Helmut Schönfelder ABB Stotz-Kontakt Heidelberg, Germany helmut.schoenfelder@de.abb.com
Electric motors and their associated loads are ubiquitous across industry and, as automation takes hold, their numbers are constantly increasing. Many of these motors drive critical processes where a shutdown simply cannot be tolerated – in oil and gas, mining, paper industry, for instance, where safety or reliable production may require a line restart. In other, less-critical applications, motor trouble is, at least, a major inconvenience that can cause lost production and incur costs.
The Universal Motor Controller UMC100.3
To ensure the smooth running of industrial processes, it is recognized best practice to use a motor management system, such as ABB’s Universal Motor Controller UMC100.3 [1].
The UMC100.3 is an intelligent data hub that caters for all motor protection and control, communication, and fault diagnosis needs →01. The UMC100.3 is compatible with more communication protocols than other similar products: Fieldbus interfaces are available for Profibus DP, DeviceNet, and Modbus RTU; Ethernet interfaces are available for EtherNet/IP™, Modbus TCP, and Profinet IO.
ABB’s communication modules can be mounted either directly onto the UMC100.3 or separately in the cable compartment of a motor control center (MCC). This unique solution makes the communication wiring much simpler and robust against disturbances, specifically in MCCs with withdrawable modules. The solution significantly reduces complexity in Ethernet-based network wiring.
Further, the UMC100.3’s serial communication reduces wiring and installation effort and provides much more data than equivalent devices do. This enhanced access to data enables a sophisticated predictive maintenance approach that improves the reliability of the motor and, thus, process uptime →02.
To increase functionality, expansion modules can easily be added to the UMC100.3. These modules provide analog temperature inputs, additional digital I/O, and voltage modules for determining phase voltages, power factor, active power, apparent power, energy, and total harmonic distortion →03–04.
ABB’s new configuration software for the UMC100.3 now makes it even easier to set up and parametrize the device.
ABB Ability™ FIM UMC Edition configuration software
In process industry automation systems, field devices from many different vendors have to work together. Historically, combining these different devices was troublesome, which led to an effort for open and standardized device integration. Over the past few years, the Field Device Integration (FDI) organization has specified a standard architecture for device integration that is based on IEC 61804, combining the advantages of EDDL, and FDT/DTM technology [2,3].
It is on FDI that the new ABB Ability FIM UMC Edition software is based. FIM UMC Edition software provides all the functionalities needed for effective use of the UMC100.3. For instance, the FIM UMC Edition’s device parametrization, operating, and monitoring modes allow fast and easy configuration, testing, and online diagnosis →05a–d. All relevant UMC100.3 data – such as status, current, and voltage – can be monitored easily. Comprehensive diagnosis of faults and warnings is included out of the box and this capability makes the UMC100.3/FIM UMC Edition combination an ideal platform for predictive applications, which can be implemented with the minimum of fuss. Further, project management features are included for the handling of larger and more complex installations. The localization feature allows for multilingual use (currently eight languages) and the software is easy to install, use, and maintain on Windows tablets, laptops, or PCs.
05a Parametrize menu. A variety of menus to configure functions relevant to motor management, protection, etc., can be accessed. 
05b Diagnostic menu. All relevant motor information is shown. 
05c Operate menu showing the most important motor data. Configurable motor start/stop and fault reset is possible from a PC for testing during commissioning. 
05d In the Custom Application Editor of the FIM UMC Edition software, starter templates can be imported (here, a direct-on-line starter) and modified. The modified logic can be downloaded and tested in an online mode.
05 The FIM UMC Edition’s device parametrization, operating, and monitoring modes allow fast and easy configuration, testing, and online diagnosis.
ABB’s UMC100.3 intelligent motor controller, when combined with the FIM UMC Edition configuration software, lets users configure, test, and run motors. Every relevant device parameter can be viewed.
Configuring for maximum reliability
As the tasks required of motors become more sophisticated and the number of motors in automation applications increases, more will be asked of the controllers that run them →06. When ABB’s UMC100.3 intelligent motor controller is combined with the FIM UMC Edition configuration software, users have a unique solution that makes motor control flexible, easy, and quick to test, commission, and run. Coupled with its advanced fault diagnosis, these characteristics of FIM UMC Edition will help customers ensure their process or production line works with maximum reliability.
References
[1] P. Müller et al.,“Intelligent motor control: The UMC100 is an excellent example of a flexible, modular and scalable motor controller,” ABB Review 4/2010, pp. 27–31.
[2] International Electrotechnical Commission, “IEC 61804-2:2018 Function blocks (FB) for process control and electronic device description language (EDDL) –
Part 2: Specification of FB concept.”
[3] A. Gogolev “OPC UA and TSN: enabling Industry 4.0 for end devices,” ABB Review, 1/2020, pp. 30–35.
