Pioneering Communication with an Innovative Power Supply

Our working environment is constantly changing. There are many reasons for this, including the advancement of digitalization, which is permanently changing every sector. One industry that is notably impacted by this is mechanical engineering.In the age of Industry 4.0, what requirements must modern power supplies meet in terms of communication and data provision? In what follows, we take stock of the possibilities of pioneering communication with the innovative WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply.

Compared to other sectors, mechanical engineering companies are already one step ahead: 88 % of them have made digitalization a strategic priority, placing them significantly above the average of the economy as a whole (74 %), according to a 2017 trend study by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bitkom Research.

The Bitkom digital association provided even greater insights just ahead of the 2018 Hannover Messe trade fair. According to Bitkom, 24 % of machines and systems in German companies are already Internet-connected, and this number is increasing. The Digital Economy Monitoring Report commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy confirms this: 93 % of mechanical engineering companies offer products and services digitally.

By 2022, digitalization will play a significant strategic role for 72% of the mechanical engineering companies. The results show that mechanical engineering is positioning itself as a pioneer in the digital age. Consider that on in four machines is already a smart machine, and everything is interconnected. This has an enormous effect on the process of providing and evaluating data. But what effect specifically?

In future, data will be as valuable as gold. Permanent networking and continuous communication generate transparent, consistent data along the entire value-added chain – at all times and places. Predictive maintenance significantly reduces downtimes and associated costs, since data monitoring can determine the status of the devices in operation and estimate when maintenance will be needed.

There is remains one area in which data transparency and continuous monitoring have not yet been fully implemented: the power supply in the control cabinet. Here, digitalization supports automation by collecting and evaluating previously unutilized data. This is increasingly allowing unplanned idling to be avoided and faults to be located and analyzed more quickly. In the future, it will also enable unforeseen service calls to be avoided in a targeted fashion – and this is precisely where the potential competitive advantage lies! “Besides their classic function as a converter, today’s power supplies also offer the option of providing valuable data through modular communication. That can support predictive maintenance or long-term monitoring, for example,” confirms Stefan Wagner, Head of Product Management for Power Supplies.

No – digitalization definitely does not entail standardization. In automation technology in particular, there exists a large number of fieldbuses, and thus of physical interfaces and protocols as well. WAGO simplifies the planning, design and approval process for the power supply with the pluggable communication module. If a change in communication interface is desired, only the interface needs to be replaced – not the whole system. However, the advantages also clearly include compatibility with many fieldbuses. For example, WAGO’s Pro 2 Power Supply and electronic circuit breakers with an IO-Link interface are ready for any application and can read out the desired data.”

“The new WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply’s optional pluggable communication interface, IO-Link interface and configuration options can bring users straight into the digital age right now,” says Jürgen Pfeifer, IoT & Cloud Partner Manager at WAGO. The experienced WAGO automation expert adds: “IO-Link is often closely linked to Industry 4.0.

Besides service and operating data, the IO-Link interface also offers configuration options. This allows it to be adapted to the specific application online – for example, as a function of the operating state detected previously. Adjusting the output voltage in the event of increased load, automatically switching the system off in the event of repeated overload and restarting the loads remotely after an update is uploaded, or in order to reset the control circuit, are only a few of the possible applications.

Another interesting set of options are those for configuring the signal output. It can be configured as a group message and provide messages selected from among DC OK, overcurrent, switch-off with saving and other maintenance and error messages – these can also be tailored to the application, supplying data that gives end users information with added value.

Values can be read out in milliseconds via the attachable communication module – and via various protocols. The current or voltage values are then evaluated through a diagram. For derating situations, a so-called “customer warning threshold” is available in the communication module. A warning can be configured for overload behavior or limitation of the functional range. The built-in ammeter then issues a corresponding message as soon as the specified value is exceeded.

WAGO’s Pro 2 Power Supply unit (PSU) also has a nominal current ECB (electronic circuit breaker) function. It is possible to set the trigger value flexibly – to determine quickly and accurately how quickly the circuit breaker should trigger. The power can be switched off with a delay from 100 milliseconds to 5 seconds depending on the requirements. If the current exceeds a configurable limiting value for a configurable amount of time, the output is switched off – and, with the help of the digital input, a reset can be performed and the power supply restarted.

The WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply is already primed for the IoT with a crucial competitive advantage: Actively integrating the power supplies into the control environment – or, alternatively, directly into the analytics in parallel – allows continuous monitoring of current load status information. This status information, which can be retrieved by the controller at any time, eliminates the need to check the output voltage manually and allows on-time maintenance of the power supply and all connected loads. This makes the ability to communicate a core component of modern power supplies. “Long lifespans, maximum efficiency and minimum installation size mean maximum reduction of operating costs – these are direct benefits for our customers and also for system operators, from the very first day of use,” says Klaus Böhmer, Manager, Sales Director International at WAGO.

Plans are also already in the works for the future of the WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply: “The benefits that arise from its ability to communicate are obvious. We at WAGO, as well as our customers, have a plethora of ideas about all the possible applications that can still be realized with intelligent power supplies – a treasure trove of possibilities, wherein the challenge is setting the right priorities,” concludes Böhmer.