Blog6 - EN

FFU Service Jena

Jena in Thuringia is home of many high tech companies. One of them, specialist for high temperature superconductor, extended his cleanroom capacity right now. The new FFUs, all of them of the new high efficient product line from NICOTRA Gebhardt, needed to be connected to an existing EC-Fan control device.

The good news is, that FFU groups can be built out of different RS485 BUS lines not matter if they are existing EC FFUs or new ones.

Finally the way home brought some childhood memories, “counting tunnels” in the train of the lower train way from Gera to Plauen.

Modern Web App for Battery Charge Monitoring

The web app is designed for monitoring of battery- charge, changing intervals and GSM-signals of the data log devices. All data values could be prepared and shown accordingly.

The raw data is picked up automatically in xml-format at costumers control system and is embedded via Python script in a SQL-database. In exchange for this the costumer is getting an automatic created pdf-report via Email to easy acknowledge service acting.

A PHP backend is created as microservice and provides the data out of the SQL database as an REST API. A frontend designed as single page app access this REST API. HTML5, CSS3 and a JavaScript Framework are applied in the frontend and create a “modern feeling” of the app while using.

The web app can be applied at any modern browser, the locations and the current data are monitored clear and appropriate. The battery charge states of the data log devices are separated to 3 levels what helps to optimize service trips, saves driving time and consequently costumers money.

Handheld to control and parametrize EC-fans

One of the biggest energy suppliers in the western part of Switzerland is now using technologies out of the Vogtland to parametrize and control his EC-fans from ebmpapst.

The chosen parameter set for the service handheld does not only allow to control EC-Drives with Modbus- und ebmBUS-interface but to clone whole parameter sets within seconds from ec-fans of the same physical size.

Bearing Monitoring for Smoke Extract Fans

Smoke Extract Fans, whether as Radial- or Axial fan, should keep emergency exits and paths free of smoke. Even if there is no normal air ventilation required, a save start and operation is demanded in case of fire to achieve the nominated run time for such a fan. A proper function of the motor bearings is there for indispensable.

The bearing monitor unit that was especially developed for a fan manufacturer evaluates different frequencies out of the swinging acceleration that needs to be measured. The evaluation is more or less independent from the type of fan, motor and bearing and it even detects pre-damages of the ball bearings from the induction motors.

However a little more complex is the monitoring of the bearing conditions at EC-fans, because the measured frequencies overlap with the switching frequencies of the EC-Controllers.

The evaluation is quite easy as a simple traffic light control (green-yellow-red) at the device. A special software can be applied for detailed damage analysis.

FFU Service

A big research institution for Micro- and Nano-technologies in Nordrhein Westfalen enlarges their cleanroom capacity this summer. The additional cleanroom surface is covered by FFU's from NICOTRA||Gebhardt that are controlled and monitored by an existing FFU-control centre since last Tuesday.

The commissioning runs without any problem, besides to the correct addressing only some max-speeds needs to be set by hand, what is really no issue with our control devices for EC-fans.

Data link to Beckhoff-PLC via OPC-UA

Our local water supply company is realising a new waste water handling appliance in a small town. The control of the rake bare is our task inside the complex structure.

Two different operation modes are possible; either the difference of water level in front and rear the rake or the level of waste water in front of the rake is used to control. The drive of the rake is controlled by frequency inverter. The measurement of the filling level is realised by 2 radar sensors.

There is a Beckhoff-PLC used as industrial PC with 12’’ touchscreen. The I/Os are integrated by Ethercat, the link to the FMS is done via OPC-UA. All this is programmed by TWINCat3.