At this year's SPS IPC Drives automation trade fair, Siemens will be supplying answers to the current and future challenges facing manufacturing industry under its trade fair banner "Making Things Right". "Our aim this year is to illustrate to visitors how to improve their production - from design, through engineering and operation to maintenance", explains Heinz Eisenbeiss, Director of the Siemens booth at this year's show. Alongside an array of the latest developments in the fields of automation and drive technology, as well as new industrial software and services, Siemens will also be offering visitors a glimpse into the production worlds of the future: Virtual processes for the development of products and systems are set to become ever more closely integrated with real production, underpinned by the need for greater engineering efficiency and lower energy consumption. "We aim to provide visitors to the booth with a guide to the trends of the moment, and will be taking the opportunity to acquaint them with our leading-edge technology", said Eisenbeiss, going on to explain that the company would also be presenting a number of ground-breaking innovations to help users improve their production in the future.
Drive technology
The high-efficiency, low-voltage Simotics FD motor series has been extended to include converter-optimized models as well as water-cooled motors designed for line operation. The new motor concept in the output range from 200 to 1,600 kW benefits from a smart modular system and an innovative design. Sinamics G120P Cabinet is a new cabinet-mounted converter series tailored specifically to meet the needs of pumps, fans and compressors. The existing Sinamics G120 product series has also been extended to include a drive for outputs of 90 to 200 kW.
New addition to the services portfolio
The new "Energy Analytics" service makes available a scalable, flexible energy data management system to industrial customers in the form of a managed service for the first time. As part of this service offering, Siemens experts provide support to companies aiming to systematically capture and evaluate their energy data to use as a basis for identifying and implementing savings potential. Data-based services on offer range from simple energy reports through detailed analyses to support in fulfilling commonly applied standards such as DIN EN ISO 50001. The services on offer are available in four service packages and have been tailored to meet the needs of companies of varying sizes from different branches of industry. Completed pilot projects indicate scope for energy saving of around five percent.
Automation and industry software
Version 13 of the TIA Portal Engineering Framework has been upgraded to include new functions in a number of areas, including improvements to the diagnostic concept and know-how protection, as well as synchronized collaboration in large-scale project teams. The latest release (V 10.1) of the Comos plant management software features a new Comos database for industry-specific requirements and a functional upgrade of Comos Walkinside for innovative 3D plant visualization. The consistent, bidirectional exchange of information between the Comos software solution and the Simatic PCS 7 process control system has also been further developed.
The Simatic HMI Basic Panels are a new generation of operator devices with diagonal screen sizes ranging from 4 to 12 inches. Designed for simple applications, they come with a high-resolution widescreen display and 64,000 colors. The new controller generation Simatic S7-1500 for medium and high-end automation requirements has been extended to include two new CPUs. In addition, the new firmware release V1.5 is now available for the existing CPUs.
In comparison to the predecessor version, the new Simatic IPC547E 19" industrial rack PC offers 30% higher computing power and triple the graphics performance with a third less power loss. The Industrial Ethernet portfolio has been extended to include new Scalance XM-400 switches. The two basic units and port extender offer up to 24 optical and electrical connections in a single device, permitting flexible configuration of switches for any required application.
A new range of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) solutions for the identification and management of tools used in machine tools will also be featured at the fair. A new addition to the motor management system portfolio will be on show in the form of Simocode pro S, a new entry level model series which combines frequently required protection, control and monitoring functions in a basic unit and an optional multifunction module.
