Valve connection system simplifes complex control
An
Asco Numatics product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Sep 17, 2003
VCS is a novel system for connecting up to 127 valves (pneumatic, hydraulic, general purpose, water, gas and oil), and up to 254 sensors, to a centralised controller over distances up to 2.5km.
The poet John Donne wrote: "no man is an island" - an assertion that today could easily translate into pneumatic and process systems.
Integration is the keyword, the synergy of electronic, pneumatic and fluid control.
In achieving integration ease and speed of connectivity are two of the primary factors.
These have been realised with Asco Joucomatic's new unique VCS valve connection system, a new system for connecting up to 127 valves (pneumatic, hydraulic, general purpose, water, gas and oil), and up to 254 sensors, to a centralised controller over distances of 2.5km.
With its single flat cable and quick connector, the VCS system can be installed in seconds (even on previously installed valves) without tools and without the need for cable stripping and fastening.
Each VCS connector is simply clamped, via a vampire type plug, onto the two-wire profiled VCS cable, establishing automatic connection.
This reduces cabling costs and installation time to an absolute minimum.
The flexibility of the VCS system means that valves can be added or retrofitted to the VCS control loop at any time.
In addition to posing no physical installation problems, this procedure creates no control problems either, as the loop structure provides for automatic addressing - each valve being automatically recognised by its position in the loop.
Data for each participant in the loop are transmitted over the VCS cable in the form of a differential signal.
A complete data cycle is processed within approximately 3ms via the protocol and 127 connectors.
The "brain" of the VCS system is an intelligent interface, which acts as a communication centre for a PLC, a fieldbus and up to 127 VCS connectors.
In accordance with the fieldbus system used, the VCS interface is equipped with a corresponding fieldbus module.
These modules are available for standard protocols, such as Profibus-DP, Interbus-S and DeviceNet.
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