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Electrical & Control Panels Portal

Application Stories

		The power to conduct safe inspections - 05/13/12 Factory Equipment, April 2012 Infrared windows were installed at an unnamed power plant for safer, standards-compliant inspections and reduce hazard liability and maintenance costs. This enabled switchgear, motor control centre and transformers to be classified in NFPA terms as ‘enclosed,’ thereby reducing risk.

		Rockwell Automation controls Kingston wastewater treatment plant - 03/20/12 PACs and MCCs from Rockwell Automation helped standardize plant-wide control and contributed to UK completing the project under budget and six months ahead of schedule.

		Ale now Produced by Stroud Brewery in Larger Quantities - 03/10/12 Process & Control Today, February 2012 Burkert UK installed a flow, temperature and level control system including the sensors, valves and control panel required to manage the new micro brewery installation at Stroud Brewery.

		ABB improves production process for Podilsky Cement - 03/04/12 ABB supplied switchgear, motor control centers, variable speed drives, instrumentation, gas analyzers, collaborative production management systems, and an 800xA automation system.

		Modules and Connectors Cut Construction Costs - 02/27/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Phoenix Contact Power and signal connectors from Phoenix Contact mounted on Turbine Air Systems’ Turbine Inlet Chilling modules cut on-site installation time and costs.


		Eaton monitors its UPSes remotely using Netbiter - 01/26/12 Through the HMS Netbiter Argos web interface, Eaton and its customers have web-based access to all UPS parameters.

		ABB controls world’s newest copper mine - 01/24/12 ABB supplied gearless mill drives, process and electrical control systems, power quality systems, a substation and a System 800xA integrated operations center.

		Sensors and joysticks specified for UK-built multi-function trailer - 12/27/11 Automation, November 2011 Penny + Giles is supplying its contactless rotary position sensors and advanced joystick controllers to help control the latest Transtacker trailer from Big Bale Company South.

		COOPER Crouse-Hinds supplies connectors for Oil Platform - 12/21/11 CCH supplied 240 explosion-protected eXLink connectors to Weatherford Production Optimisation for use on two wellhead control panels for the West Chirag Oil Platform.

		Eaton Stops a Nuisance and Saves Money For HG Timber - 12/18/11 Process and Control Today, December 2011 Nuisance tripping of its main incoming circuit breaker, a major problem for HG Timber, a UK manufacturer of timber pallets and warehouse decking, has been eliminated following a free on-site power factor correction survey carried out by Eaton’s Electrical Sector.

		Innovative projectors suit control room projects - 10/15/11 Control Engineering Europe, October 2011 Global Control Center Design, a Norwegian systems integrator, has installed Projectiondesign FR12 Remote Light Source projectors on the Statfjord C oil platform as part of an offshore control room monitoring project.

		ABB controls cement production plant - 08/04/11 ABB delivered a complete power and automation solution for a new cement facility built by Drake Cement in Arizona.

		GE controls power at eBay’s Topaz Data Center - 07/18/11 The Quad PAC controlled switchgear was designed with a voting scheme where triple inputs are sent to the PLC system. The best of the three dictates the state of the device.

		Northwire Cable bails out casino's underwater entertainment - 05/24/11 At no cost, Northwire engineered several designs, tested and developed, and rapidly prototyped custom cable solutions in five days—enabling the multimillion dollar production to resume.

		EKM doubles output of board testing - 05/19/11 With the installation of a vacuum fixture, EKM Elektronik went from testing 30 boards in 8 hours to testing 70 boards in 8 hours.

		Siemens installs 72 drives at world's largest LNG plant - 05/12/11 In addition to 72 ROBICON Perfect Harmony Variable Frequency Drives, Siemens installed 72 VFD control houses and four 33KV switchgear.

		Gear Manufacturer Finds Savings - 03/26/11 Automation World, March 2011 Forest City Gear in Roscoe, Ill. Installed a bank of power conditioners to service the electrical requirements of its machines, and saved 20 percent on the electric bill.

		Why integrate control and safety? - 03/24/11 Control Engineering Europe, March 2011 Spanish energy utility company, Endesa, made the decision to implement an integrated control and safety system at its Teruel Power Station to allow it to standardise on a single platform which would address issues of support and maintenance as well as enabling the company to meet the requirements of the Spanish electricity transmission grid.

		Petroplus refines its technology with retrofit from Schneider Electric - 03/24/11 HazardEx, March 2011 Coryton Refinery needed to replace a number of devices that had become obsolete due to changing demands and natural deterioration through age. Schneider Electric’s retrofit division specified nine 3200A 3 pole Masterpact NW circuit breakers to supersede the nine obsolete 3200A 3 pole DA LV circuit breakers.

		Audi Plant Claims Technological Lead with PROFINET - 02/14/11 Thanks to a large-scale PROFINET network the new Audi A1 manufacturing line at Brussels in Belgium is the newest and most modern Audi plant in Europe.

		Exelon Enjoys Benefits of Online Transformer Monitoring - 01/22/11 Power, January 2011 By Ishmael Rivera Exelon Corp. of Chicago, IL, uses a Serveron Model TM8 online monitor from BPL Global to look for the presence of eight specific gases: hydrogen, oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ethylene, ethane, and acetylene in transformer oil.

		Upgrade at Everaz Highveld Steel - 01/09/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2011 Control Techniques upgraded M/C4, a continuous casting machine at Evraz Highveld Steel in Mpumalanga, South Africa. All of the switchgear had become obsolete causing major maintenance problems. The decision was taken to switch to AC control and a Modicon PLC.

		Cutting Out Copper Theft - 12/20/10 Transmission & Distribution, December 2010 By Peter Tyschenko, et al, ComEd ComEd, a utility serving about 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, knew it had a problem with copper theft when stolen wire and cable became regular occurrences. Here’s what it did to solve the problem.

		The Role of Simulator Technology in Operator Training Programs - 12/12/10 Control Engineering, November 2010 By Al Roe and John Mason, Agrium Agrium, operator of several ammonia plants in North America, has been using operator simulators for training since 1983. They find that simulators are a best practice for training control room panel operators on abnormal situations and other “real world” plant scenarios.

		Monitoring a Water Plant In Real-time - 11/21/10 Automation World, November 2010 By Rob Spiegel The Sheboygan Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, in Sheboygan, WI, replaced their bi-metallic overload relays with Motor Insight overload and monitoring relays from Eaton. They detected conditions that might have resulted in motor or pump failure and energy waste

		Plug-in connectors cut maintenance costs at wastewater treatment plant - 11/04/10 Explosion-proof plug-in connectors from Cooper Crouse-Hinds are helping to minimise maintenance time and costs at the Dokhaven waste water treatment plant in Rotterdam.

		Connectors ensure safe operation of waste water treatment plant - 10/19/10 HazardEx, September 2010 Explosion-proof plug-in connectors from Cooper Crouse-Hinds to minimise maintenance at the Dokhaven waste water treatment plant in Rotterdam. The eXLink connectors ensure that the site’s 12 gas detectors are fully operational at all times, ensuring the safety of the plant, employees and the surrounding environment.

		When Increasing The PM Period Improves Reliability - 09/24/10 Maintenance Technology, September 2010 By Randall Noon, Cooper Nuclear Station In some quarters, if an equipment item fails too often, a frequently chosen first solution is to shorten its preventive maintenance (PM) period. This stock solution, however, is not always the best solution: It may actually worsen the item's reliability, and the degraded condition may not be noticed for years. Here’s an example

		To Hell and Back - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 By Jon DiPietro The control room at Goulburn Valley Water in Australia was completely incinerated, destroying the electrical switchgear, plant HMI, laboratory, instrumentation and chemical dosing systems. They rebuilt it in five days.

		ITT connectors help power geothermal well - 06/14/10 Connectors supply electrical power to the electric submersible pump in the 4,400 ft. deep well, which delivers hot water from the underground formation to the resort.

		Quarry upgraded whilst fully operational - 05/15/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2010 Laezonia Quarry in South Africa installed new electrical and instrumentation cable racking, cables, local isolator panels, safety instrumentation, pull ropes etc, without impacting on production and with both plants in operation.

		Speed and Performance Inside and Outside the Control Panel - 04/25/10 By Dennis Tafoya, Weidmuller Emerson needed a circuit breaker that needed to respond very quickly to overloads or short circuit conditions to protect field devices such as solenoid valves and chromatographs, and it had to be approved for use in hazardous locations.

		Madrid: A Modern City with a Modern Grid - 04/23/10 Transmission & Distribution, April 2010 By Josu Orella Sáenz and Mikel Barriocanal Larrea, Iberdrola Engineering & Construction Iberdrola, one of Spain's major utilities, embarked on a massive project to move the city of Madrid's existing high-voltage and medium-voltage overhead lines underground and to redesign the electricity transmission system and distribution network.

		X-ray Vision Reveals Splice Condition - 04/23/10 Transmission & Distribution, March 2010 By Jay M. Horsley and Gregory Starks, Georgia Transmission GTC employs high-tech x-ray equipment to evaluate the integrity of compression splices and deadend fittings on new transmission projects.

		Rexroth Controls Meat Packaging Machine By Rexroth CP Packaging’s VisionPak uses an integrated Rexroth electric drive and control, pneumatics and linear motion platform for an ultra-sanitary and precise deli meat packaging machine.

		Rexroth Shrinks Control Panel on Cartoner By Rexroth Rexroth integrated motor/drive, controls and pneumatic valves helped Z Automation design a horizontal continuous motion cartoner with 50% less control panel space.

		Opto 22 controls water in Leadville By Opto 22 The Bureau of Reclamation installed Opto 22 SNAP PACs and I/O to replace older Opto 22 Mistic controllers in a water treatment system to cleans up water from mines near Leadville, Colorado.

		Opto 22 upgrades furnace control system By Opto 22 Older Opto 22 controllers on a furnace control system at Advanced Energy were upgraded by Malisko Engineering to SNAP I/O and controllers.

		MCI Electrotechnics employs explosion-proof enclosures - 03/29/10 MCI Electrotechnics uses explosion-proof enclosures from Cooper Crouse-Hinds to protect a variety of electrical equipment destined for offshore and onshore oil, gas and petrochemical applications.

		HMC Products uses Grace Thru-Door Ethernet Switch - 03/16/10 The E5 is mounted on the outside of the Pouchmaster packaging machine, thereby enhancing compliance to NFPA 70E.

		Hand In Hand: Integrating Electrical & Automation Systems - 02/25/10 Industrial Automation Asia, December 2009 By Peter Tubaas and Martin Stamnestro, ABB At the StatoilHydro Snøhvit liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, the electrical control and supervision System (ECSS) communicates with a wide range of equipment and ensures a stable power supply to the LNG facility.

		ABB helps protect Avatar movie data - 02/23/10 ABB protects the supercomputer center of New Zealand digital effects company Weta Digital – makers of Avatar and other blockbuster movies – from power grid disturbances.

		Wind power control systems go to (temperature) extremes - 02/16/10 Control Engineering, February 2010 By Renee Robbins High-temperature uninterruptible power supply helps Danish control system designers handle Mongolian temperatures up to 55 ºC (131 ºF).

		Panel Build Technology Sets Pace - 12/15/09 Control Design, December 2009 By Mark McCartney, Stacon Stacon builds custom control solutions and predesigned configurable pump panels. They switched to Siemens motor starters, a Web server and an integrated HMI/PLC—all configured for serial Modbus and Modbus TCP Ethernet.

		Machine Builder Saves With AS-interface - 11/17/09 Automation World, November 2009 Automacad Concrete in Canada builds concrete splitters that once had more than 300 wires connected from the skid to the main control panel, leading to wire bundles that were cumbersome and unsightly. The wire bundle was replaced with AS-Interface from ifm efector.

		ATEX centrifugal fans for sub-zero temperatures - 11/11/09 HazardEX, October 2009 The centrifugal fans supplied to GBA Flare Systems for its Air Assisted Process Flare on Statoil’s Snorvit LNG Project on Melkoy Island, Hammerfest, Norway had not only to meet ATEX standards but temperatures down to -35C.

		Northwest Iowa Power uses remote graphics to monitor power grid - 10/14/09 Matrox remote graphics extension technology solves system interference and USB connectivity issues related to legacy KVM solutions.

		Wiring manufacturer plugs into benefits of Clare analyser - 10/10/09 Process & Control Today, September 2009 Apex Wiring Solutions, a manufacturer of prefabricated electrical connector and cable assemblies, is using the Clare Horizon high voltage wiring analyser to improve the electrical safety testing of its units during the production process.

		HARTING connects U2's giant 360° LED screen - 09/29/09 HARTING provided connections for the world's first transformable 360° LED screen used on the latest concert tour for the rock band U2.

		Novel Approach Enhances Control System Upgrade - 09/20/09 Chemical Processing, September 2009 By Ryan M. Iannucci, Eli Lilly Eli Lilly’s plant in Indianapolis upgraded an obsolete Measurex DCS to an Emerson DeltaV. Measures to mock-up wiring and limit project scope as well as operational improvements provided significant benefits.

		After the Explosion... - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Jim McConahay, Moore Industries Imperial Valley Resource Recovery suffered a major electrical explosion that destroyed the connection to the grid and adjacent control room electronics. It was all replaced with Ethernet-based Modbus RTU communications and controls from Moore Industries

		TechLine uses TURCK components in cable tray system - 09/10/09 Snap Track aluminum cable tray system uses TURCK instrumentation tray cable (ITC), cordsets and quick disconnect junction boxes.

		Clean Power - 08/20/09 Automation World, August 2009 By James R. Koelsch The General Mills cereal plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, uses SoftSwitching’s DySC Dynamic Voltage Sag Corrector to borrow power from unaffected phases to boost voltage in the affected one and eliminate problems from voltage sags.

		UPS protection for oil and gas platform off the South African coast - 07/16/09 Oil & Gas Engineering News, July 2009 British company Carter Sullivan built a UPS to ensure that on-board gas detection sensors and safety systems remain operational during power outages. The company designed and manufactured an IP54 rated enclosure complete with in-built temperature controlled cooling systems.

		Fiberoptic Networking Powers Up Plant - 07/14/09 Industrial Networking, July 2009 Black Hills Power and Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power use fiberoptic cabling and remote control I/O cards in field devices and expect to eliminate 54,000 ft. of hardwiring.

		Cable carriers minimise downtime costs - 07/09/09 Process & Control Today, June 2009 GÜDEL Inc. uses reinforced plastic cable carriers from igus to minimise downtime across its range of automated systems—from multi-axis robots and press-transfer systems, to factory-automation equipment and gantry robots. The cable carriers guide and protect moving cables and hoses.

		Explosion-proof enclosures simplify maintenance of fire and gas detection systems - 06/16/09 HazardEX, May 2009 PDC Systems, a supplier of hazardous area electrical instrumentation, is using explosion-proof enclosures from Cooper Crouse-Hinds to protect fire and gas monitoring and control systems that it supplies to a wide range of hazardous gas applications.

		Inverters accused of overeating IP65 enclosure saves the day - 06/16/09 Process & Control Today, May 2009 Continued problems of inverter failure were plaguing a biscuit factory in Yorkshire with lost production time. The inverters were suffering from ingress of dust. Failures were a result of overheating or, as one termed it, the inverters were “overeating” the biscuit dust.

		Automated water treatment plants South African Instrumentation & Control, April 2009 Three plants in Egypt each have approximately 1200 I/O points. The process and system control uses Beckhoff PLCs, Profibus, PCs, control panels and soft PID controllers.

		Cable carriers replace festoons on automated storage and retrieval systems - 03/29/09 Weldon’s automated systems are used in bakeries to facilitate pan storage and retrieval. Cable carrier systems eliminate space and clearance issues and reduced installation time and maintenance requirements.

		Sprint Electric helps refurbish the Royal Danish Theatre - 03/11/09 Sprint Electric supplied DC drives for a new stage control system at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

		Caverns deep in Electric Mountain protected HazardEx, January 2009 Dinorwig hydro electric power station, hidden deep inside Elidir mountain in Wales, installed Kentec Syncro analogue addressable control panels for the upgrading of its fire detection system.

		Westermo Ethernet extenders help keep gas going in Amsterdam - 02/11/09 Alliander installed 6 DDW-221s and 280 DDW-100s to upgrade Amsterdam's gas and energy distribution network.

		IT sees light Plant Services, January 2009 New Millennium decided to renovate and expand its voice and data network. That included laying fiber-optic cable to connect five manufacturing buildings with the main office facility. Fiber-optic connections among buildings set the stage for high-speed information transfer to and from production machines.

		Robots help bring jobs back from overseas Process & Control Today, December 2008 A complete Denso robotic production cell solution with presses and an injection molding machine has delivered such dramatic quality improvement for Autosplice Brittanic Limited that the manufacturer has been able to create new jobs. Work previously carried out overseas has been brought back to the UK.

		Straight to the point InTech, December 2008 By Jody Damron and Laura Somak, Salt River Project The Power Generation Instrument & Control Application is saving time and money for Salt River Project. It includes a shared integration of the Instrument Index, DCS, Circuit and Raceway Schedules, Line Book, document management system, and asset management software.

		Wellman Automation uses Rittal busbars Process and Control Today, November 2008 Supplying control panels to many industries, Wellman Automation required a busbar system that was readily available, fully flexible and offered a wide range of current ratings and accessories. Wellman selected Rittal.

		WDDM development expands power and hydraulic systems World Oil, November 2008 By Mamdouh Farouk and Mohamed Gaber, Burullus Gas Co The West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) offshore field wanted to add seven wells, but ran into a problem with power to the control system, communications and hydraulics. Here’s the analysis they made of hydraulic supplies, electrical power supplies, communications, electrical, satellite (VSAT) link, umbilical configuration and additional qualification requirements.

		Air vacuum pumps cope with cable contaminents Process & Control Today, November 2008 Thorite solved a sticky production problem for B3 Cable Solutions of Blackley in Lancashire. B3 needed new vacuum pumps to replace 8 reliable but obsolete piston vacuum pumps, used in a cable lamination process, but most pumps clogged. PIAB P6010 COAX air-generated vacuum pumps worked.

		Eyeing Connections Vision Systems Design, May 2008 By Winn Hardin Fast-con, crimp, or lug wire terminators come in a nearly endless variety of shapes and sizes and are used extensively in the automotive and other electronics markets. At a connector-manufacturing facility in Spain, a pair of PPT Vision 5200 IMPACT cameras with tethered C40 processors, photoeye trigger, telecentric optics, mirrors, machined metal supports, and a Rockwell Automation Micrologix PLC supervise the operation.

		Non-Metallic Enclosure Protects Sensitive Winemaking Equipment IEN, May 2008 Carlsen and Associates builds wine-making equipment, such as their Waukesha 130 Wine and Must Pump. They needed a NEMA 4X enclosure to ensure reliable protection from impact, rain, snow, sleet, windblown particles, and corrosive agents. They use Stahlin's Classic and J Series enclosures do the job.

		ABB Wireless Sensors Stop Robot Cable Breaks Industrial Ethernet Book, April 2008 By Wolfgang Zimmermann Vehicle lamp manufacturer Hella uses a robot cell for the assembly and inspection of automotive headlamps in a highly automated production shop. Sensor cable breakages in trailing cable installations were a common cause of failure. ABB WISA wireless connections on the sensor/actuators eliminated the interruptions.

		Philips installs 20km of Single Mode Fiber Cable Industrial Ethernet Book, April 2008 The Turnhout site was using a multimode optical fiber network, but there was a need for a larger bandwidth. They installed sngle mode optical fiber, devices, connectors and other elements. The result: a 1Gbit bandwidth network which can be enhanced to 10Gbit without any changes to the cabling.

		Greencold keeps its cool with smartwire Process and Control Today, March 2008 Moeller Electric SmartWire, a panel wiring system that puts fieldbus-like connectivity inside the control panel, has made it possible for refrigeration expert Greencold of Kettering to use just one control panel instead of the three originally planned, eliminate the need for a costly PLC, and reduce panel wiring time.

		Monitoring System Tracks Worker Efficiency By TJ Johns, AutomationDirect BG Industrial Control builds its Greer Monitoring System for textile plants based on AutomationDirect's touch panels, Terminator IO, DirectLOGIC 205 Ethernet-based controllers, and Think & Do Studio PC-based control software.

		Building control system uses LonWorks - 02/12/08 By Lonmark International Floor controls are linked via a LonWorks network, using Siemens LMEC gateways onto a BACnet system which handles the interaction with the central AHU, boilers and chillers.

		Cable Management System Helps Valve Manufacturer Clean Up By Hoffman The deep Hoffman cabinets facilitated placing the IBM server cable management behind the servers, and the total system footprint has been reduced, further enhancing the data room’s look and functionality.

		Hoffman CONCEPT Enclosures ‘Workin’ at the Car Wash By Hoffman CONCEPT Enclosures are used to protect the computers, starters, contact relays and other controls shipped to car wash owner/operators in 46 states and around the world.

		Integrated electrical and automation systems By Tom F. Nestli and Peter Tubaas, ABB Seamless integration of electrical and automation systems are highly desirable in a process plant, At the Statoil Snøhvit liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, the Electrical Control and Supervision System (ECSS) communicates with a wide range of equipment and ensures a stable power supply to the LNG facility.

		Oil Exploration Demands the Highest Level of Power Protection By Falcon Electric Due to the inherent nature of oil drilling, all equipment must be able to operate in extremely harsh conditions and that includes equipment that is powering the various oil extraction machines. Through experience, Allis-Chalmers Tubular Services found out that not all power protection systems are created equal.

		Using Isolated Counter/Timer Devices in Industrial Applications By National Instruments Counter-timer modules perform a variety of functions. Typical applications include quadrature encoder measurement, edge detection, frequency measurement, pulse-train and pulse-width-modulated (PWM) signal generation.

Automation.com Real-time Information for the Automation Professional May. 25, 2012

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