Posted to News on 14th Nov 2006, 21:44
Cost-effective remote diagnostics for automation
A new software package from Festo provides designers, users and maintainers of automation systems with exceptionally powerful and cost-effective remote diagnostics capabilities. Known as CPX Web Monitor, the software facilitates on-line retrieval of digital and analogue statistical data from any Ethernet-equipped Festo CPX series valve terminal or I/O module. Capable of handling static and dynamic data, it accommodates a wide variety of process-related functions, including individual pneumatic valve diagnostic and condition monitoring, pressure, temperature and I/O status monitoring, and power supply condition monitoring.
CPX Web Monitor is a low-cost, ready-to-run remote diagnostics system that requires no in-house software expertise and only minimal set-up. Module data is automatically collected, processed and stored locally on the machine by a Festo CPX terminal controller - a high-functionality hub with extensive fieldbus protocol support - and transmitted to the internet via a suitable Ethernet-equipped web server. The system is inherently expandable and entirely self-configuring: during power-up, the terminal controller automatically ascertains which valve terminals and control modules are present.
Festo's CPX Web Monitor software can be installed on any standard PC-based web server and users can retrieve data via any standard web browser - such as Internet Explorer or Firefox - simply by specifying the IP address of the CPX terminal controller. The web monitor can be accessed directly via the system network, an intranet or the internet, depending upon the user's IT network configuration. Users with mobile devices that support HTML-based web browsing, such as phones and PDAs, can access the system while on the move; the system can also be set up to send text messages and email alerts.
All information is presented in an extremely clear and easy-to-understand format. Analogue data is displayed in graphical line chart form, and digital data is shown as a series of on/off bar graphs. The CPX terminal controller also maintains an event history file, enabling users to instantly recall the last 40 error conditions for detailed failure analysis or predictive maintenance. The system also allows users to include HTML links to their own on-line documentation, enabling them to incorporate the diagnostic and monitoring data within their own procedures.
Festo produces a range of Ethernet-equipped CPX modules that are compatible with the CPX Web Monitor, including valve terminals, NPN and PNP digital input modules, and intelligent analogue I/O modules for temperature and signal detection.
There is a live demo version of the CPX Web Monitor at www.festo.com/en/cpx-web-monitor where users can check out the performance of this powerful new software tool.
