From conception and project planning to standardisation and optimisation measures: In the age of Industry 4.0, the profession of electrical design engineer requires a wide range of skills and tools. From digital planning or even digital production to digital documentation and maintenance, the day-to-day work of electrical engineers has changed faster than the existing tool and equipment landscape. When we talk about digital planning and production today, we are of course not referring to the switch from the drawing board to the PC. But the comparison is apt and is currently taking place again to this extent. On the one hand, existing planning tools are becoming increasingly intelligent, communicative and user-friendly. On the other hand, the demand for process data and the associated intelligence requirements for the switching and control devices used are increasing at the same time.
Schneider Electric is setting new standards early on
In 2007, Schneider Electric launched EcoStruxure™ to set the course for the digital future of its company. The digital EcoStruxure™ tools and architectural landscapes for electrical construction, process, machine and building automation as well as energy management offer a variety of added values. Over the last 15 years, Schneider Electric has continued to work on the EcoStruxure™ landscape, developing interfaces to related software through to interoperable communication. For example, the configurators EcoStruxre Motor Control Configurator and the EcoStruxure™ PLC Configurator offer the possibility of connecting the offer phase and the electrical design phase in the simplest way. In advanced planning, the free ProClima software offers additional security for the electrical designer, enabling a needs-based design of the optimal temperature control measure for balancing the environment and the electronic devices installed in the switchgear, thereby reducing downtime or damage to the installed components right from the planning phase reduced. In the area of documentation for service, maintenance and repairs, Schneider Electric even offers several systems for high scalability. The Digital Look Book tool is used for quick access to the planning documents. When integrating process data and guided maintenance in a virtual environment, EcoStruxure™ Augmented Operator Advisor or the EcoStruxure™ Machine Advisor can be used.
Support with standards
Schneider Electric provides the online platform “Planning Compendium Wiki” for planning energy distribution. Schneider Electric’s collaborative platform is continually updated with new content and tools. Customers even have the opportunity to actively participate in further development, which promotes collaboration between all electrical design experts.
The Energy Distribution Planning Compendium (Wiki) was created for electrical specialists who need to plan safe and energy-efficient electrical installations in accordance with international standards such as IEC 60364 (VDE0100 ff). Since Wiki has the same display on all devices, it can be used anywhere at any time.
Electrical construction is time consuming
In the core area of design and development as well as the creation of hardware and software, electrical construction is integrated into downstream activities in a variety of ways. The following areas are very important for an overview of the extensive field of activity.
- Calculation
- Design/calculation
- Material selection
- Project planning
- Training of employees
- Test runs and commissioning
- Documentation
A large part of this time is the creation of construction documents. The production of circuit diagrams, connection plans, assembly drawings, functional diagrams, installation plans, cable lists and control cabinet drawings as well as workshop plans and instruction lists, but also documentation and maintenance instructions take up almost all of the electricians’ time. In this area, Schneider Electric offers several options to support electrical design with CAE and CAD services and to simplify the product development process. On the one hand, the powerful planning within the CAE tools with SEE Electrical for industrial automation & cable planning from IGE+XAO, which more than 91,000 customers use worldwide, or the integration into existing CAE planning tools such as EPLAN, WSCAD, etc.
Reduce planning effort through standardization
When it comes to special technical solutions at a high level, it often means a lot of planning effort. The electrical designer is often under a lot of time pressure. The solution is prefabricated functional groups with coordinated products. Schneider Electric offers fully coordinated products, especially in the areas of control technology, energy distribution and drive technology, which can be easily combined into a functional group using the planning configurators. An additional relief is the creation of unique configuration IDs for documentation. With such an ID, the individual configuration can be opened at any time on the Schneider Electric website. There is no need to create your own documentation for the functional group. The ID provides direct access to, for example, operating instructions, manuals and data sheets as well as CAE/CAD data. In a time of standardization, special solutions and changes for your own company are time-consuming and generate high costs. We close exactly this gap with our tools and give the designer time to work on other things.
Function groups ensure order in the control cabinet
A control cabinet is a complex connection of various electrical and mechanical components. The combination certainly seems confusing for a loaner. For specialists, however, it is a logical combination of the individual components. Unfortunately, even experienced technicians often lose track as the size or complexity of the control panel increases. It therefore makes sense to divide the switchgear into clear functional groups.
These logical function groups are:
- Feed-in & energy distribution
- Load departures
- Housing & climate control
- Operation & observation
- Power supply
- Control technology
- Security technology
- Measurement and switching technology
Feed
The right solution for feeding with TeSys Vario switch disconnectors or ComPacT compact circuit breakers in combination with the flexible Linergy BZ or Linergy HK busbar systems for international use. Our promise is the best protection with maximum flexibility.
Load departures
The right solution for every load. Compact, safe, easy to assemble and install, capable of communication and energy efficient. No matter whether TeSys motor protection switch with contactor, Altistart soft starter, Altivar frequency converter or motion application with Lexium. It left nothing to be desired.
Housing & climate control
Enclosures play a crucial role in protecting electrical devices and controls. Schneider Electric offers a large selection of housings and the associated configurators, which are coordinated so that the electrical energy distribution in your switchgear can be designed efficiently. By optimally interlinking physical products and software, control cabinets can be optimally planned and operated. This includes, for example, the needs-oriented design of the control cabinet air conditioning via ProClima. No matter whether Spacial housing made of steel, stainless steel or Thalassa plastic as well as the corresponding ClimaSys air conditioning technology, Schneider Electric has the right product for your requirements.
Operation & observation
The Harmony range offers a large selection of human machine interfaces (HMI), pushbuttons, switches and indicator lights for various industrial applications. Innovative and modern operator interfaces can help you stand out in a competitive market.
Spannungsversorgung
Whether you call it power supply or power supply, power supply or power supply, transformer or transformer – with Modicon and Phaseo you get a comprehensive solution for the 5 V DC – 48 V DC or 230 V AC supply of your application: from rectification with screening to Battery backup or electronic backup.
Control technology
Modicon programmable logic controllers and gateways for process automation and machine control are innovative, networkable, flexible, secure and IIoT-capable. The PLC series offer an extensive selection of interfaces and communication protocols for simple, efficient and secure integration into control systems or connectivity with cloud applications and remote maintenance solutions.
Security technology
Safety and health are important customer concerns in all market segments, so it is imperative to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity as well as protect your brand image. More than ever, you need to implement intelligent solutions that make your machines safer. Harmony security solutions can help you with this.
Measuring technology
Measuring and control circuits are an indispensable part of automation. Because it is only through measurement technology and closed control loops that the step from controlled to regulated automation takes place. Energy measurement is an area of increasing importance in measurement technology. The primary goal is to determine key figures such as unit energy costs as part of energy management according to DIN EN ISO 50001 and to monitor and reduce energy consumption in view of rising energy costs, for example the product series iEM3000 and series PowerTag. The continuous monitoring of current, voltage and power also allows the condition and maintenance of the connected equipment to be better assessed and planned and diagnosis and troubleshooting to be made easier and shorter.
Switching technology
A variety of different switching devices are also required in control cabinets. Whether for signal doubling, for simple and silent switching with or without a timer function. The Harmony relay series reliably fulfills all of these functions.
Interpretation of relevant functional groups
Air conditioning
The ProClima software for calculating the optimal thermal configuration for control cabinets processes a series of specific temperature data to propose the correct temperature control measure to balance the environment and the electrical and electronic devices installed in the control cabinet and to prevent design errors.
More and more components in the control cabinet, which are also constantly in operation, increase the power loss, which is reflected in the form of heat. Electronic components in particular react to this with a reduced service life and even failures. Humidity and dew point also have a negative impact on the reliability of the components. The right air conditioning ensures operational safety and increases the availability of the entire system. Planners are therefore well advised to take into account and calculate the heat balance in the control cabinet. ProClima from Schneider Electric offers a simple way to calculate and select thermal components such as heaters, air conditioners or filter fans that can be used in control cabinets for electrical or electronic switching and control systems.
Security technology
Selecting the right safety system is of fundamental importance for machine, system and personal safety. Schneider Electric has been offering safety solutions for many years, which also include the XPS safety relays within the safety switching devices. Schneider Electric offers a universal database (according to VDMA 66413) of the reliability data of all relevant components in the control cabinet and for the machine. The database can easily be loaded into the free software assistant SISTEMA, among others. SISTEMA from the Institute for Occupational Safety offers the opportunity to evaluate the safety of controls within the framework of DIN EN ISO 13849-1.
Digitalized assembly & wiring
When we talk about digital manufacturing, we at Schneider Electric understand the complexity. It is not just about providing high-quality product data. It’s more about product features and software interfaces. Of course, product data also plays a major role, but both software and hardware processing cannot be ignored. Products must have properties that enable fully automated assembly and wiring. The software must be able to transfer this information to production machines. We can offer our customers the full range of digitalization solutions from a single source – regardless of whether it is products or the associated software. Regardless of whether it is a new building or a retrofitting process for the machinery. Thanks to IGE+XIO’s 3D panel, we are able to connect our product data to the downstream digitalized manufacturing processes. In combination with the product features, a well-rounded thing.
Digital twin as a link between planning and operations
A “digital twin” created with the EcoSruxure™ Augmented Operator Advisor or with the EcoStruxure™ Machine Advisor (a data-supported, virtual and as accurate as possible representation of the physical system including documentation) represents an ideal solution approach for maintenance and service in operation. Once created, Completely new approaches to analysis or even preventative maintenance arise. Creating the digital twin at the beginning of planning results in enormous advantages in every project phase.
For example, all data from the manufacturer components used is already available during the quotation phase and can be easily transferred to the respective CAD and CAE programs. Manuals can also be accessed directly for calculations and designs.
Advantages of the digital twin:
- 2D & 3D representation shows the application at an early stage
- Transfer of all relevant planning data during production
- Fast quotation creation
- Errors in planning can be identified and eliminated at an early stage
- Expansion, modernization, maintenance and repairs are significantly faster
Energy measurement in the control cabinet
The requirements of companies for energy monitoring or energy management systems are diverse and the solutions must be designed just as diversely. A key reason to focus on the energy optimization of your company is, in addition to environmental protection and compliance with legal requirements, the reduction of overall operating costs. In addition to increasing energy efficiency, it is also worth looking at system and machine availability. Using real-time energy data or monitoring equipment and system status, critical conditions can be identified early and failures can be avoided through alarms. Instead of a purely preventive maintenance concept, demand-oriented and therefore cost-optimized maintenance can be planned with the help of load trends and event logging. Efficient energy monitoring is increasingly becoming a crucial key factor for the planning and construction of control cabinets.
Schneider Electric offers a perfect solution for energy measurement in the control cabinet. B. with the ultra-compact PowerTag Energy Acti9 Flex energy meters for final circuits of 63 A and feeds up to 2000 A. Thanks to the extremely compact design of the world’s smallest energy meter in accuracy class 1 and the innovative communication and connection concept, the PowerTag Energy Acti9 Flex can be connected directly to the protection device mounted and therefore has no influence on the occupancy of the DIN rail or the size of the control cabinet. All data and alarms are transmitted wirelessly to the EcoStruxure™ Panel Server data logger. Voltage and current are recorded directly at the same point, allowing power and energy measurement according to Class 1 for the circuit being monitored. With PowerTag Energy Acti9 Flex, significant savings on the DIN rail are possible by replacing conventional direct-measuring energy meters: 1 to 2 division units less for AC meters or 4 to 6 division units less for three-phase meters. This means that control cabinets can be made smaller or additional space on the top-hat rail can be used for other components.
Benefits of PowerTag Energy Acti9 Flex:
- Wireless communication in the control cabinet – transmission via radio, up to 40 PowerTag energy meters communicate with the Ethernet gateway Panel Server Universal.
- Energy measurement with accuracy class 1 according to VDE 0413-12 (IEC 61557-12).
- Minimal wiring effort in the control cabinet – reduced wiring effort saves time and costs during installation.
- No additional space is required on the DIN rail – the energy meter can be mounted directly on or under the protection device.
- Fits all makes – PowerTag energy meters are also suitable for modular devices from other manufacturers.
Sustainability
Companies must offer ever more sustainable products and present environmental information transparently. This also applies to control cabinet construction. For example, For example, products with lower environmental impact are preferred and environmental data must be disclosed more and more frequently. Schneider Electric is committed to sustainability and implements this through various measures.
For a pollution-free future
Schneider Electric products meet more than international environmental standards. With Schneider Electric’s Green Premium brand promise, you increase resource efficiency throughout the entire life cycle of your systems. This includes the efficient use of energy sources and natural raw materials as well as minimizing CO2 emissions. Green Premium products guarantee you transparent environmental information about Schneider Electric products, the minimal use of hazardous substances in accordance with regulations (RoHS, REACh), the disclosure of environmental data (e.g. product environmental profiles PEP) or circularity profiles as guidelines for responsible disposal.
Sustainable packaging solutions
When producing the packaging, Schneider Electric uses 100% recycled paper. Compared to producing from fresh fibers, the forest ecosystem is protected. Wastewater pollution as well as water and energy consumption are significantly lower. The colors used protect the environment and are 100% recyclable and biodegradable. In addition, multiple packaging reduces over 50% of the raw materials required and measurably reduces the burden on raw material preparation.
Lifetime
The production of electrical devices produces greenhouse gases that drive climate change. An average of 9.3 million tons of these greenhouse gases could be saved in Germany every year if products were built so that they last longer. The switching devices in the TeSys family have always contributed to reducing greenhouse gases. They have the longest service life at rated current loads of up to 2.3 million switching cycles.
Sustainable products
Thanks to an electronically controlled coil, energy-efficient contactors from the TeSys Deca Green series consume 80% less energy than electromechanical contactors. The battery-free and wireless Harmony XB5R pushbuttons save valuable resources during operation and wiring. The EcoStruxure™ Motor Management Design calculation tool enables the calculation of the expected energy savings and network behavior through frequency converters and Schneider Electric’s energy meters are the central building block for every energy measurement, recording and analysis in accordance with ISO 50001 and DIN EN 16247-1 to set up an operational energy management system .
Conclusion
Schneider Electric offers scalable software and hardware solutions for all areas of electrical engineering. At Schneider Electric you get 99% of the components you need to design your switchgear easily and efficiently. Even on a software basis, every need is covered and structured openly. With many years of experience and market leadership, Schneider Electric is the right partner in technology and sustainability.
Images: Schneider Electric
