Drives & Controls October 2022

55 www.drivesncontrols.com October 2022 NEW PRODUCTS n Rockwell Automation has enhanced its medium-voltage PowerFlex 6000T drives, expanding their output frequencies to 120Hz for high-speed applications such as compressors and pumps. The controls also offer a new option called RealSine that helps to reduce input harmonics. Ranging from 2.4–4.16kV up to 215A, each secondary winding is phase-shifted to achieve 54 or 72 pulses – compared to typical 18- or 24-pulse designs. The new drives are also said to improve total harmonic current distortion on the primary side by up to 30%. This boosts system efficiency, cuts energy costs and reduces power distribution issues. www.rockwellautomation.com Yaskawa has upgraded its Motoman PL palletising robots with features including newly-tuned kinematics and the latest Sigma7 drives.The improvements help to boost stability, and to increase payloads and cycle times.The series comprises six models with a payloads from80–800kg. Media cables for grippers are fed through the base and inside the arm.TheMotoman PL robots work withYaskawa’sYRC1000 controller, which can regenerate energy when themotor is decelerated, cutting energy consumption by up to 30%.The robots can be programmed using an IEC 61131 environment and avoid the need for dedicated robot programmers. www.yaskawa.co.uk NordDrivesystems has expanded its Nordac Pro inverter family to include models with outputs from7.5–11kW and 15–22kW. All fivemodels have multi-protocol Ethernet interfaces that support Profinet, EtherCat, EtherNet/IP and Powerlink.The drives can be parameterised via Bluetooth and can power synchronous or asynchronous motors.There are fewer variants than previous cabinet inverters, cutting the number of versions required. www.nord.com ABB has launched a cyber- security technology designed to simplify and improve protection of industrial infrastructures. The ABB Ability Cyber Security Workplace (CSWP) consolidates ABB and third-party security systems in a simple digital platform. By making cyber- security information more accessible and easier to manage, engineers and operators can identify and remediate issues quickly, reducing their exposure to risks. The system protects assets by making the maintenance of security controls a key part of daily operations and summarising information in a single view. Many existing cyber- security tools are siloed, forcing operators to move from one to another to understand status information, perform maintenance or respond to incidents. Information is also often presented in a way that is too complex for people who are not cyber-security specialists or are not familiar with specific applications. ABB says CSWP overcomes these limitations by allowing remote access by ABB experts when extra support is needed. OT and IT networks are also isolated allowing risk elements to be identified faster, leading to better-informed, data-led decisions. By simplifying the management of cyber-security information, ABB hopes to recruit a new generation of specialists into the industry. ABB www.abb.com/cybersecurity/ workplace RARUK Automation is offering a series of AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) with on-board cobots (collaborative robots). The ER-Flex robots, designed and built by the Danish firm Enabled Robotics, can be used for machine tending, picking and packing, material handling, warehouse automation, sample collection and laboratory automation. The AMRs do not need to run on tracks and can operate in lights-out environments. They are based on MiR 100 or MiR 250 AMRs onto which Universal Robot six-axis collaborative arms in three sizes are mounted. For loads up to 29kg, the ER-Flex 100-5e can run for 17.5 hours a day. The ER-Flex 250-10e can carry up to 186kg and run for 20 hours. The ER-Flex 250 ESD-16e model is designed to handle electronic components. A 360-degree sensing and scanning system ensures safety, while two 3D cameras detect obstacles. There is a choice of end-of-arm tools and accessories including grippers, tool-changers and vision systems. Programming is done via a Web-based drag-and-drop interface, using pre-programmed and customisable commands. The robots can be operated via smart devices or PCs. RARUK Automation 01462 670 044 www.rarukautomation.com/ mobile-robots/er-flex AMRs carry a cobot arms around a plant Eplan has announced the 2023 edition of its Platform which, it says, will accelerate project planning with new cloud-based device management, and multi- standard support for schematic macros. Users can get results faster due to simpler device data management, while raising project quality. A new 3D graphics core, an optimised cable editor and a new Insert Centre also improve performance and transparency. Previously, only one macro could be saved per device. With the new device data management system, up to 20 different schematic macros can be assigned to each device. The software automatically assigns the correct macro after the relevant standard has been selected, which can be transferred to schematics using drag-and-drop. The new Engine Direct3D graphics core is said to speed up processes. 3D rendering is much faster, and actions such as zooming or rotating are smoother. The Platform also simplifies the cabling of control cabinets distributed across a plant in a decentralised way. The new cable editor makes it easier to manage and visualise cables, regardless of the number of wires involved. Symbols, macros and devices can now all be displayed in a more focused way as a table in a dialogue box. The expanded Insert Center provides a better project overview. Users can search for devices even in external or linked documents. A new tagging function also makes navigation easier. Eplan Competence Centre 01709 704 111 www.eplan-software.com/ platform Software platform accelerates project planning Cyber-security system combines tools in a single- view platform