MemoBox: Upgrade for "PROFEA-II"
Tremendous Transparency in Electrical Facilities
The paperback-sized event recorder "PROFEA-II" provides proof in terms of what interferes
the electrical equipment at what time. The signal states are recorded precisely
and printed out by the integrated printer on regular paper. The user receives all
relevant data for a fault analysis promptly and easily. This is how independent
fault protocols can be set up directly on site. As a result, PROFEA-II does not
only offer the advantage to reduce the costs caused through downtimes to a minimum;
it can also be used as a sort of expert witness in case it is argued on the question
"who done it" resp. what is the causer of the given problem. For this system, which
has been accompanying service technicians all over Europe for many years, the manufacturer
ertec GmbH, Erlangen/Germany, offers an upgrade now - the so-called MemoBox incl.
software.
The event recorder while recording switching events
What can a man do once the electrical facility is down or even out of control? After
having taken the necessary safety measures, one needs to trace back what has caused
the fault. Electrical facilities with freely programmable controls may be tricky
sometimes. It is not because there is a lack of analyzing possibilities of states
(e.g. recording disturbances) and fault causers. Such jobs can be handled by the
controls anyway. However, unfortunately, only the information is captured which
was passed on to the controlling computer. In case of an interference in reality,
often the problem pops up that the cause cannot clearly be assigned to the fields
of responsibility, i.e. mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. Consequently,
those who run the facility find themselves in the poor situation facing the problem
that the question on the causer needs to be clarified with several negotiation partners
coming from various departments of a concern. Just one brief example: The metal
lug of a movable workpiece carrier is not attached correctly. Therefore, the assigned
touch-free switches (BERO) get occasionally activated too shortly or even not at
all. That is why a complex internal procedure is interrupted. Given that this fault
only shows up sporadically, as known from experience, the diagnosis of the fault
and the fixing of the problem can take a considerable amount of time. In the worst
case, the presence and cooperation of several departments resp. divisions may become
necessary. This is the crucial point when PROFEA-II has its performance as an "expert
witness". The task is to provide the pieces of information which are required for
fault analysis, i.e. quick, straight and plain. In general, the market offers a
wide range of highly sophisticated devices regarding event-recording and -protocolling.
Yet, those units cannot be considered to be designed for easy operation, nor for
mobile usage. PROFEA-II has been filling this gap successfully for many years as
per the statement of the manufacturer ertec GmbH, Erlangen/Germany. Its compact
paperback-sized design as well as its light weight (_
Author
© ertec GmbH, 91058 Erlangen/Germany
Author: Dipl.-Ing. Peter Nickel ((Managing Director - Technical Operations))