Years ago all electrical and electronic motor starters were hardwire controlled or hardwired to a PLC. Consequently, motor control systems were large, complicated and very labour intensive to design and construct.
Electronic Soft Start drives have always contained far more status information than could be connected to a PLC or SCADA system using conventional hardwired interfaces. Even if this information had been available as a hardwired interface the cost of collecting this data was considered prohibitive.
Industrial communications networks were only used to transmit data between PLCs or between SCADA systems and PLCs. Indeed standard communications protocols were the property of multinational companies and dedicated to their own product range. It used to be inconceivable that products from more than one supplier could be linked together and communicate with each other.
Over 50 types of industrial communications networks now exist. Some networks are approaching obsolescence, some new emerging standards are based upon existing network types with a new twist. End users historically ran the risk of their equipment being obsolete before its time if a network standard dies out. Many networks remain proprietary, making interfacing other equipment very difficult and expensive. Choosing which network to adopt became a minefield.
However, the marketplace demanded change and open network standards were conceived. New technologies were designed where equipment could be linked together without the need for complicated and labour intensive interconnection wiring. This had the added benefit of reducing the size and ultimately cost of the motor control panels and systems.
Open communication networks permit any supplier to offer communications facilities that can be readily linked to many other devices. In turn the end user is not handcuffed into buying equipment from multinational organisations allowing the user to gain benefits from the very latest and best technologies while still remaining free to choose equipment from the open market.
For many years Softstart Direct have been market leaders in Soft Start technology. However, as the open network technology evolved it was apparent that some of the offerings would eventually fall by the wayside. Supporting a network that would not stand the test of time would ultimately not be to the benefit of Softstart Direct customers and so a “Wait and See” policy was adopted.
Today the market demands a network that will be supported for many years to come, with open access to the communications protocols. Two such networks have emerged as the leading technologies, DeviceNet and PROFIBUS. Now that these leading technologies have matured, Softstart Direct. have launched their own Soft Start DeviceNet and PROFIBUS interface.
Designed as an integral part of the Softdrive 300 units, not an add on module, the new Soft Talk interface provides either DeviceNet or PROFIBUS interfaces. Indeed, the Soft Talk unit can now offer concurrent DeviceNet and PROFIBUS interfaces for clients who wish to go that little bit further.
Being an integral part of the Softdrive 300 and not a gateway unit ensures that data transmitted and received by the Soft Sart unit can be readily translated into understandable status and configuration data. Generic gateway modules force status and configuration data into pre-determined structures, which usually requires a second form of manual translation from a look up table in the manual.
For the owners of Softstart Direct Softdrive 300 units that are not open network equipped but who wish to take advantage of these open networks we also have developed a standalone module that can be fitted along side existing soft start devices to provide either the DeviceNet or PROFIBUS interface.
The definition files for the Softdrive 300 Fieldbus communications drivers are available for download here.
As we developed the communications interface we also recognised that further status information and command outputs may be required by associated equipment. Normally these inputs and outputs would be connected to the network via a further I/O node. We decided that this would over complicate communications network design and hence, incorporate a further 8 digital input and 4 digital outputs into the Softdrive 300 module. These inputs and outputs can be directly monitored / controlled from the Supervisory PLC. This option is available at additional cost.
Many articles have been written on the benefits of open networks. The advantages that all of these articles agree on are:
Reduced hardwiring and less labour intensive construction of motor control panels and systems
Reduced commissioning time as the set-up of these units is more akin to “Plug and Play”
Reduced down time because improved status information can indicate degradation of a driven unit
Faster replacement and re-commissioning of the Soft Start units
Increased status information at minimal additional expense
Simple interfacing to PLCs and SCADA systems
The Soft Start interface can be fitted to any of our Softdrive 300 products. If you wish to know more about this unit please contact our sales office.