Sercos profile aims to cut energy consumption
Vendor organisations that back the Sercos communications interface have announced the release of an energy profile specification for the Sercos III real-time Ethernet communications system.
Called Sercos Energy, it is intended to cut energy consumption in three areas. First, it reduces the permanent load when a motor or machine is stopped; second, it adjusts consumption dynamically, depending on the process and the target completion times or dates (partial load operation); and third, it saves energy during processing by switching off components that are not needed at a particular time or point in the process (partial machine operation).
Sercos Energy is an application layer profile that defines parameters and commands for cutting energy consumption in a vendor-independent manner. A controller reads the parameters of each Sercos Energy component via Sercos III, receiving status information and detailed consumption values.
Depending on the situation – for example, whether there are scheduled or unscheduled breaks, or machine components that are not needed in the current production process – the controller can switch connected components (such as drives, I/O, or sensors) into energy-saving modes up to complete shut-down, thus cutting their energy use.
Products that support the new profile are being developed and are expected to reach the market this year. A white paper explaining Sercos Energy can be downloaded from the Sercos Web site.