Drives & Controls Magazine February 2023

26 n SPS REVIEW February 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com One automation trend that has been gaining traction in recent years is the move towards control systems that use rugged, decentralised, modular components instead of traditional centralised control cabinets. One example is Beckhoff ’s MX-System, launched as a concept in 2021, and now a reality according to managing director, Hans Beckhoff.The company is continuing to expand the system, adding items such as preconfigured cables. It claims that the technology can be used to create control systems in hours rather than days, taking about a fifth of the time needed to construct comparable cabinet- based systems.The technology can also save space, boost productivity and throughput, and reduce the need for maintenance, according to Beckhoff. Another company promoting the cabinet-free approach at SPS was the Israeli-headquartered motion control and servo supplier, STXI Motion . It claims that its decentralised products – which include integrated closed-loop stepper systems, (such as a newNema 17 EtherCat model), and integrated servomotors with 60 or 80mm flanges – offer design flexibility, ease of use and operation, shorter build times and smaller footprints. A third contender is Murrelektronik which describes its Vario-X system as“the first completely decentralised automation platform that brings devices into the field without control cabinets”. Combined with a digital twins, it is said to save time andmoney at all phases of a project – planning, installation, operation and servicing. Vario-X brings sensors and actuators into the control environment and ensures reliable voltage, signal, data management and integration of decentralised servodrives. At the heart of the system are IP65-rated waterproof and dustproof modules including power supplies, controllers, disconnect switches, safety components and I/O connections. They can be assembled side-by-side on a rugged backplane with integratedmechanical mounting. Equipped withmulticore CPUs, the system can be integrated with higher-level industrial Ethernet networks to create an open control platform. Installation and cabling are plug-and-play using M12 and MQ15 connectors, eliminating wiring errors and cutting assembly times as well as laborious cabinet work such as stripping wires, and labelling and grounding components. Stations can be distributed around a machine and connected to each other – for example, adding power supplies to support local servomotors. Remote IO modules can be connected to the system to process and control sensors and actuators without needing a backplane or cabinet I/O. “Vario-X offers 100% decentralised, cabinet-free automation,”says Olaf Prein, head of Murrelektronik’s global automation business.“Our automation platform ensures modular and transparent processes, higher added value in all areas of a company and consequently more competitiveness and profitability inmachine and plant engineering.Thanks to the integrated installation concept alone, Vario-X shortens a machine installation by around 40%.” The associated digital twins can provide 1:1 images of virtual systems containing all of the functions and parameters of the physical system, before a single component has been ordered or assembled. Murrelektronik has created kinematic software which simulates a machine’s movements and processes.The same software is then run to control the real machine.The digital system can be inserted into the manufacturing process using augmented reality (AR) on a mobile phone or tablet, allowing all movements and functions to be viewed virtually while the machine is being assembled or is in operation. “This reduces assembly and commissioning time, because many problems that might only be discovered during assembly do not occur,”Prein explains.The digital twin can also be used by assemblers as a“3D blueprint”– for example, via an AR app or virtual reality glasses.This is oftenmuch faster than understanding a 2D plan. “We are providing the answer to the pressing questions and challenges of production, plant and installation planning in automation technology,” Prein argues.“Vario-X helps to avoid‘silo-driven’ planning and to break up static planning processes.” www.murrelektronik.uk/gb Murrelektronik says its decentralised automation platform can cut machine installation times by 40% Move away from control cabinets gathers pace Configurable safety controller looks like a safety relay Pilz unveiled a configurable safety controller at SPS that is just 22.5mm wide, yet can monitor up to four safety functions – including e-stops, safety gates, light curtains and two-hand controls. The PNOZ m C0 controller implements safety requirements up to PL e or SIL CL 3, and can allow small machines to achieve high productivity. It provides eight safe inputs and four safe semiconductor outputs. Pilz is promoting the new controller as a high- performance, economical system for small machines in applications such as packaging, robotics, or food and beverage installations. The safety circuits are created using the PNOZmulti Configurator software tool, the basic version of which is free. It offers a variety of approved software blocks for monitoring safety functions to PL e/SIL CL 3, which can be used independently of a PLC. The safety circuits can be downloaded to the controller via USB and saved directly, or on a memory card. Functions can be expanded or modified at any time, allowing machines produced in series to be adapted easily to new requirements. If more safety functions are needed later, the software tool can be used to migrate a project. Expansions of plants or machines are possible at any time: modular and expandable base units are available, with sufficient performance for more powerful applications. These devices can connect to all common fieldbus systems, and offer user- friendly diagnostics and Web-based visualisation. www.pilz.com/en-GB Pilz’s configurable safety controller is just 22.5mm wide