Decentral Solutions
The decentral
concept
stations to connect sensors to the fieldbus and
reduce direct costs even more.
Fewer cabinets, cooling and cabletrays
Further savings will result from smaller cabinets, less
cabinet cooling and fewer cable trays. Motor controls
generate heat and are often mounted side by side
due to limited space, as illustrated in Figure 6. Forced
cooling is therefore required to remove the heat.
Less Commissioning
Time spent commissioning at the end-user is
significantly reduced using decentralized solutions -
especially when fieldbus communication is combined
with decentralized motor controls.
Decentralized brewery installation
An Australian brewery has installed a line of 96
decentralized drives from Danfoss connected by
DeviceNet. An excessive amount of time was saved
as the commissioning of the variable speed drives
was done in a few days. The brewery estimates
a saving exceeding AUD 100,000 compared to
traditional centralized installation.
■
Design savings
End users want to postpone the final decision for new
equipment - and to start production as fast as possible
once a decision has been made. Payback time and
time to market must be reduced. This squeezes both
the design phase and the commissioning phase.
Modularization can minimize lead-time. Even
manufacturers of large production equipment
or lines use modularization to reduce lead-time.
Up to 40-50 % on the total time from design to
running production can be saved.
The concept of modularization is known from
equipment like PC
’
s and cars. Modules with
well-described functionalities and interfaces are
used in these products. The same concept can
be applied to manufacturing, even though specific
physical constraints play a role.
Production equipment is often built from different basic
building blocks, each kind employed at several places
in the installation. Examples include various types of
conveyor sections and machinery like mixers, scales,
fillers, labellers, palletizers, packaging machines etc.
Centralized cabinet
In a truly modular machine, all basic elements are
self-confined and need nothing but electricity, water,
compressed air or similar to function.
Modularization therefore requires the distribution of
intelligence to the individual sections and modules.
Sure, centralized installations can be modularized,
but then motor controls will be physically separated
from the rest of the module.
■
Ready-installed intelligence
The function of machinery and applications is typically
tested at the suppliers. Machines are built, tested,
calibrated and taken apart for transportation.
The process of rebuilding the application at the
production site is considerably simplified by shipping
MG.90.F2.22 - VLT is a registered Danfoss trademark
9
