Best Innovations 2006

ABB has been at the forefront of technical innovation for many years. The following set of short stories provides a taste of the company’s achievements in 2006, which range from a novel sensor for measuring oxygen concentrations to a programmable light switch. ABB’s interests in communication, automation and safety are illustrated in these stories, showing that ABB’s reputation for excellence in innovation is well deserved 

Precision machines hold heavy loads

The FlexPLP (Flexible Programmable Lean Positioner) is unlike regular industrial robots that are equipped with extendible arms and handle various materials at high speeds over long, measured distances. These robots have many uses, but they occupy appreciable space and for many production purposes, two arms are better than one.

That is why ABB developed the FlexPLP, a machine that provides precise manipulation and an ability to position heavy loads precisely in constrained spaces.

FlexPLP can support three times its own weight, yet is small enough to operate in an automotive production line. It could, for example, do the fine detail work of positioning locator pins and then carry a car underbody to the next point in the production line. FlexPLP is thus a highly flexible bodyshop all in itself.

ABB used the idea of parallel kinmatic machines (PKM) as a basis for creating the FlexPLP, and worked for 18 months on the invention. The best known PKMs are ABB’s three-armed Flexpicker and the six-legged motion simulator platforms known as Hexapods. FlexPLP was designed to address the PKM’s most serious disadvantage the amount of space they need.

By clever arrangement of newly designed servo-cylinder pairs, ABB created a modular positioner for motion along three axes. Despite its unusual appearance. FlexPLP surpasses existing matching concepts of similar cost in terms of payload, repeatability and space efficiency.

Automotive factories are the first of many possible applications for these versatile machines, which have the potential to improve production in any industry

New switch cuts losses and increases power flow

By comparison, sub-transmission level capacitor banks are often equipped with synchronized switching to reduce over-voltages, and may be switched daily or even hourly.

The ideal solution for capacitor banks at the distribution level is to be adjusted more frequently, like those at the sub-transmission level. An ability to follow hourly load variations would further minimize power losses and increase the maximum power flow in the distribution system. However, this is not current practice because circuit breakers are not designed for a high number of switching operations. Furthermore, the current solution can cause over voltages and high in rush currents in applications where a mal function may have expensive consequences.

ABB has now developed and patented a novel switching mechanism designed for stepwise controllable capacitor banks. It consists of diodes, rotating contacts, a motor drive and a control system. The switch is are free, and features synchronized make and break. It maintains more than a million operations, allowing frequent switching operations with negligible switching over voltages and in rush currents.

Low in-rush current enables capacitor banks switched in parallel to operate without in-rush limiting reactors. It is now possible to compensate for reactive power with a number of smaller parallel capacitor banks operated stepwise, instead of switching one large bank.

Finally, the switch avoids dangerous restrikes, making it ideally suited to frequent switching operations close to the load and thereby optimizing the system performance

Revolutionary change in oxygen measurement

These manually assembled devices comprise an electromechanical module and an optical readout system. Their performance is good, but it could be better.

In response to this challenge, ABB has developed an innovative new sensor that will expand the application range of gas analyzers in the future.

The new sensor uses a cutting edge silicon micro electromechanical chip, developed at ABB’s Corporate Research Center in Ladenburg, Germany. The chip is encased in a ceramic housing with integrated electro-optical components and optimized magnetic excitation.

The chip’s main advantage over the classical paramagnetic solution is the drastically reduced volume of the sensor chamber. This cuts response time from three seconds to just one. In markets where speed is essential such as monitoring combustion engines this is a significant break through.

The planar sensor chip is a key feature of the sensor’s layered structure, which allows automated assembly and cost efficient mass production. The sensor is also highly resistant to corrosive gases and has negligible sensitivity to gases other than oxygen.

Thanks to low production costs and quicker response times, the new sensor is expected to change the way oxygen is measured it competes in price and performance with classic, high performance paramagnetic sensors, as well as the low cost electrochemical devices.

Variable light control with just one switch

The switch is mounted flush with the wall and is equipped with an infrared movement detector that provides four modes of operation, from basic manual mode to fully automatic.

Other settings can be programmed into the switch to turn lights on automatically in response to the movement detector and to stay on until switched off manually. Alternatively, the light can be switched on manually and turned off automatically after a pre determined time, if no movement is detected. In the maximum comfort mode, the light comes on if the infrared sensor detects a movement and switches itself off after a pre-set time.

Each mode and pre-set time can be adjusted with the help of potentiometers on the back of the switch’s sensor. Manual mode is indicated by the activation of a light emitting diode (LED) incorporated into the switch. This LED also helps users to find the switch in the dark.

The Busch Comfort Switch has two wire technology combined with an external input, which means that it can be integrated into any two-way or cross connection, making it particularly useful in refurbishments. It can be combined with incandescent lamps as wells as high and low voltage halogen lamps.

The movement sensor has a detection range of more than 1700, ensuring immediate detection of anyone entering a room. The switch is suitable for use in both private and public areas. Such as bathrooms. Cellars, hallways and stairways.

Compatibility tool boosts grid reliability

Substation automation devices are like fuses that protect the electricity network and guarantee a reliable power supply. They communicate using a protocol. Or language, that is chosen by the manufacturer. Until recently, many different languages were available, but this has now changed with the introduction a new global language the IEC 61850 standard.

As a system integrator, ABB must ensure that all devices are working harmoniously by measuring key quality figures and demonstrating that the systems meet the required specifications. Building on the experience gained during he implementation of IEC 61850. ABB has developed a set of tools to support the process of testing and commissioning compliant systems.

The software enables substation automation engineers to analyze 61850 based systems quickly and reliably by just plugging a laptop into a substation communication network.

The software searches for automation devices in a network, inspects their configuration and examines network traffic. It helps to detect network problems and inspects the implementation of the 61850 protocol. T always verifies engineering data against actual data loaded on physical devices, checking for inconsistencies, which may manifest during or after the activation of a substation automation system.