Feature PLCs & Industrial PCs Ten years and counting
The practical hands-on content of the skills courses provided by Technical Training Solutions has always been extremely popular. A key aspect of the training courses offered by the com- pany is the small class sizes, and lots of industrial equip- ment to play with. Whether it’s electrical, mechanical or instrumentation, the approach is the same - best practice taught by industrial experts in a safe and friendly environment. Whilst Technical Training Solutions has concentrated its engineering skills training in
the UK, the secret of its success has been its global reach. Since 2008 the company has provided training in mainland Europe, Monserrat, Mauritius, Gibraltar and Nigeria. This is in addition to the numerous candidates that have travelled across the world to attend courses at Technical Training’s headquar- ters in Rochester, Kent. At the end of September 2013 the company celebrated its tenth year as an independent company. “We are only able to do what we do the way we do it because of our staff,” explained managing director David Larner. He added, “Finding the right people to teach highly technical subjects in a plain and simple manor is really dif- ficult. We tend to rule out col- lege lecturers in favour of engineers from industry with experience because what they know cannot usually be found in a text book.” Technical Training Solutions
www.technicaltrainingsolutions.co.uk T: 01634 731 470
Enter 232
Technical Training Solutions Providing Practical Engineering Skills
Training For Industry
www.technicaltrainingsolutions.co.uk Contact us for your copy of our latest brochure
Contact us for your copy of our latest brochure T: 01634 731470
E:
tech.training@
zen.co.uk E:
tech.training@
zen.co.uk
www.technicaltrainingsolutions.co.uk MECHANICAL
ELECTRICAL
INSTRUMENTATION Enter 103
Simplified control in extreme environments
cial seals, HVAC, shock absorbers, EMC pro- tection, etc.
The embedded protection features ensure that AC500-XC PLC-based control systems stay functional and reliable even when oper- ating in hostile environments. Such condi- tions can be found in many common automation applications including mines, tunnels, vessels, cranes, water and waste- water plants, offshore platforms, wind tur- bines, solar trackers and weather and navigation stations.
The AC500-XC PLC is a version of ABB’s modular AC500 PLC. Almost all of the mod- ules in the AC500 range are available in XC (eXtreme Conditions) versions, providing users with a modular control platform offering flexibility and scalability.
ABB has introduced its ‘extreme conditions’ AC500-XC PLC which is protected against a wide variety of threats including high and low temperatures, high humidity, low air pressure, salt mist and hazardous gases, and vibration and shock. This typically reduces system building costs by eliminating the need for sophisticated protective enclosures with spe-
S8
AC500-XC PLCs also run exactly the same program code as the AC500, allowing users to migrate to more robust solutions easily, and simplifying development for large systems that require control systems for both standard and extreme conditions. This inter-range com- patibility also extends to ABB’s safety PLC, the AC500-S-XC. The mechanical dimensions and electrical specifications of connections are also the same as the standard AC500, allowing existing panel layouts and wiring harnesses or designs to be re-used. Embedded environmental protection opens
up extensive applications potential for the ABB AC500-XC. Extended temperature opera- tion allows the PLCs to operate in tempera- tures from -30 to 70°C, with reliable system start-ups in temperatures as low as -40°C. Circuit boards are coated to protect against high humidity levels and the PLC has extended immunity against salt mist and atmospheres with corrosive gases such as H2S, SO2, CL2 and NO2. High levels of vibra- tion and shock can be tolerated, with accelera- tions up to 4g from random vibrations up to 500Hz, or 2g from sinusoidal vibration. The PLC is capable of operating at altitudes up to 4,000m. It also offers extended EMC protec- tion against voltage surges and fast transients, as well as electrostatic discharge. The protection adds a modest margin to the cost of the PLC, but in return it can simplify control system design, often allowing ABB’s AC500-XC PLCs to be installed directly in the operating environment without any special enclosures or environmental protection. The savings from this implementation approach can be substantial. They include reduced design time, a smaller system bill of materials, reduced cabling, lower energy consumption from the elimination of the need for cooling or heating, and reduced lifecycle maintenance, filters and repair costs. ABB
www.abb.com T: 01925 741 111 Enter 229
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 PLCs & Industrial PCs
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56