Control Cabinet Monitor for Transmission of Condition Data

Turck's IMX12-CCM control cabinet monitor and Beckhoff's Edge Device enable simple retrofitting for vitality data acquisition from control cabinets in the NOA data model

To ensure that the transmission of condition data is separated from process communication, NAMUR has developed the Open Architecture (NOA) data model, which runs parallel to process communication and ensures its integrity. Together with Beckhoff, Turck demonstrates that this parallel channel can also be easily established in existing systems using a demo system in the test laboratory of Bilfinger Engineering & Maintenance GmbH. The IMX12-CCM control cabinet monitor transmits vitality data from a control cabinet via HART to an edge device, which transfers it to higher-level systems in the NOA model via OPC-UA.

The vitality data is recorded by the IMX12-CCM and transmitted to the edge device via HART
Turck and Beckhoff tested a solution to transfer vitality data in the NOA data model

The innovation cycles of IT and the process industry are fundamentally different. While the synthesis of standard chemicals such as ammonia, for example, has basically been the same for 100 years and has mainly been adapted in terms of scale and efficiency, innovation in IT advances over time in a continuous sequence of waves with the same consistency.

The measurement of additional variables that go beyond the data of the core processes is important firstly in order to optimize processes, increase efficiency, plan maintenance and avoid unplanned system downtimes. To achieve this, additional operating data must be recorded in existing systems and forwarded to the appropriate analysis tools.

NAMUR Open Architecture

With the NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA), NAMUR has developed a concept to expand the automation architecture in the process industry without making any changes to the existing control system. The purpose of the NOA is to provide information from the field level for higher-level applications. This so-called second channel can be established using additional hardware, as is particularly necessary, for example, in brownfield systems.

Acquisition of control cabinet condition data

Control cabinets are used to protect sensitive measurement and control equipment and enable it to be used even in harsh environmental conditions. If this protective function is no longer provided, for example due to defective locking mechanisms or seals, this can lead to the failure of the installed components and thus potentially to the failure of the system or machine.

Condition monitoring without effort: IMX12-CCM control cabinet monitor

Turck developed an easy to retrofit device for monitoring the most important vital parameters of a control cabinet, temperature, humidity and door closure, years ago: The IMX12-CCM control cabinet monitor can be mounted on a top-hat rail and, with a width of just 12.5 millimeters, fits into practically any gap in the control cabinet. The device is also approved as intrinsically safe equipment and can therefore also be used directly in potentially explosive atmospheres. The process data for temperature, relative humidity and door gap is transferred to the higher-level control system using the standardized HART protocol. Following an update at the beginning of the year, the IMX12-CCM control cabinet monitor can now be operated more intuitively using haptic buttons and can also be used in a temperature range from +25 to 70 degrees Celsius.

Edge device communicates vitality data in the NOA data model

Beckhoff has developed edge devices for NOA to read the additional field devices – for example the CX8110. This consists of a controller, a software project installed on it and I/O modules to be connected. The NOA edge device can read and provide vitality data from devices. It uses the HART protocol, which is widely used in the process industry.

Teamwork: Integration in the NOA concept successfully tested

The Turck control cabinet monitor provides the basic data for checking the vitality of a control cabinet with the specified parameters. With the help of the CCM's HART interface in combination with the Beckhoff edge device, this information can now be easily and securely extracted for monitoring and optimization in accordance with the NAMUR Open Architecture. The EL3182 HART input terminal and Beckhoff's OPC UA server for TwinCAT were used on the edge device to forward the information.

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