Product category:
Industrial Drives/Controls
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors) | Subject: Driveweb for Modbus
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 01 March 2001
Remote monitoring and control system for
drives
Driveweb for Modbus allows users to remotely monitor and control drives by means of the Internet, intranet or WAP phone, and can transmit alerts to warn of fault conditions
Driveweb for Modbus allows users to remotely monitor and control drives by means of the Internet, intranet or WAP phone It can transmit alerts to warn of fault conditions, and it enables users to start and stop a drive, reset faults, and set parameter values
Driveweb is a unique solution from ABB in the field of industrial IT.
Driveweb can provide major benefits in many situations where systems have to be monitored and controlled, but local manning is not possible.
Typical applications include pumping systems, air conditioning systems and fans, and material handling installations.
It will initially be available for the Comp-AC range of low power drives, and versions for higher powered drives are planned for the future.
Operator response times can be significantly reduced by using Driveweb.
Water and sewage pumping stations, for instance, are often sited in remote locations, requiring operators to travel considerable distances to monitor and control the equipment.
With Driveweb the pumps can be switched on immediately they are needed.
The operator can work from almost anywhere and the time previously needed for travelling is saved.
Automatic alerts mean that service personnel can be informed as soon as a fault develops.
They can therefore deal with it promptly, before any nuisance or hazard is caused.
In air conditioning systems, for instance, fans and other equipment are generally installed on the roof.
Without remote monitoring, a fault may go undetected until people inside the building notice that the air quality has deteriorated.
In large and complex installations - such as material handling applications with very long conveyors - Driveweb can pinpoint exactly where a fault has occurred.
This helps to reduce servicing times, cutting downtime, and therefore boosting overall production efficiency and output.
Driveweb software is loaded on a PC, and this communicates with the drive or drives using Modbus communication protocol, the RS-485 Modbus being separate from the primary control system.
The PC is also connected to the 'web' (Internet or intranet) and / or is fitted with a GSM modem to communicate with WAP phones.
The WAP system uses the GSM data service and operates in any country where GSM data and SMS (Short Message Service) are available.
The PC can handle six simultaneous users - at any one time, one user has control privileges and the others can perform monitoring.
Users can check the status of their drives and review a fault history database which stores the 120 most recent faults.
The user with control privileges can start and stop the drives, perform resets, select forward or reverse operation, set the speed reference, and set a wide range of parameters.
Security is maintained by means of user IDs, as well as pre-defined access levels for all users.
Internet browsers and WAP phones both provide user-friendly interfaces that are already widely known.
ABB can supply Driveweb in a number of different language versions, and the software features a comprehensive help function.
Driveweb for Modbus is a major initiative in the field of Industrial IT, and ABB is presently the only drive manufacturer providing a remote monitoring and control system of this type for low powered drives.
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