant re-vamps, and longer for general device replacement. In general, each of the previous disruptive technologies has not materially expanded the market, but has replaced the core instrumentation necessary for control of continuous and batch processes.

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Wireless instrumentation has been different! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first applications have been to extend process monitoring into applications such as process and personnel safety that have previously been too expensive to install, generally due to the necessity to design, install, and maintain a copper wire network. As wireless standards applying to industrial automation are completed, and products conforming to these standards appear, wireless is also expected to follow the time schedule for replacement of

Dick Caro CEO, CMC Associates, USA RCaro@CMC.us

114

WIRELESS IN AUTOMATION T E C H N O LO G Y instrumentation experienced by previous disruptive technologies, but at a higher degree of market penetration stimulated by its lower installed cost as well as its use for previously uninstrumented applications.

Users in various industries have supplied their current and potential applications as the basis of the design for industrial wireless networks.

CMC Associates participated in a research through magazine surveys, a few independent research reports, participation in the work of ISA standards committee SP100, and by direct interview of trusted end-users with appropriate experience.

The opinion of users participating has been embodied into a user requirements document that draws a set of useful conclusions. A look…

Planned use of wireless networks Many users have begun the installation of wireless instrumentation. Some are planning new wireless installations, while others have stated their interest, but have not planned installation. Many are waiting for wireless standards to be the basis of the products they will purchase. Most of the same users reported wired instrument installations varying from 10 to more than 25,000 points.

The physical size of the plants studied varied from less than 4000 sq mt to more than 60,000 acres (a county area for a utility.) The average plant size was 52,000 sq mt evenly distributed between 4,000 and 60,000 sq mt, but with nearly 40 per cent of the plants between 80,000 and 100,000 sq mt.

Application for wireless network

Graph of the industries contacted for this wireless survey

A significantly high percentage (almost 50 per cent) of the users favour application of wireless networks to some large plant areas such as storage tank farms, remote transfer stations, and even to well-head monitoring for gas/oil-field use and water/ waste pumping stations. Many of the users interviewed have already installed some of the existing proprietary wireless networks, usually with great success. The ‘sweetspot’ in the wireless market is currently for data acquisition for new measurements never before economical due to the cost of wiring. Many of these are in safety alerting applications such as safety shower usage and safety relief valves.

The potential market for wireless instrumentation seems to be about 2,500 – 5,000 instruments for the average plant size of 52,000 sq mt of which we assume 12,000 sq mt (less than 25 per cent) is used for processing. Small plants may have as few as 100-250 instruments spread out across 10,000 sq mt to large plants with 50,000-

100,000 instruments spread out over 2,000 hectares. This includes only plantwide process applications and does not include SCADA applications that tend to be spread over very large areas with small local concentrations of pumping, storage, and processing. Another way to classify wireless instrumentation is by the speed of the intended application. Applications varied from simple alerting and slow data acquisition, 77 per cent, to high speed data acquisition, open-loop, and closed-loop control, 33 per cent. When asked how these applications were being done now, most answered that the application was done manually, with wired instruments, or not at all. A few indicated the current use of wireless including Wi-Fi and other adhoc methods.

Direct interviews with end-users have confirmed their reluctance to use wireless networks for closed loop control until they gain more confidence in the technology with their early installations.

In fact, the current demand for wireless instrumentation all concentrates on relatively low performance data acquisition in monitoring and alerting functions.

Most users are not currently thinking at all about control needs for wireless networks, but are concentrating on their difficult data acquisition and monitoring (alerting) needs. In describing a monitoring application, several end-users have stated that they expect to access the data about once every 1-5 minutes, but they also expect immediate (1 second or less) response when the condition being monitored changes state or value. This is now called alerting or alarming and reveals that > A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

115

Host connection for wireless instruments

users expect some form of response faster than slow polling of values or states during abnormal conditions. They expect the field device to originate abnormal states or alarms, and for the network to transport this information without delay.

Integration with plant systems On being asked about integration of the wireless network with the plant control system, several respondents selected more than one point of integration. The most preferred point of integration was the DCS or PLC (50 per cent). Some indicated integration at the 4-20 mA loop level. An equal number indicated integration at the fieldbus level. These combined make up about 25 per cent of the integration preferences. The rest indicated integration with the plant business (IT) network, which may be interpreted as a need to integrate plant data with asset management systems and/or enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools such as SAP.

Factors influencing the user of wireless Users were questioned about the most important factors influencing their use

of wireless technology. About 51 per cent of the responses were concerned with reliability and security and 30 per cent were concerned with the availability of a single standard, and not multiple standards. Only 15 per cent were concerned with battery life as a primary issue. Other concerns were related to cost, co-existence with other networks, distance, mobility, and speed.

In confirming with the given results during personal interviews, it was found that the existence of a wireless standard was expected to resolve their concerns for security and reliability. With these issues removed, the primary factors, according to these users is the use of a single wireless standard for process control field applications, followed by concerns for battery life. The following sections discuss each of these factors.

Security and reliability Users just expect the wireless network to be ‘as secure and reliable as an equivalent wired network.’ Most users are very concerned about putting process data on a wireless network. There is a natural privacy with wired networks, except for the connection to the corporate IT network and the internet. While users want this same level of privacy with wireless networks, they express two concerns, increased product cost to provide the capability for encryption/ decryption, and increased complexity to use secure networks. They do expect that the network will provide the capability to exclude all devices not configured to join the network, and that messages originating from unauthorised devices will be ignored.

Single network standard Users always expressed a strong desire for a single wireless network standard for all of their applications. They do not want to be ‘locked’ to a specific supplier for their instruments and control actuators that are the result of using a proprietary network.

However, whatever is necessary to achieve such a standard is of little interest to the user, as long as it does not excessively impact cost, performance, ease of use, or battery life. Likewise, they expect any industrial wireless network to work in the presence of other networks in the same frequency band. Users expect that the network itself will adapt to any interference as it occurs, and no configuration will be required.

While the use of the license-free ISM band makes startup of the network less intrusive to the user (no license application), they are mostly interested in keeping network commissioning simple, low cost, and the same worldwide.

All for the users Users have long experienced a diversity of wired networks, each optimised for efficiency about the movement of different types of data for one general application.

Each has been seen with particular advantages, but are very different from each other. Now, with the shift to wireless, users would like to see this diversity eliminated by design to allow the wireless exchange of data of any type without changes in architecture.

Users want a single network using a single standard to do all data exchange.

Users have seen the opportunity for a single universal standard (ISA100) developed by a worldwide standards committee (ISA SP100) under the accepted international rules for standardisation (ANSI and IEC) as the best way to avoid network diversity. The nature of wireless requires such cooperation, and the users want this to be the model for achieving single universal network architecture for all industrial applications, even future applications not yet conceived. True international standards have a unique lineage to trace their work to a single international source.

■

Factors of interest to the user

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

T E C H N O L O G Y | I N N O VAT I O N S

SMART SOLUTIONS

The KR QUANTE

C nano NL 50-MPI

Innovation: Robot development for compact auto body fabrication Company: Kuka Robotics Technical details: KR QUANTEC series robots are characterised by up to 160 kg less weight and 25% less volume. Reach and payload remain unchanged and the series thus leads the market with the highest power density.

Applicability: The KR QUANTEC nano has been developed in recent years for significantly reducing the “footprint” of bodyshops by increasing the robot density.

Advantages: Minimised number of production cells while maintaining the same cycle time allows increase of the line output due to shorter throughput time.

R2000

116

Innovation: Attachable DIN rail mountable device Company: Hilscher Technical details: The NL 50-MPI of Ethernet capable SIMATIC® MPI/DP/PPI adaptors by the DIN rail mountable device NT 50-MPI accesses to maximum 32 PLCs in parallel are supported.

Applicability: As a real highlight the device allows the Ethernet coupling of Ethernet port less S7-PLCs over their MPI or PROFIBUS interface.

Advantages: The device allows programming, remote maintenance and the connection of visualisations such as WinCC over Ethernet.

Innovation: Multi coil inductive measurement/positioning systems Company: Pepperl+Fuchs Technical details: Based on Pulse Ranging Technology (PRT), the R2000 provides a high sensor performance, immunity and an exceptional functionality. The measuring principle PRT together with the rotating measuring head allows a gapless all-around vision of 360° Applicability: Due to its compact design and 360° vision, the R2000 can be used in a variety of applications. With a high sample rate and scanning frequency of 50 Hz, it is ideal for high-speed applications. This includes traditional markets like logistics, transport, and industrial conveyors. It also includes new applications such as monitoring tasks in building automation, transportation, and many more.

Advantages: The 2D scanner includes gapless all-around vision due to measuring angle 360°; accurate position detection with small and highly precise PRT sensor.

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

I N N O VAT I O N S | T E C H N O L O G Y

ADSP-CM403F MASTER PLUS Innovation: Mixed-signal control processor Company: Analog Devices Technical Details: The ADSP-CM403F integrates dual high precision 16 bit ADCs and an ARM速 Cortex-M4TM processor core with floatingpoint unit operating at frequencies up to 240 MHz and integrating up to 384 KB of SRAM memory.

Applicability: It supports advanced programming models and complex algorithms with speed grades of 100 to 240 MHz. Advantages: The dual 16 bit SAR ADCs with no missing codes, 380 ns converts speed for high precision closed loop control. Advanced PWM and timer functions are for improved PV inverter and motor drive performance.

FULL INOX BASIC

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

Innovation: Optional fuse bypass switch Company: Finder Technical details: The new MASTER PLUS is equipped with a fuse module at the contact side, for a standard 20x5 mm glass fuse. This gives the relay interface a complete modularity along with the pluggable relay which can be mounted over a DIN Rail base/socket.

Applicability: It allows the user to operate the relay even without a fuse module due to the internal electrical link.

Advantages: Switching and protective element integrated into one component with increased functional reliability and resistance against interference and overcurrents. Easy visibility of the fuse condition through the window with a width of 6.2 mm

Innovation: Robust solutions for machine building & automotive manufacturing Company: Contrinex Automation Technical details: The FULL INOX BASIC inductive sensors combine the robustness and long life of the FULL INOX family with the sensor properties of standard technology to offer a cost-effective entry into the world of full-metal sensors.

Applicability: Machine tools impose harsh operating conditions on the sensors needed to control cutting, forming and joining processes that run continuously in many metalworking factories. Common hazards include cutting fluid, cooling sprays, swarf particles and electromagnetic interference, making sensor selection particularly difficult where worldclass performance is essential.

Advantages: It is a cost-optimised solution for the toughest applications; mechanically and chemically extremely robust and high quality ASIC sensor.

117

T E C H N O L O G Y | I N N O VAT I O N S

Opto sensors SK 200E Innovation: Opto sensors working on “Time of flight” principle Company: ifm electronic India Private Limited Application: Opto sensors working on “Time of flight” principle, can make many types of opto sensor principles (diffuse, retro-reflective and through beam) redundant in future.

Advantages: The range of these sensors is up to 2 m. Features include digital display of ‘distance’ sensed in case of O5D and push button setting. The OID has also a very innovative and simple “setting ring” feature. These are largely immune to colour of the object being sensed.

I/O LINK capable sensor and appropriate optical characteristics.

MD-124 series

118

Innovation: Decentralised drive technology with frequency inverters Company: NORD Drivesystems Technical details: The SK 200E series decentralised frequency inverters and the scaling of the series have been structured for economy, in order to cover the specific requirements of a wide range of customers.

Applicability: Customers need to only invest in the technical features that are specifically required. For the SK 200E product series, optional technology units are available, which can be mounted directly on the device or separately on the machine frame or other plant components.

Advantages: The 3-in-one, motor, gearbox, frequency inverter, compactly are packed for intelligent drive requirements. Long cabling and losses are minimised and power saving. No panel is required and it is cost saving

Innovation: Marine display series Company: Moxa India Technical details: The MD-124 series of ECDIS-certified panel displays are specifically designed to meet the unforgiving challenges of maritime computing environments. The 24-inch LCD panel features full HD picture quality and comes with full range dimming, picture-in-a-picture (PIP), optical bonding (Y models only) and wide viewing angles.

Applicability: The MD-124 Series has proven that it is rugged enough for ocean and seaside environments by earning certification in a wide variety of industrial and marine standards that include IEC 60945, DNV, and IACS-E10, proving it a durable, rugged alternative for marine solutions.

Advantages: Independent DC and AC power connectors (24 VDC, 110 to 230 VAC) allow for installation flexibility. Rugged design with IP66-rated front panel and Industrial grade operating temperature is 15°C to 55°C (5 to 131°F).

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

NEWS TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY NEWS Tracking new products Presenting the newest offerings from the world of automation, this feature brings to you the latest technologies, upgrades and innovations in various segments of automation with their applicabilities, advantages and technical information.

Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

127

120

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Mid-range modular PLC

Mobile app for smart selection

■ Delta introduces the AH500

■A

Series, medium-sized PLC with modular design & high expandability, which will assist into high-end mechanical and electrical integration and project applications. AH500 not only features enhanced execution speed and larger memory capacity, but also greater system flexibility and a large selection of modules to satisfy all needs of the customer. It is equipped with a dual-core multi-tasking processor with program capacity up to 256K steps and data register of 64K words. The excellent program execution speed of the AH500 series when coupled with abundant module selections including digital I/O, analogue I/O, temperature, communication,

pulse and DMCNET modules provides applications in almost all the process solutions, machine solutions, system integration’s requirements of mid-range. AH500 is capable to be hooked on to open networks like Device net, Profibus & Ethernet and also on Delta’s owned protocols like Easy link & DMCNET. It also supports hot-swapping that allows users to replace modules without intervening in system operation.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

group of innovative engineers at L&T Electrical & Automation has come up with new mobile app called ProductWhiz that makes it simple, quick and convenient for users to select right products for reliable motor protection. The app helps user in the selection of motor protection equipment for Type-2 coordination as defined

by IEC:60947-4-1 and IS/ IEC:60947-4-1. It replaces the conventional, manufacturerpublished Type-2 selection charts that were circulated to customers, sales and service personnel in a catalogue format.

Its software interface has been designed keeping in mind a large user base. It enables making quick selections and also reduces possibility of

errors. Its ‘Selection on the Go’ feature enables users to make smart and quick selection at the click of a button. The app is truly intuitive. Based on the selection in the previous level the next level choices get modified which makes the software fast, accurate and narrows down the user’s search.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Industrial barcode readers

Heavy duty incremental encoder

■ Cognex

■ Baumer

Corporation has introduced new lighting and optics features for its DataMan 300 series of industrial barcode readers. The series features modular lighting that can be configured and replaced in the field. The eight integrated light banks and external lights can be individually controlled. Since its launch, DataMan 300 has become the preferred barcode reader due to its outstanding read rate performance. The lens supports all popular lens styles without any additional hardware. Lens options include variable focus S-Mount liquid lens; S-Mount in 10, 16 and 25 mm and C-Mount in industry standard sizes. It runs an automatic calibration routine that determines which combination of lights and focal

distance on the liquid lens will provide the best results for each application. The series includes three models: DataMan 300, with a standard resolution of 800x600 pixels; the DataMan 302, with a higher resolution of 1280x1024 pixels and the DataMan 303 with the highest resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

has recently launched its EEx HOG 161, the latest HeavyDuty incremental encoder in explosion-proof design with IECEx certifcation in device category 2 G. The encapsulated, pressure-proof device for enhanced safety is compliant to both ATEX Directive 94/9/EG for potentially explosive atmospheres (II 2 G Ex d e IIC T6 Gb) and IECEx scheme (Ex d e IIC T6 Gb). This way it allows for deployment in any of the 30 countries worldwide that have adopted the IECEx standard. Manufacturers of export-oriented equipment benefit from the international certification. The encoder operates on the optical sensing technique and depending on the product variant provides 250 to 2.500 impulses per turn.

Inner through-hollow shaft diameters from 30 to 70 mm, high bearing load capacity of 650 N radial and 450 N axial ensure maximum service life.

The robust housing protects the encoder against adverse ambient conditions and the large terminal box enabling four different mounting positions considerably ease electrical installation.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

NEWS TECHNOLOGY

Non-contact electronic safety sensors High speed wireless Ethernet solution ■ SCHMERSAL has developed

the AZM 200 with non-contact electronic safety sensors. It is designed for application in safety circuits and is used for monitoring the position of movable safety guards. When the plant is running in ‘set-up mode’, a service technician enters the hazardous area of the plant through a safety guard to adjust the (stationary) laser or parts-feeding robot. The practical advantage of the laser plant is that the service technician can leave the hazardous area at all times, since the door is unlocked.

Simultaneously, it is ensured that no second technician can access the hazardous area. As soon as the door is opened, the laser-machining plant will

■ ProSoft

be immediately switched to a safe state. In this way, all safety requirements are met and the machine builder does not have to install other components such as a separate latch key: this solution simplifies the fitting and reduces the costs. It is intensively used in machine tools construction.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Technology has released the 802.11n Industrial Wireless Access Point/Bridge/ Repeater with Fast Roam Technology.

It is an advanced, high-speed wireless Ethernet solution designed for plantfloor automation, SCADA systems, mobile worker WiFi infrastructure and process control systems. This Hotspot offers a broad range of industrial wireless capabilities including unique features such as fast roaming and has excellent packet-per-second performance and robust communications in demanding industrial environments. It features breakthrough advancements in client/bridge fast roaming

between access points, Ethernet packet optimisation, and enhanced diagnostics.

These new capabilities provide seamless high-speed Ethernet connections for moving machines and vehicles that travel for long distances in assembly plants, crane systems and mining. The secure, high speed wireless network reduces project costs, while improving productivity by eliminating mechanical festooning, rails and slip rings for economical and reliable mobile applications. The radio’s Fast Roaming technology uses less than 50msec time between access points and provides full device bridging.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Pluggable terminal blocks

Output circuit protection replay

■ Connectwell

■ Finder

has released its pluggable series CX2.5B terminal which is DIN rail mounted base terminal block and standard short links with marking tags that can be installed in CX2.5B terminal. Both CX2.5S & CX2.5P are modular terminals and can be stacked together to form multiple plugs & sockets, ideal for harness application.

CX2.5S terminal block can plug into CX2.5B or CX2.5P terminals.

Multiple CX2.5S or CX2.5P terminals can be ordered in a completely assembled configuration. Polarised plugs & socket can be created with the aid of polarising pins with coding element CXPOL. A free floating system can be formed by coupling CX2.5S Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

& CX2.5P terminals. This arrangement can be brought on to the DIN rail using CXDIN mounting feet. The type of connection includes CX2.5B – 1 Spring connection + 1 Plug connection; CX2.5S – 1 Socket connection & CX2.5P – 1 Plug connection. Its terminal pitch is 5 mm. These terminal blocks are an excellent solution for creating wire harnesses which ease field wire connections.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Relays has recently introduced the new Master Plus series that is equipped with a fuse module at the contact side, for a standard 20x5 mm glass fuse. This gives the relay interface a complete modularity along with the pluggable relay which can be mounted over a DIN Rail base/socket. Optional fuse bypass switch allows the user to operate the relay even without a fuse module due to the internal electrical link. This provides an advantage to use the relay and in turn the complete system without affecting the signal continuity, if required.

Condition of the fuse is easily visible through a window. The features of this series include

complete output protection with unique replaceable glass fuse; reliability in wiring and is equally cost and time saving. It offers advantages like pluggable electromechanical or solid state relay, plug-in jumper links (for looping) in red, blue and black colour and protection for leakage current suppression.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

121

122

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Power supply units

CAN repeaters

■ Phoenix Contact has recently

■ HMS

offered power supply units for AC to DC conversion, DC to DC conversion, redundant module and design to fulfil the requirements of various different sectors. Compact power supply units from the QUINT POWER ranges maximises the availability of the system. Even standard circuit breakers can be tripped quickly with the SFB (Selective Fuse Breaking) technology.

Comprehensive diagnostics are provided through constant monitoring of the output voltage and output current.

The preventive function monitoring visualises critical operating state and indicates them to the controller before errors can occur. In order to trip standard circuit breakers

magnetically and quickly, power supply units must be able to supply several times the nominal current for a short period. With SFB technology, which supplies up to six times the nominal current for 12 ms it ensures the reliable tripping of the circuit breakers as a result of the availability of dynamic power reserve.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Industrial Networks has launched a range of CAN repeaters under the IXXAT brand. These products enable coupling of two or more CAN network segments, provide them with galvanic isolation and eliminate the effects of EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).

The CAN repeaters are offered under HMS’s recently acquired IXXAT brand and enable machine builders and system integrators to use extended CAN topologies including tree or star topologies. Furthermore, the integrated galvanic isolation provides a built-in protection against over voltage and the anti-noise circuit of the units eliminates the effects of EMI. IXXAT repeaters are especially designed for use in industrial environments, meeting high

demands for robustness, temperature ranges and safety.

With the use of a repeater, it is possible to build independent electric segments that can be optimally terminated in terms of signals. The repeater substantially increases system reliability, partly because it increases the signal quality and it makes it possible to isolate malfunctions – keeping the remaining CAN-system fully operational.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Flexible compact AC drives

Online colour measurement system

■ Rockwell

■M i c r o - E p s i l o n

Automation has recently designed PowerFlex 520-series of compact AC drives, including the new, economical PowerFlex 523 AC drive, with flexible features that help users be more competitive. Ideal for builders of simple, stand-alone machines, the PowerFlex 523 AC drive balances user needs for control with a design that lowers the cost, to develop and deliver machines. To make configuration easier, machine builders can use a standard USB connection for uploading and downloading drive-configuration files. They can also program the drive through its built-in human interface module (HIM), which displays data on the drive’s LCD with scrolling QuickView text and detailed explanations of

parameters and other codes.

The HIM has multiple language options to address global needs. Unique to the PowerFlex 520-series AC drives, app view and custom view tools help speed up configuration by providing groups of parameters for common applications and by allowing users to save their settings to new parameter groups.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Eltrotec has introduced colorCONTROL ACS 7000 with a ∆E < 0.08. The innovative colorCONTROL ACS 7000 colour measurement system is used where colour sensor measurements are not accurate enough. The measurement system provides a number of operating modes.

The users can employ one of several methods to perform simple measurements between colour distance ∆E and the reference value: ∆E(CMC), ∆E99, ∆E94, ∆EDE2000. The measuring spot is 9 mm with a measurement accuracy of ∆E < 0.08. All modes support measurement speed up to 2 kHz. It can be used for both

production line measurements (inline) and for laboratory or sample measurements (offline).

The measurement system is suitable for automotive paint inspection, interior colour measurements, forensics, foils, injection moulding, wood, veneers, textiles, printing, medical technologies, and coating technology.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

NEWS TECHNOLOGY

Pressure transmitters

Frequency inverters

■ Keller AG has introduced a

■ Nord

complete range of pressure transmitters for use in hazardous areas.

These intrinsically safe transmitters offer measurement ranges between 0.2 bar and 1000 bar, so they can be used for measurements of all types in areas subject to explosion hazards in Group II (Gas), and as per the relevant ATEX directive. Individual types from the product range are also approved for Group I (mining) respectively Group II (dust).

Common features of all Y-line pressure transmitters include a very low temperature error, with correspondingly high measurement accuracy. Thanks to the integrated temperature sensor and an additional digital circuit, the range of envisaged

operating temperatures can be divided into as many as 120 sections with a width of 1.5 K. During factory calibration, a mathematical model is used to calculate individual compensation values for TK zero point and TK amplification for each of these sections; the values are then stored in the transmitter.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Drivesystems has introduced SK 180E which is mounted on asynchronous motors, just like its larger counterparts.

Featuring proven ISD vector control, the SK 180E is more cost-effective than the currently available range of decentralised units. The new inverter focuses on the core requirements of speed control and efficiency.

Featuring two analog inputs and integrated process and PI controller functions, it can autonomously manage simple drive applications. It is suitable both for stand-alone variable frequency drives and for synchronised operation with several units. It can save upto 30 % energy by automatic magnetisation adjustment

under partial load. Providing class C1 radio interference suppression and a discharge current below 16 mA, the SK 180E can be operated in residential and business buildings. For use in mobile pumps, shredders, or mixers, variable frequency drives are available with a conventional mains plug.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Ultrafast automation technology

Connector technology

■ B&R has recently developed

■ The PROFIBUS connector,

the reACTION technology which offers to reduce cycle times in industrial automation down to 1 µs. This new approach allows extremely time-critical subprocesses to be managed using standard hardware – all within the requirements of IEC 61131– while cutting costs by reducing the load on the controller and optimising performance to match demands. The result is an immense increase in performance without added costs. The fastest response times achieved in the field, from receiving the input signal to sending the output signal, have seldom been under 100 µs – until now. With reACTION technology, programs created in the function block editor are executed directly on I/O Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

modules from the X20 and X67 series, eliminating internal data transmission and allowing response times to be reduced to as low as 1 µs. B&R takes advantage of the automation studio for development environment’s ability to allocate software modules to distributed hardware and utilise the surplus capacity of logic components in the modules.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

netLink Proxy from Hilscher converts PROFIBUS slave into a PROFINET device without added installation expenditures. When plugged netLink Proxy directly onto the Profibus device, a PROFIBUS scan function detects the connected slave and automatically determines its configuration. Together with the slave GSD file, the configuration is converted into a standardised GSDML file, which is imported into the PROFINET controller configuration tool, the plug is ready for PROFINET and can be connected directly to Profinet Controller via RJ45 socket provided on netLink Proxy.

It transparently maps the DP unit data. The transformation of acyclic DVP1 services read/

write/alarm is supported as well. It guarantees a fast entry into the PROFINET world to the traditional PROFIBUS device manufacturers. netLINK PROXY integrates a PROFIBUS-DP slave into any superordinate PROFINET network.

As connector the device is plugged directly onto the PROFIBUSDP interface of the DP-Slave and connects to the PROFINET network via the RJ45 socket.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

123

124

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Low cost cables

Touch screen based HMI

■ igus has recently developed

■ FlexiPanels© HMI series from

chainflex M, a range that covers all types of cables from control, motor, servo and measuring system cables to data and bus cables and guarantees reliable low-cost cables. chainflex M stands for a service life guaranteed for one million double strokes. This means, the specialist for moving cables is the first supplier on the market to link low-priced cables with a guaranteed service life in the energy chain. igus can make this reliability promise because their cables and systems are subjected to permanent simulated-reality tests. All cable families in the chainflex M range – whether these are motor, servo or measuring system cables – cost 20-30% less than the

ranges on offer so far. This development includes the optimisation of materials and adaptation of the twisting and shielding methods particularly where mechanical engineering systems are designed for one million parts or cycles and work under normal environmental conditions. For example, it is not always necessary to use products that have undergone cost-intensive approval procedures.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Renu Electronics offer multiple models for monitoring, controlling and connectivity.

It offers advanced features of both the operator Interface and the PLC. While maintaining low cost, offers single programming environment for both of HMI & PLC with reduced programming time. This multi-function unit lowers overall system cost, panel space & wiring, it has on-board support for digital & analog I/Os. High speed pulse outputs control speed and motion up to two axis. Analog Inputs are universal type (RTD, Thermocouple, mA, Volts).

The series is the latest offering from the company with known performance, high reliability and has ‘CE’ & ‘UL’ listings. It finds its applications in various

industries like packaging, machine tools, food, pharma, and textile. Its features include 3” monochrome touch screen with multicolour backlight; HMI with integrated I/Os; digital inputs – bidirectional; digital outputs - OC / relays; high speed counters and timers; support for quadrature inputs and PWM output and universal analog inputs.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Standardisation &automation tool RIO Pocket PLC Series ■ Eplan

Platform has launched version 2.3 that focuses on standardisation and automation, and opens up new opportunities for users when it comes to standard-compliant design and handling safety values.

Simple macro editing and extended search functions for system settings guarantee highly productive engineering for users. Another practical benefit: central administration of phased-out devices and associated test runs to give transparency and safety to existing projects.The latest version 2.3 of the Eplan Platform is characterised by standardised and largely automated engineering across a consistent database.

There is comprehensive

■ Galil

support for new standardcompliant designations based on EN 81346 and the safety values focused VDMA 66413 exchange format. The central administration of phasedout items and a new search function for system settings are additional new features of the CAE software to allow interdisciplinary cooperation and configuration.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Motion Control, a company in motion control technology, has come up with the latest product in their RIO Pocket PLC Series. The new RIO-47300 includes more I/O, screw terminals and two Ethernet ports which allow management of an unlimited number of inputs and outputs without an external Ethernet switch. Digital inputs and outputs on the RIO-47300 are increased from 16 to 24 each for a total of 48 optically isolated digital I/O. The RIO-47300 is an intelligent input and output controller that uses a powerful RISC processor for fast handling of I/O & logic. The RIO allows 400 program lines,

254 variables, 1000 array elements, 6 PID control loops and 5 Ethernet handles. The RIO controller can be programmed using Galil’s easy-to-use, two-letter language which is standard for all of Galil’s motion and I/O controllers. Software is also available for converting a Relay Ladder Logic program (often used by PLC programmers) into code for input into the RIO controller. The RIO-47300 has screw terminals for quick and easy prototyping and measures 10.8” x 4.7” with DIN tray.The RIO receives power from an external supply of 18V – 36V DC. For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

NEWS TECHNOLOGY

Serial-to-fibre converter

AC variable frequency drives

■ Moxa

■ Parker Hannifin India has

has recently introduced the serial-to-fibre converter and the serial-to100BaseFX converter for the repeaters’ serial signals which are likely to get corrupted by the effects of electromagnetic interference. TCF142 serial-to-fibre media converters are designed to extend the transmission distance of serial devices used as components of industrial automation networks. Models are available for both multimode (M-models) and singlemode (S-models) fibre with ST connectors. The optical fibre cables can be up to 2 km for multi-mode models, and up to 20 km for single mode models.

TCF-142 media converters can be configured for either pair connection mode or ring connection mode. On the other hand, for more versatility one should consider the fibre optic models of MOXA’s NPort IA5150 serial device servers.

The NPort IA5150-M-SC takes multi mode fibre, and the NPort IA5150-S-SC takes single mode fibre. Both models have SC-type fibre optic connectors.

The NPort IA5150 device servers are more versatile since they use TCP/IP to transmit data over a 100BaseFX optical fibre connection.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

launched its new series of AC variable frequency drive, the AC10 Micro Drive.

AC10 is a simple, reliable and extremely versatile drive providing economical solution to every-day motor control applications requiring speed or torque control and are available in the power range of 0.2 kW to 15 kW. The typical applications for AC10 include conveyors, centrifuges, fans, mixers, packaging machines and textile machines to name but a few.

Offering extremely compact dimensions and features normally only associated with higher specification drives, AC10 provides an optimised solution for OEM machine builders and process industry

users, seeking a simple costeffective drive without any compromise in performance.

The many functional benefits such as auto-tuning sensorless vector mode, built-in PLC functionality, multiple V/f etc are available as standard which makes the device beyond simple V/Hz motor control.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Rotary modules

Compact process automation controller

■ SCHUNK

■ Siemens

has further developed the modules of the second PowerCube generation, placing greater focus on heavy-duty use in industry.

With the PR 2, PDU 2 and PSM 2 high-performance rotary modules, the competence leader for clamping technology and gripping systems, has expanded its mechatronic program with three especially compact drives with compact performance. All regulating and power electronics have also been fully integrated into the new modules. This saves the need for an external controller, minimises the cabling necessary and reduces susceptibility to errors.

Equipped with standardised plug connections, the modules can be quickly and easily Mar 2014 | A&D India KOMPENDIUM

connected. Control can be provided via Profibus (up to 12 Mbit/s) or CAN-Bus (up to 1 Mbit/s). For commissioning and parameterisation via PC with the motion tool, the modules have a USB device connection.

Addressing is done manually via an easily configurable rotary encoding switch. Initial module movements can be realised manually via a DIP switch. The status of each module can be seen on an LED display.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

has recently launched SIMATIC PCS 7 AS 410 SMART - a compact process automation controller for small to mid-sized standard DCS applications. A new addition to the Siemens SIMATIC controller family, it comes with the same hardware ruggedness and proven quality as that of the powerful AS 410 controller.

This compact, affordable and easy-to-use controller provides repeatability, meaning once a standard solution is designed, the same can be used for several similar applications as well. This feature not only reduces engineering efforts

but also ensures lesser time-tomarket. Designed in Germany for roundthe-clock industrial applications, AS 410 SMART can withstand harsh temperature conditions, vibration/ shock and EMC requirements. It is also equipped with a conformal coating, which is in line with G3 standards, thus making the controller highly robust. With a speed of 450 MHz, this multiprocessor system is equipped with 48 MB memory and can be scaled up to 800 process objects.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

125

126

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Interface solutions

Data carriers ■ Balluff

has presented a new generation of data carriers, up to eight times faster than the standard, with extra-large memory of up to 128 kbytes at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair. These drives work up to eight times as fast as the standard ISO 15693, making them the ideal choice for track-and-trace applications with high data volumes such as those used in assembly lines in the automotive industry.

Built with FRAM technology, the data carriers are maintenance-free, require no external energy supply and

have virtually unlimited read/ write cycles.

Thanks to their high degree of protection (up to IP 68), they offer especially trouble-free communication with a high level of data security, even in difficult environments.

Once the user has decided on a RFID controller the powerful signal processor BIS V is an ideal choice. It not only supports all the features found on new data carriers, but also significantly simplifies hardware and installation for users.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Motion Control has recently released for Gold Maestro Motion Controller Version 1.1.2.0, including a range of powerful new features that make complex motion tasks easier to program and faster to implement.

Elmo’s Gold Maestro (G-MAS) is an advanced, fast, precise, user-friendly and cost-effective distributed networking motion controller that leads the market. The Gold Maestro offers full Delta robot support, including linear, circle, polynomial, table spline and table PVT. Simply define the Delta robot part lengths, and the machine is ready to

II, a universal bridge, gateway, and PC interface solution for the wireless networking of CAN components and systems in a new and improved version.

With three modes provided, the user can now adapt data communications optimally to the specific application in terms of latency, data throughput, and fault tolerance. In SHORTEST_ LATENCY mode, latency times averaging 4 ms can be achieved, while QUICKEST_ CONNECTION mode permits secure data transmission even in CAN systems running at 1 Mbit/sec and 100% bus load.

A typical application for CANblue II is the wireless connection of CAN segments via Bluetooth and wireless system access using a

notebook or handheld service unit. However, areas where an extremely reliable connection is required, such as the networking of rotating or mobile system parts, can also be implemented using CANblue II. Thanks to the use Bluetooth technology, built from the ground up on encrypted transmission mechanisms that are resistant to external interference, CANblue II is perfect for this kind of application.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

Digital high-density input modules

Motion controller ■ Elmo

■ IXXAT has offered CANblue

run. Enhanced error correction support is another new feature of the updated Gold Maestro Motion Controller, enabling position correction of both single and multi-axis positions in real time, based on correction data.

Superimposed management of error correction is fully supported. The Gold Maestro enables Flying VisionTM with Superimposed Motions (that is, adding another profiler on top of an ongoing motion in real time), significantly improving machine throughput.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in

■ Pepperl+Fuchs has

completed its wide range of I/O modules with the half-size, eight-channel digital input modules and offers the most compact remote I/O solution for process automation.

The slim modules save valuable space in switch cabinets, thereby reduce the cost per channel.

The new modules require around 40% less installation space in a complete remote I/O system including com unity coupler and power supply, depending on the signal mix.

This reduced installation space increases flexibility when planning automation solutions using Pepperl+Fuchs remote

I/O systems. The new housings of the digital highdensity input modules are half as wide as those of the previous version, but this is partly due to the compact plug construction. The two plug-in connectors found on the front of the housing each have eight contacts.

In addition, the redesigned housing features status LEDs for each of the eight available channels, enabling quick diagnostics and accelerating both commissioning and maintenance.

For digital edition, visit:

> www.AandD24.in A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

128

HIGHLIGHTS / COMPANY INDEX / IMPRINT

Highlights – A&D India

Imprint

Apr-May 2014 (6th Anniversary)

Publisher / Chief Editor Shekhar Jitkar shekhar.jitkar@publish-industry.net Deputy Editor Sumedha Mahorey sumedha.mahorey@publish-industry.net Sub-editor & Correspondent Srimoyee Lahiri srimoyee.lahiri@publish-industry.net

Chemical & Process

Gears & Motors

Safety & Integration

Change is dramatic in the chemical & process engineering industry. A major factor is the globalisation of industry. The old competitive advantage of inventing and keeping technologies in-house and then using them around the world has become an outdated model. The next issue takes a look at how chemical and process engineering developments have transformed in the present manufacturing landscape and analyses the various innovations and technology developments on-site.

As per recent reports, the global industrial gear motors and drives market is set to grow at a CAGR of 4.98% over the period 20122016. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the growth in the emerging markets. The market has also been witnessing the increased demand for precision geared products. The next edition will thus delve into latest technology developments in industrial motor and its application benefits and the gears section will highlight trends in the application of new age gears manufacturing.

Industrial machinery risk analysis and risk reduction techniques can create a very complex matrix of solutions. Industrial safety integration can help one to make informed decisions that will help keep employees safe. In order to meet the ever-increasing requirement to assess industrial safety, the coming issue details on the various safety & integration technologies & its applications for the manufacturing sector.

Advertising Sales Sagar Tamhane (Regional Head - North & East) Contact: +91 9820692293 sagar.tamhane@publish-industry.net Dhiraj Bhalerao (Regional Head - West & South) Contact: +91 9820211816 dhiraj.bhalerao@publish-industry.net Ankit Garg New Delhi Contact: +91 9999205874 ankit.garg@publish-industry.net Prabhugouda Patil Bengaluru Contact: +91 9980432663 prabhu.patil@publish-industry.net Advertising Sales (Germany) Caroline Häfner (+49 - 89 - 500 383 - 53) Doreen Haugk (+49 - 89 - 500 383 - 27) sales@publish-industry.net Overseas Partner Ringier Trade Media Ltd China, Taiwan & South-East Asia Tel: +852 2369 - 8788 mchhay@ringier.com.hk Design & Layout Sovan Lal Tudu (Senior Designer) sovan.tudu@publish-industry.net

Companies & Organisations in this issue Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page ABB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 26, 110 Action Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Analog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42, 117 ARC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 B&R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 123

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page Essar Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Fieldbus Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Finder Relays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 117,121 Frost & Sullivan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 82 Galil Motion Control ..... Back Inside Cover, 18, 34, 124

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page National Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 National Power Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Nord Drive Systems . . . Cover, 33, 35, 123, 118 Oranada Global. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Parker Hannifin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Balluf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Baumer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Geometric Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Hans Turck GmbH & Co KG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Pepperl + Fuchs . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 38, 116, 126 Phoenix Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Bharat Bijlee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 46 Bison Gear & Engineering Corp . . . . . . . . . . 102

Hart Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Hilscher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 116

Pilz India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Profibus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

CMC Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Cognex Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

HMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Honeywell Process Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Prosoft Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Red Lion Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Connectwell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Contrinex Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 43, 117 Cotmac Electronics Pvt Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 DALSA’s Industrial Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Dastur Business and Technology Consulting. . . . . 84 Delta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Designtech Systems Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Dow India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Elmo Motion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Emergys Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Emerson Process Management . . . . . . . . . . . 14 EnconSys Technologies Pvt Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Engineers India Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Eplan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 18, 26, 124

Hummel Connector Systems . . . . . Back Cover IFM Electronic India . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37, 44, 118 igus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 IIT Mumbai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Inducoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 IXXAT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Keller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Kuka Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 36, 47, 116 L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Lanxess India Pvt Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Maxon Motor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Maxon Precision Motor India . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Micro-Epsilon Messtechnik GmbH & Co KG .... 106, 122 Moxa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118, 125

Reliance Industries Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Renu Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 124 Rockwell Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Schmersal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Schneider Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 90, 92 Schunk Intec India . . . . Front Inside Cover, 125 Siemens PLM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 77 Siemens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Tata Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 62 TÜV SÜD South Asia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Vasundhara ProSys Pvt Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Wonderware Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Yantra Harvest Energy Pvt Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Editorial & Business Office publish-industry India Pvt Ltd 302, Sarosh Bhavan, Dr Ambedkar Road, Camp, Pune 411 001, Maharashtra, India Ph: + 91 - 20 - 6451 5752 Board of Directors Kilian Müller (CEO - Worldwide) Hanno Hardt (Head - Marketing & Business Development) Frank Wiegand (COO - Worldwide) Shekhar Jitkar (Publisher / Chief Editor) Subscription Annual Subscription Price: Rs 600 includes shipping and VAT. AandD.india@publish-industry.net Ph: +91-20-6451 5754 Printing Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd, S.No: 185, Kondapur, R R District, AP 500 133, INDIA Copyright/Reprinting The publishing company holds all publishing and usage rights. The reprinting, duplication and online publication of editorial contributions is only allowed with express written permission from the publishing company.

The publishing company and editorial staff are not liable for any unsolicited manuscripts, photos and illustrations which have been submitted.

Internet http://www.aandd24.in

A&D India KOMPENDIUM | Mar 2014

GALIL MOTION CONTROL ALL THE RIGHT MOVES FOR ULTIMATE PRECISION +DQGOH XOWUD KLJK UHVROXWLRQ V\VWHPV &ORVH WKH ORRS DW D ORZ UDWH RI N+] 3URFHVV FRPPDQGV LQ DV OLWWOH DV V 0LQLPL]H VHWWOLQJ WLPH

Our cost effective standard or custom motion controllers can handle virtually any application.

Select any number of axes and I/O. Choose internal servo or stepper drives for one small package, or connect to external drives. Our products are easy-toprogram, can be up and running in minutes, and are backed by unparalleled technical support.

1.800.377.6329

galil.com