FEATURE MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY
Alexander Hornauer, corporate marketing, explains why Hager
selected Murrelektronik’s Cube67 system when building machinery to test the products it manufactures
s a leading specialist in building automation and electrical installations, Hager products are often used by those installing or renewing electrical systems in houses and apartments. The company has production plants on every continent and likes to maintain the highest quality standards, with all products undergoing a meticulous function test to check every single detail – and to carry this out successfully, Hager manufactures its own machinery and systems to test its products. The team responsible for this is based in Obernai, Eastern France. When it comes to choosing the optimum
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installation concept for the automation of testing facilities, the challenge facing the Hager team is that no two test machines are the same. Not only do different products need to be tested for a wide, and ever-changing, range of quality characteristics and functions, but specifications where the test facilities are used around the globe have to be taken into account. Only a few installation areas can be repeated designs. A further challenge is that, while I/O
density is always very high, space is extremely limited. Bringing the machines quickly into circulation is also important, with deadlines for rolling out new products tightly scheduled and binding. In terms of the installation concept, it means that it has to be particularly flexible – and this is why the team in charge at Hager opted for Murrelektronik’s modular, decentralised and compact, Cube67 system.
A flexible solution for building test machinery
THE ADVANTAGES Thanks to the flexibility of Cube67, the company can implement any number of different I/O modules with the system. Depending on requirements, a component with four or eight ports can be integrated into the installation. Although modules with M12 cordsets are
used for some machines, the company frequently selects the compact modules with M8 ports, saving space and allowing several I/Os to be grouped in a tiny area. The modules are mounted next to the sensors and actuators, at the heart of the process – for example, on pneumatic devices or grippers. This means the design engineers can connect sensors and actuators with short cables to reduce wiring effort and save costs. Another benefit is the multifunctional
ports. Engineers can decide whether they want to use each port as an input or output – this turns standard modules into customised modules, making it possible to group both sensors and actuators close to a module. Thanks to this multifunctionality, the number of module versions and the total number of modules required can be reduced, which makes this solution cost, space, and installation-friendly. The Hager engineers can also easily control valves on site with the Cube67 valve cluster connections.
ONE CABLE TECHNOLOGY A further benefit for Hager is that the Murrelektronik Cube67 system modules are connected to the bus nodes using one cable technology. The single cordset transmits both data and energy and runs from one module to the next. It’s easy to design the system as needed since it is based on a star-line topology.
The one cable technology transmits both data and power to supply the sensors and actuators – so there is no need to run two separate cordsets to the modules, a substantial advantage, especially in drag chains where space is often limited. As the Cube67 cable is pre-wired and supplied to Hager in the exact lengths required, there is no need to wire connectors to the cables, meaning Hager saves time and the company can rest assured that potential error sources are excluded because pre-wired cordsets from Murrelektronik are 100% tested during the production process. The company also makes use of Cube67 system’s extensive diagnostics options as the cost effectiveness of its machines also hinges on high availability, and detecting and eliminating errors quickly is essential. Diagnostics mean maintenance personnel on site can easily find the problem, analyse it and take appropriate action to eliminate it. The technicians at the Hager plants are
trained by their colleagues in Obernai. So, if a tougher problem was to arise, the team in Obernai could lend a virtual helping hand over the Internet. The experts at Hager already successfully
switched from PROFIBUS to PROFINET some years ago. Cube67 makes it possible to replace the bus modules, changing the protocol with it and equipping machines for the higher level PROFINET system. The structure after the bus module can remain unchanged. While 80% of the machines and installations are designed for integration in PROFINET systems, 20% of them are designed for Ethernet/IP environments. The same concept applies here – simply replace the bus modules to implement a different protocol and leave existing cabling in place.
Murrelektronik
www.murrelektronik.co.uk
20 APRIL 2019 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Valves can be easily controlled directly on-site via Cube67 valve cluster connections
Hager engineers can decide whether they want to use each port as an input or output – this turns standard modules into customised modules
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