Electric.ie Nov Dec 2020

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 35 AP Haslam AP Haslam Limited 14 Sunshine Industrial Estate Crumlin Road, Dublin 12 Tel: +353 (1) 453 2522 Email: sean.lynam@aphaslam.ie Mobile : +353 87 7599 257 Web : www.aphaslam.ie ...and Smarter Built Environment With increasing Climate Change awareness, machine and building designers are obliged to consider the carbon footprint of their projects. Whether that is through smart lighting, power management or HVAC control in Data Centres – or in people- sensing to optimise the working environment – AP Haslam recognise this trend and have expanded their range of products and services. Covid-19 enforced working practices, too, are having a dramatic effect on society with remote working and out- of-office data access. All these processes require more sensing, more data, more reliable remote access solutions and a higher level of automation than ever before. By partnering with Weidmüller, and supported by advice to designers and installers, AP Haslam is able to provide a full range of components needed to help build a greener, smarter future by connecting the data highway with robust industrial Ethernet devices and next generation Automation Controllers. We would be delighted to discuss your application with Seán and our experts, to see how we can help save your teammoney, optimise their time and install the best solution for you. Seán Lynam – Industrial IoT Solutions Engineer for AP Haslam – shares some of his thoughts on the automation market with Colin Sherlock of Electric.ie. An Electrical Engineer by degree, Seán has experienced working with some of the largest companies in the technology and medical device sector. “The key lesson I have learned over many years is that the quality of your components is critical to the long-lasting success of automation and process improvement. “The core of any automation project is the Controller, historically the ‘PLC’, but for today’s automation builder, new options with Weidmüller’s award-winning Automation Controller (AC), you can offer localised machine control whilst providing ease of connection to on-site IT systems or indeed the Cloud via Node Red . ” On the surge of smart phone apps – and young programming clubs like CoderDojo: “The IT programming landscape for industrial controllers has changed radically with the trend being towards more ‘open source’ web-based type controllers offering greater interoperability over different platforms . ” On use of industrial PCs, and in particular the use of Industrial Panel PC’s (IPPC): “With an integrated touch screen, IPPCs are an excellent choice for certain machine and process applications where you want to integrate the machine control with the existing factory IT system. “Our industrial PC comes with the option of a Windows 10 licence, which not all manufacturers include, and integrating an industrial-grade touch screen in your control panel or remote station provides protection, ease of control and visualisation.” When pressed on the fact that most automated products and systems operate at an optimal level, Seán clarified: “Whilst many associated technologies are impressive – and offer considerable benefits – you should research and understand what’s in the market before deploying them as part of your customer offering.” Seán reminds us: “Improving machine and process automation has been a business objective since Henry Ford in the early 1900’s! What has radically changed over the last 10-15 years is the sheer volume of data needed to achieve the next step improvements in energy efficiency and predictive maintenance. “No matter what industry you are in, robust and reliable architecture is essential for the collection, transmission and storage of data – whether on-site or in the Cloud. “Weidmüller not only provides the best control and connection hardware needed for your machine or automation project, but we also offer the analytics platform to both visualise and action your data.”