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INDUSTRY 4.0/SMART FACTORIES
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utomation of industrial processes brings with it many benefits, but it also brings new challenges. On the one hand it can save huge amounts of time and effort, particularly in tasks that are
simple and repetitive and, rather than replacing humans, is allowing skilled labour to be deployed more effectively within the plant. Moreover, it can make processes more safe and efficient than ever before. On the other hand, the sheer complexity of modern automation systems can make fault diagnosis difficult. Automation in itself is nothing new. The Ancient Greeks invented many devices that made use of feedback control loops to drive mechanical components without the need for any human input. In the Industrial Revolution, the harnessing of water and steam ushered in a new era of productivity. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of electrification for automated processes and laid the groundwork for computerised control systems. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, otherwise known as “Industry 4.0”, is an era of digitalisation and hyper-connectivity. Internet of Things-enabled devices can now talk to each other, and take executive action based on an almost infinite number of variables, autonomously or semi-autonomously. Around the corner new breakthroughs await. Innovations such as AI and Blockchain promise
HOW TO SIMPLIFY POWER QUALITY TROUBLESHOOTING
much in the new productivity and efficiency gains, but are yet to reach critical mass in their adoption within industry. Crucially, almost every single device across the entire modern factory requires power to at least some extent. No power means no productivity, and on a busy product line, even a brief outage can cost huge amounts in lost production. Ensuring adequate power quality across the entire plant is therefore of vital importance. Automated equipment can be particularly
sensitive to power quality issues, and this is in part due to its sheer complexity. Power quality issues can cause equipment to run erratically, inefficiently, or not at all. Unexpected voltage sags and swells can lead to overheating, component failure, trips, data errors, corrupted software/data, and more.
10 MARCH 2024 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
There are several types of power quality event. These can include:
Voltage dips, swells and interruptions – variations in the supply voltage
Transients – temporary unwanted voltages, which can vary in severity and duration
Unbalance – inequality between phase voltages of a three-phase system
Harmonics – distortion in the current and/or voltage, which causes the waveform to deviate
Most power quality issues can be resolved with relative ease. However, in order to resolve
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