Customer application 21 September 2017

A Match for Even the Harshest Weather Conditions

Wind, waves and salt water: The prevailing conditions at sea are rough for humans and machines alike. This is why the marine industry has special requirements for the technical equipment aboard vessels. The equipment must be covered by a marine approval, as well as explosion-proof certification, to ensure it can survive such use – like WAGO’s I/O System can.

Communication solutions, such as fieldbus connections, I/O modules and boards, must have marine approval, as well as an Ex-proof certification, to ensure that they can be used to control hydraulic valves. And this is where the problem starts: In the past, the worldwide market offered products that only fulfilled one of the two requirements. The WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM was the first to combine two approvals in one system. However, this is not the only reason PG Flow Solutions AS relies on WAGO.

Tank Ballast and Cargo Management

The WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM has both Ex and marine approvals,
offers a high degree of functionality in a compact design,
is reliable even under the toughest conditions

Signal and Voltage Transmission in One System

“The requirements that we have pertaining to Ex-proof certification, as well as marine approval, are special,” explains Odd Sverre Pedersen of PG Flow Solutions AS. PG delivers controllers for hydraulic aggregates and load pumps for a series of special ships, including supply ships for oil production operations. The company wanted to develop an automation system that would supply the hydraulic system’s controller with the voltage of the communication solution. This configuration would ensure that PG could offer an effective and competitive solution to its customers, explains Pedersen. “We evaluated the currently available I/O systems from different suppliers that included both approvals,” says Pedersen. “Two renowned manufacturers made it through our analysis.”

WAGO got the contract because it had made significant progress with the development of a prototype that transmits the voltage in addition to the signal transmission. Pedersen continues: “The WAGO solution met PG Flow Solutions AS’s requirements to a high degree.” Therefore, WAGO was the obvious choice. PG recognized that prototype development required time, but in the end there were no unexpected delays, despite the fact that the customer wanted some changes. “Actually, we got the impression that WAGO would improve the product,” says Pedersen, especially
with respect to the firmware for the boards.

Space for User-Friendly Installation

The fact that they are one of the smallest modules on the market was very much appreciated by PG’s skilled workers, because a small module needs less space in the control cabinet. Compared to conventional modules, the WAGO modules only need half as much space. This means that the automation technicians and control cabinet manufacturers have more space for carrying out technically challenging installations. While this was one reason the PG experts considered the WAGO components user-friendly, there was also another: WAGO provides push-in technology. They knew the installation of most of these WAGO products would be fast and efficient. In addition, pluggable components make it easier to prevent errors during wiring. Therefore, the time needed for testing automation systems and possibly fixing errors was almost completely eliminated.

Adaptable – Even under Challenging Conditions

In addition to the requirements that must be fulfilled regarding Ex-proofness and marine approval, it was critical for PG to develop solutions that would be modular – and this applies to the drawing phase as well as the installation! WAGO has its own programs for the configuration of I/O modules and other products. PG has a comprehensive machine manufacturing operation and typically uses an open drawing and configuration system. PG also used this tool for the configuration of the WAGO products. In this case, the configuration of the I/O modules encountered no problems, says Pedersen. “Our experience with WAGO was very good,” he says in summary. “We had excellent follow-up support whenever we needed help. And for the Norwegian organization and its parent company, this was important if significant technical help was required.”

The combination of robust WAGO equipment and sophisticated installation by PG results in control cabinets that exceed the qualifications required for the rough conditions aboard a supply ship. The DNV-GL certification for Class D certifies that the equipment can also withstand vibrations, which occur onboard a ship traversing the North Sea under the challenging conditions normally found there.

Author: Benjamin Böhm

Product Overview

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