September 2021

TECHNOLOGY n 23 www.drivesncontrols.com September 2021 THE SPE Industrial Partner Network is working on M12-size hybrid connectors that will combine SPE (single-pair Ethernet) connections with power connections capable of powering DC servodrives, small three-phase drives and similar loads. It says that the hybrid system – which will be specified in the IEC 63171-7 standard – will offer the low cost and compactness of a single cable and interface. There is already a specification (IEC 63171-6) for a hybrid SPE/power interface in the smaller M8 connector format, which includes contacts capable of handling 8A at 60V DC. The larger, higher-power M12 connector will come in various versions supporting power systems from 60V DC / 50V AC to 630V AC three-phase. The SPE Industrial Partner Network says that the M12 version is the “logical and natural progression” of the M8 hybrid SPE/power interface specified in IEC 63171-6. It is being developed as an independent standard “to give all SPE users the confidence to invest in it”. The M12 interface, the Network points out, is one of the most common formats for field-level automation connections. “To establish SPE as the new physical layer for the IIoT at the field level,” it adds, “the right infrastructure is needed.” The existing M8 connectors offer one SPE contact pair and two power contacts rated at 60V DC / 8A. IEC 63171-6 specifies that power must be transmitted via data contacts using a Power over Data Line (PoDL) technology, which has a maximum capacity of 50W. Another limitation is that the M8 versions only support point-to-point star network topologies. The SPE Industrial Partner Network says that if higher power levels are needed, or if alternative topologies – such as a line or tree structures – are required, then hybrid cabling is needed, with separate pairs of wires for SPE and the power supplies. The M12 versions will include up to five power contacts plus the SPE contact pair, and will provide “fool-proof coding”. They are also said to offer good EMC properties by having separate data and power contacts. The SPE Industrial Partner Network, based in Germany, has almost 50 members and a mission “to promote single-pair Ethernet technology as the basis for rapid and successful growth of the IIoT”. M12 hybrid SPE connectors will be able to power small drives ROCKWELL AUTOMATION has announced a medium-voltage drive which, it claims, delivers industry-leading performance in about half the space. The PowerFlex 6000T drive accepts primary voltages up to 13.8kV and is 2,310–3,010mmwide. It is aimed at new and retrofit applications in IEC markets, especially where space is at a premium. The drive can cut costs by allowing HV feeds from the main distribution line to be connected directly without needing extra step-down transformers or substation equipment. The drive is also said to offer: n faster commissioning by using adaptive control; n energy savings through an economiser mode; and n reduced downtime using predictive maintenance. “Customers will immediately boost their productivity when they migrate to PowerFlex 6000T drives,” says Rockwell’s PowerFlex 6000T product manager, Brad Bugiardini. “The common control platform in the PowerFlex 6000T, from 0–680A, makes it easier to start up and troubleshoot all drives. Plus, TotalForce technology combines high- performance motor control, advanced self-monitoring capabilities, and a digital platform to deliver faster, more precise and responsive drives.” Bosch Research has teamed up with the UK AI (artificial intelligence) specialist Fetch.ai to test a technology that will gather data from multiple machine users to build up a bigger picture of potential failures. The aim is to overcome the problem of relying on data from a single machine where problems do not occur often. The tests will use Cambridge-based Fetch.ai’s“collective learning”network technology and shared data sets to predict potential failures in Bosch machinery, while maintaining the data privacy of the individual machine users. Bosch will use the collective learning technology to reduce the risk of equipment failures by helping multiple users to train a machine-learning model and allowing each of them to vote on whether a model proposed by one of the participants has improved the performance of their local data. Bosch hopes this will help it to understand and adopt machine-learning algorithms relevant to manufacturing using publicly available datasets. “Using machine learning to identify equipment failures is a difficult problem to solve as these events occur very infrequently,” explains Fetch.ai’s chief technology officer, JonathanWard.“The collective learning system enables the different manufacturers that use Bosch’s equipment to share information with each other without sharing the raw data, thereby greatly improving their ability to detect failures, and thus improve the efficiency of their operations.” Bosch and Fetch.ai say that the decentralised nature of using collective learning techniques based on DLT (distributed ledger technology) to gain insights from the machine users’data, without compromising their data security or privacy, will be the first implementation of its kind. https://fetch.ai www.bosch.com/research 13.8kVMV drive takes up ‘half the space’ AI will pool data frommany machine users to improve predictive maintenance The newM12 SPE connectors will be an addition to the existing M8 versions (right) which are limited to carrying 50Wof power Image: Harting