Intelligent wiring reduces machine operating costs

This allows both complex, smart automation components and simple devices, such as instruction and reporting units, manual motor starters, circuit breakers and sensors, to be integrated into the machine’s communication systems. The result is comprehensive data transparency - down to the smallest machine component. Along with increasing the machine’s overall capacity use, downtime can be avoided through predictive maintenance and servicing, diagnostics carried out more simply and quickly.

Only at great effort (and expense) can conventional complex point-to-point wiring provide the comprehensive process monitoring and analysis capabilities required today. Eaton's whitepaper presents an approach to solve this issue, and shares real-world examples.

Modern device-level wiring and communication system now need to not only reduce the wiring workload, but also include easily installable smart communication modules that record and pre-process data for simple automation devices. This forms the basis for data transparency right down to the smallest machine component, as well as laying the foundation for machines that meet the requirements for Industry 4.0.

Using this technology produces tangible added value throughout the machine’s life cycle. In total, an intelligent wiring system can provide a reduction, of up to 30%, in the life cycle costs of an electrical installation, from project design to servicing and maintenance.

Most importantly, however, thanks to the integrated data transparency, diagnostics and maintenance is improved along with productivity and machine availability. By knowing the motor currents for all drives, for example, a machine’s capacity use can be optimised without having to worry about downtime due to overloading. Further advantages of an intelligent wiring and communication system include easy machine expandability and the capability to record machine data flexibly and individually according to customer requirements. This is needed, for instance, in order to send data to a control point.