Adding Communication to Power Supply
Published on : Friday 03-03-2023
IIoT-ready power supplies such as WAGOs Pro 2 series offer many distinct competitive advantages for end-users compared to traditional power supply units.
In today’s age, communication is key. It is essential in our relationships, it is vital in our commerce, and it is certainly a cornerstone in enhancing efficiency, safety and profitability in the installation, commissioning and maintenance of the various components that comprise the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Through advances in digitalisation, the plant floor is now connected to enterprise systems enabling increased productivity through an insistence upon uptime and shortened time cycles. The continued development of contemporary business models asserts that devices which support factory automation and its various processes must be fast, smart, scalable and imminently flexible. Networking via standardised fieldbus protocols such as Modbus (RTU and TCP/UDP), EtherNet/IP and more, has solidified Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) as the core brains within these systems, but it is seldom that we think about more peripheral elements as being similarly integral to these communication processes.
In this white paper, WAGO explores the benefits that a communication-enabled power source can have on the overall efficacy of an industrial control system as exemplified through the design and implementation of its innovative Pro 2 Power Supply family of products.
Digitalisation impact on factory automation
When compared to many industries, factory automation with its many related disciplines of assembly line production, material management and packaging, automated warehousing, logistics and sorting systems, is at the forefront of the present digital age. Often the early adopter of cutting edge technology, the industry has consistently led various trends towards the implementation of enhanced connectivity and data analysis. According to some studies, nearly 50% of planned IoT and IIoT investment will be earmarked for the manufacturing, transportation and logistics sectors. It is also theorised that by 2022 nearly 72% of all factory automation companies will feature integrated digitalisation strategies within their industrial control systems and is further noted that as many as 34% of manufacturers have plans to incorporate IoT technologies into their processes, while 32% plan to embed them into their end-products.
In recent years, we have seen the proliferation of digitalisation, Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things concepts continue to grow in importance for today’s savvy industrial engineer.
What this means for suppliers who support those initiatives is that digital connectivity and communications will continue to be key determinants in the design and implementation of automation systems for the foreseeable future.
This emphasis will necessitate that system components be able to communicate effectively in a seamlessly interconnected, deterministic and transparent manner all along the value-added chain. This rings true regardless of whether a machine has been designed to be able to adapt to the constant changes of the digital workplace through ‘smart’ processes, or whether a legacy machine exists that requires special retrofitting considerations to adapt it for modern day communicative needs. In either case, the result is the same – machines talking to other machines for the requisite purpose of integrating predictive maintenance (PM), machine learning (ML) and high-performance operational processes onto the factory floor.
To that end we now turn the discerning gaze of our attention toward the control cabinet and the unsung champion of digital communication: the underappreciated power supply.
Digitalisation, not standardisation
One of the key aspects of effectively utilising digitalisation in a smart factory setting is that control choices can be maintained at the level that makes the most sense for the enterprise. With a large number of fieldbuses available for networking, a systems engineer or integrator has the ability to choose the fieldbus that best serves the unique needs of their individual factory and for their specific end-use application. Ancillary components such as power supplies that can be easily adapted to multiple fieldbuses, i.e., via pluggable modules like WAGO’s Pro 2 communication module, innately offer designers the flexibility to more fully realise their visions than if they were locked into using devices that were capable of supporting only one proprietary fieldbus.
Beyond the initial convenience and inherent flexibility, an interchangeable modular approach also allows for future changes to be actioned seamlessly without having to re-engineer an entire project at additional cost and inventory outlay. With WAGO Pro 2 pluggable communication modules, which are available for standard protocols such as IO-Link, Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP and with IIoT protocols like MQTT and Profinet on the horizon, WAGO brings exciting new capabilities through which users can embrace the coming digital age right now.
On-the-go load management
Aside from the simplicity of collecting and sharing of live and legacy service and operating data, an IIoT-ready power supply with an integrated communication interface can also offer a variety of on-the-fly configuration options. For example, configuration could be adapted to conform to the constantly changing operational needs of a specific application as required by the parameters of the task. Perhaps an output voltage might be adjusted in the event of increased load or automatically switch off the system in the event of repeated overload conditions, which would necessitate a remote restart and reset of the circuit.
It is not only voltage that could be dynamically configured with a smart power supply communication strategy, but also signal outputs could be constructed to send maintenance, error messages or group texts based on a number of user-defined conditions such as DC OK, overcurrent, switch-off, etc.
IIoT means adaptability
A planned, modular approach to end-user decision-making allows for individual power supply units to perform ably within the unique requirements of multiple applications. Intuitive interface software can also enable the rapid modification of configuration and/or parameterisation variables for added adaptability onsite without the need for additional hardware acquisition. For example, a single unit may be customised to optimise output voltages or to change DI/DO signaling by means of connected communication modules that interface to a PLC or IIoT gateway. These connections allow continuous communication which reduces implementation time and effort while enhancing transparency.
Also, data from power supply units (PSUs) might be saved and later analysed to determine energy optimisation needs. Alternatively, perhaps a central PLC could be programmed to switch off select PSUs using a hardware signal or bus command to toggle into using standby mode in order to save on unnecessary energy consumption. Onboard monitoring functions can provide live, real-time data of both the power supply as well as a designated connected load at any time and transmit signal errors as desired.
Performance in action
The overall speed or response time for fault detection/ mitigation in a control network is an essential contributing factor in protecting sensitive electronic equipment from systemic damage. Performance in this regard is to a large extent predicated upon the slowest transmission rate of devices along the communication chain which is designed to reflect the situational impact of single points of failure. As such, physical alarms and warnings may be quite sufficient for many non-essential analog equipment failures – such as a blown light bulb in an office setting. However, for more mission-critical applications where shutting down a production line, for even a small amount of time, can result in substantial deleterious bottom line impact, the high-speed performance of IIoT-ready communication is obviously much preferred. With many of these enabled units, values can be shared, communicated and read in mere milliseconds via already established connection protocols. In this manner, current or voltage values may then be read in real-time. For derating situations, ‘warning thresholds’ can be established and polled at user-defined intervals with actions or corresponding messaging occurring as soon as a specified value is met or exceeded.
Embracing convergence
Because of the continued maturation of the semiconductor industry and subsequent advances in the miniaturisation and enhanced performance of electronic componentry (including space-limiting behaviors as heat dissipation), some manufacturers are beginning to combine cleverly chosen secondary functions into convenient, ‘convergent’ housings. Surge protection, fault detection and built-in electronic circuit breakers (ECBs) are but a few of the growing number of IIoT-ready hybrids, which previously required separate SKU’s, inventory, and panel space. Advancements in combining allied functions into logically-appointed packaging can routinely offer significant space and cost-savings.
When an ECB is further combined with the communication capabilities offered by IIoT-ready power supplies, this can enable highly configurable circuit protection. In the case of WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply units, this means, for example, that the ‘average current consumption’ of the load side of the PSU can be realised, analysed and acted upon using one centralised process. The communication of this data allows the operator the opportunity to actively manipulate, i.e., float, either a warning level or the ECB tripping current to an application-specific set point – such as 10% above an averaged value in order to minimise the perceived risk of unintentional tripping and thus maximising the operating time (and commensurate lifetime) of the machine itself.
Ready for IIoT
IIoT-ready power supplies such as WAGO’s Pro 2 series offer many distinct competitive advantages for end-users compared to traditional power supply units. These advantages can be realised through the integration of devices directly within diverse application environments where they are able to continuously monitor current load status information and act upon that data. This status information, which can then be readily retrieved by the controller at any time – even from remote locations via the internet and web visualisation – eliminates the need to manually check output voltages and allows for real-time maintenance of the device and all connected loads. This further makes the ability to communicate a core component of contemporary, state-of-the-art power supplies.
