Feature Process automation systems
ICON Systems, based in Houston, Texas, has been building process control sys- tems for nearly 30 years based on the Unit Control concept. Over the years it has thrived in the face of com- petition from distributed control system vendors because it has concen- trated on developing niches where it excels, such as compressor controls, energy management, and boiler control. It has also evolved from a hardware supplier into a complete automation systems company.
The newest version of its control sys- tems is the A/S OPEN-W system, a suite of integrated hardware and software that handles everything from single units to plant wide control systems. Also, in addition to its unit controller concept based on U-200 universal con- trollers, Micon has an operator inter- face based on a Casio PDA and WebStudio Unit Control Solutions. The A/S system allows end users to configure control systems of different sizes, logically segregate them in differ- ent parts of a plant, and connect all the various systems over a data highway (normally a redundant Ethernet media) or via a wide area network.
U-200 Unit Controllers make it easy to distribute control logically through- out a plant. Each controller includes a single or redundant controller module plus a local HMI. The units are self-con- tained and rugged, so they can be installed in the field, near the process being controlled. Each U-200 maintains its own local data base in hardened RAM and Flash memory, and can com- municate with a central controller or HMIs via networks. This gives each dis- tributed unit controller complete autonomy and reliability, while letting it communicate with central PC-based control systems.
Central HMI
Users can install any commercial HMI/SCADA system to serve as the central HMI. This includes software from Wonderware, Iconics, Intellution, Citect, National Instruments, InduSoft, or any other OPC-compatible HMI/SCADA software. The commercial software can access data stored in the U-200 data bases via OPC, change set- points, and perform standard HMI system functions such as monitoring, alarming and process historian. However, the responsibility for control-
Process & Control JULY/AUGUST 2013
Remote response around the clock M
Micon Systems is using Web Studio software from InduSoft to allow operators to access equipment condition information with a wireless handheld HMI unit
ling, maintaining and keeping the data base safe stays with the U-200 units, not on the disk drives of PCs.
Micon also saw a need for a wireless HMI. President Roman Rammler said: “In compressor controls, for example, a wireless HMI is very desirable. Engineers want to be able to respond to equipment conditions and operating information quickly. Carrying an HMI allows them to respond to alarms and diagnostic information at all times.” Micon designed a wireless HMI around a Casio Windows CE 3.0 PDA and tried to find a CE-based HMI soft- ware package that would work. “We tried four different CE software pack- ages,” said Rammler. “They all worked great in the NT version, but we could
An overview of a compressor set-up
not get them to work on the PDA.” Then Micon tried InduSoft's Web Studio HMI/SCADA software - it worked. The wireless HMI uses a series of screens that Micon designed on the WebStudio development system on a PC, and then downloaded to the hand- held unit. Displays are logically catego- rized into Overviews, Graphics, Group displays, Trends/History and Alarms. Each display category has its own menus for navigating around the system using the PDA's Next, Prev, and Go To buttons. A menu bar appears at the top of each screen. The display architecture is flexible and interacts with every application the same way. All windows are consistent and opera- tions have been simplified so that an untrained person can easily navigate among the various displays.
Screen shows compressor status
More functions for control
okogawa has released Centum VP R5.03, which has been enhanced to include a number of new functions. These features include a wide area communication (WAC) router for control via pub- lic communications networks, enhanced batch functions, easy inte- gration with intelligent electric devices, and an eight-loop operation keyboard. Centum VP is part of Yokogawa’s VigilantPlant automation concept.
Y The WAC router enables Centum VP to remotely monitor and
control equipment over a wide area network (WAN) established using public communication lines, satellite links and the like. The router provides the same reliability and security as the Vnet/IP control net- work used with Yokogawa production control systems. The R5.03 batch package is based on ISA-88 and allows greater flexibility when accommodating changes in production procedures. This means the control system is suitable for companies that employ complex batch production processes. This version of Centum VP supports IEC 61850. Its keyboard has sets of dedicated function keys for adjusting eight control loops. For graphic, alarm and trending operations there are dedicated control keys. Yokogawa
www.yokogawa.com/eu Enter 226
Clear, easy-to-read graphics Although the PDA screen is small, it can produce clear and easy to read graphics. And while the small screen cannot hold as much information as a large PC, the WebStudio software allows the PDA to perform virtually every function that an operator at a PC can do. Also, WebStudio can send data in XML format over the network, making it much easier to interface to other software and enterprise packages. "We did not have any trouble making
the Web Studio software work,” said Rammler, "and we had excellent sup- port from InduSoft's technical staff." Rammler says that in the first few months after they got the distributed HMI with remote condition monitoring capability working, they received sev- eral system orders. "We showed the new concept of Unit Control and the wireless HMI to potential customers, and they loved it," he said. InduSoft’s products are distributed and supported in the UK and Ireland by AdProSys.
AdProSys
www.AdProSys.com
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