Rockwell Automation introduces the Allen-Bradley SMC-50 smart motor controller, the company’s latest generation of solid-state motor controllers. This release includes a newly designed three-phase, fully solid-state, silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) power structure. The new SMC-50 controller addresses the motor control needs of OEMs and end users seeking a more economical alternative to drives and more advanced control than across-the-line starters. Designed for customer flexibility, the SMC-50 controller combines advanced monitoring and protection features, multiple start and stop options, and expandable control inputs and outputs. These features help users increase efficiency, reduce downtime and improve control.

Rated at 200V-690V AC and with software from 90 to 520 amps, the SMC-50 controller is ideal for controlling motor speed and torque in a range of normal-duty applications, including pumps, compressors and short conveyors, as well as in heavy-duty applications, such as rock crushers, wood chippers, centrifugal fans and long conveyors.

The SMC-50 smart motor controller’s design improves voltage output to maximize efficiency of motor starts and stops. For application scalability, it features nine standard starting modes, six stopping modes and several slow-speed functions. In traditional starting mode, for example, if the SMC-50 controller senses that the motor has reached full speed before completing the selected ramp time, it will automatically switch to providing full voltage to the motor. The patented linear-acceleration starting mode offers the lowest starting current profile per start, consistent acceleration time, and enhanced control over both torque and speed. Regardless of the starting mode chosen, the SMC-50 controller stores the actual motor start time and peak current value to assist in setup and process optimization.

Allen-Bradley SMC-50 smart motor controllers

The Rotork SVM (Smart Valve Monitoring) system has been selected to provide a networked solution for digital valve monitoring and partial stroke testing on a large scale oilfield installation in the Middle East. The system is designed to deliver predictive maintenance information from widely distributed areas for use by the operators to reduce shutdowns and improve overall plant efficiency.

This is made possible by the ability of the SVM to be integrated into an existing Ethernet and fibre optic infrastructure, enabling over one hundred monitored valve actuators on wellheads at numerous locations to be networked over distances of ten kilometres or more.

The SVM field control units on this project are attached to the ESD circuits for shut off valves installed in sets of two and four on more than fifty wellheads. Analysis is performed on the SVM server computer in the centralised control room. Communication between the wellhead sites and the computer is fully integrated within the operator’s existing network infrastructure. The SVM field units are incorporated into the Ethernet network that links other equipment and instrumentation at each wellhead site. A fibre optic link is then used to transmit the data to intermediate engineering and control stations at two manifold sites. From these sites, fibre optic links are again used to transmit data from all the wellheads to the centralised control room.

Partial stroke testing (PST) is a function used in a safety instrumented system (SIS) to enable the operator to identify possible failure modes on a shutdown or emergency shutdown (ESD) valve without the need to completely close the valve and hence disrupt the process. Partial stroke testing is an accepted hydrocarbon industry standard technique that is quantified in detail by regulatory bodies such as the IEC and ISA.

Gammapilot FTG20, the latest instrument for point level detection of Endress+Hauser, combines all of the strengths of the brand – uncompromising quality, the highest degree of safety for users and processes and groundbreaking cost efficiency across the entire life cycle. Based on Geiger-Müller technology, Gammapilot FTG20 is the instrument with the highest measurement sensitivity for the automation industry in its class.

• Highest degree of flexibility due to a sophisticated design
• Comprehensive safety concept
• Cost savings across the entire life cycle
• Reliability in rough environments

Areas of application

• Ex and non-Ex applications in the chemical, petrochemical, oil+gas, primaries and paper industries
• Price-effective radiometric point level detection
• Ambient temperatures from -40°C to maximum +120°C permit world-wide usage irrespective of climatic zones
• Explosion protection approval for the gas and dust Ex-area

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Micro Motion 2-Wire Coriolis meters, with MVD technology, are the first Coriolis meters for highly accurate mass flow and density measurement in loop-powered applications. Your process will benefit from these low-energy devices that measure so accurately you can reduce waste and rework while improving the quality – and without the need for additional power wiring.

Advantages of Coriolis Measurement

• Direct inline measurement of mass flow, density, concentration, and volume flow and temperature from a single device
• Immune to fluid, process, or environmental effects for superb measurement confidence
• Highly robust, suitable for installation anywhere with no flow conditioning or straight pipe run required
• No moving internal parts results in no maintenance or repair

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