Automation Award

Eaton’s Moeller Business Wins Automation Award - the Most Important Prize in the Automation Sector.

Bonn … On the 26.01.2010 Eaton’s Moeller Business was officially presented with the Automation Award 2009 in Leinfelden-Echterdingen. Dr. Martin U. Schefter, Business Unit Manager for Industrial Automation and managing director of Eaton Industries Holding GmbH, together with Karl-Heinz Arndt, the SmartWire-Darwin development manager in the Industrial Automation Business Unit at Eaton Moeller, received the prize from Stefan Ziegler, chief editor of elektro Automation. SmartWire-Darwin, the innovative communication system for networking switching devices was awarded 1st prize. “We are delighted to have won the Automation Award. This is an excellent result and shows the keen interest of the automation sector in SmartWire-Darwin,” Dr. M. U. Schefter said at the award ceremony. “We had the idea of providing switching devices with communication capability as far back as the nineties. However, the technological requirements for its implementation in a compact space and at an attractive price only became available in the past few years,” Karl-Heinz Arndt said. He added, “The use of SmartWire-Darwin couldn't be simpler for the customer.”

The Automation Award is the most important prize in the automation sector. At the 2009 SPS/IPC/Drives fair in Nuremberg, the technical publication “elektro Automation” held the Automation Award competition for particularly innovative products. All exhibitors at the fair were able to compete with their innovative new products. A jury made up of the VDMA, ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association) and the editor team of elektro Automation nominated the Top10 products for the Automation Award 2009 from the 78 products submitted. The nominated products were then exhibited at the stand of the Konradin media group over the course of the SPS/IPC/Drives fair. Visitors were able to vote for their personal favorites from these “Top10 products” during the fair. After the participation of around 2200 visitors to the SPS/IPC/Drives fair, the result of the Automation Award 2009 had the following result: The winner was Eaton Moeller with SmartWire-Darwin. SmartWire-Darwin, Eaton Moeller's innovative connection and communication system received 21.5 percent of the votes. Bosch Rexroth took second (21.1 %) place whilst Saia-Burgess came third (15.3 %).

SmartWire-Darwin revolutionizes switching cabinets for machine and system building, by keeping extensive mounting and wiring requirements to a minimum. The striking feature of this system is the continuous green flat cable installed in the switching cabinet – the SmartWire-Darwin (SWD) cable. This connects all motor starter combinations, pushbutton actuators and indicator lights. SmartWire-Darwin eliminates the need for the complete control wiring since both the supply voltages for the contactor coils and also for indicator lights are transferred via a single SmartWire-Darwin cable. Starting from the SmartWire-Darwin gateway, it moreover establishes the connection to the standard fieldbus level, such as Profibus DP or CANopen. The user also doesn't require conventional I/O modules since SmartWire-Darwin directly integrates the I/O level in the switching devices. Faults that can occur with conventional wiring are fully excluded. SmartWire-Darwin uses Eaton Moeller standard switching devices which are provided with additional communication-enabled function modules. As well as using switching devices, control circuit devices with M22 function elements can likewise be converted for communication on the Smartwire-Darwin network. These are available for command functions (pushbuttons, switches, multi-position indication), indication functions or a combined command and indication function. This explains why the PLC in the switching cabinet consists simply of a CPU module. What is not installed does not have to be planned beforehand, engineered or mounted – a further time and cost saving benefit.

Without any additional and special automation know-how, every slave on the SmartWire-Darwin line can be automatically assigned an address on the gateway at the push of a button, in the order of the slaves connected. The individual slaves, such as contactors or indicator lights are not activated until the address is called. The maximum length of the SmartWire-Darwin bus is 600 meters inside or outside of the switching cabinet, connecting up to 99 slaves.

The SWD-Assist software supports the user in the fast and correct planning of a SmartWire-Darwin network. It supports you in the selection of the right functional elements, proposes the correct accessories and carries out plausibility checks. For network configurations (such as Profibus configurations), SWD-Assist enables the creation of specific device description files (GSD files) which can then be imported into the relevant programming system.

At the end of 2010, SmartWire-Darwin will be integrated in Eaton Moeller's own PLCs and easy devices. This solution will make a gateway, such as required for conventional fieldbusses, no longer necessary. Another step towards cost reduction.

From the middle of 2010, it will also be possible to integrate the PKE motor-protective circuit-breaker with electronic wide-range overload protection into the SmartWire-Darwin system. Further on the new soft starter DS7 series is planed for integration. Connection design, handling and the 45 mm device width match the xStart motor-protective circuit-breakers and contactors of the device series exactly. The key feature of the system is the toolless plug connection, i.e. the easy connection and wiring of the soft starter with other switching devices. Regardless of whether they are used for conventional PKZ or new PKE motor-protective circuit-breakers with electronic wide-range overload protection, the PKZM0-XDM adapters enable the DS7 to be wired reliably in seconds – finger-safe and tidy. The new DILM12-XMCP-T motor connector enables a motor to be plug connected to the soft starter with the same degree of ease. Conventional terminal strips in the switching cabinet for connecting the motor are thus no longer necessary.

Like all two-phase actuated soft starters from Eaton Moeller, the DS7 soft starter comes with a patented startup procedure which ensures a powerful motor startup: Thanks to the suppression of DC components which are normally used with two-phase control, startups with the DS7 are faster with a more even and stronger torque than with soft starters without this startup procedure.

Nine device versions for motor ratings from 1.1kW to 15kW/ 400V or 3A to 32A/ 480V are available. Furthermore, versions are available with a 24 V AC/DC or 110/230 V control voltage input. In order to increase system availability with condition monitoring, the DS7 provides diagnostics functions that can be evaluated remotely via a SmartWire-Darwin interface. Settings and status values can be transferred simply and easily to the fieldbus level via the SmartWire-Darwin gateway, regardless of whether Profibus DP or CANopen control commands are used for communication.

Two application-oriented films illustrate the SmartWire-Darwin technology in a simple presentation in order for the viewer to visually appreciate its benefits more quickly.” The trailer for the six minute film on Darwin technology was even presented in 2009 with the “Best Special Effects” award of the “New York International Independent Film and Video Festival (NYIIFVF)”. The second product film “SmartWire-Darwin in Application” illustrates switch panel construction with the SmartWire-Darwin technology in detail and compares it with conventional solutions.

Eaton Industries GmbH
Electrical Sector
Hein-Moeller-Straße 7-11
53115 Bonn
Phone: +49 (0)228 602-0
Fax: +49 (0)228 602-2275
E-Mail: PresseEGBonn@Eaton.com
Internet: www.moeller.net

Please direct your enquiries to:
Corporate Communications, Phone: +49 (0)228 602-2915

  (99 KB) Text as a Word file

  (4186 KB) Image as a ZIP file

Eaton's Moeller Business

Since April 2008, Moeller has been a part of the Eaton Electrical Sector of the Eaton Corporation, a diversified power management company with 70,000 employees and an annual turnover of about US$ 11.9 billion in 2009. www.eaton.com/moellerproducts

Eaton's electrical sector

Eaton's electrical sector is a global leader in power distribution, power quality, control and industrial automation products and services. Eaton's global electrical product lines, including Cutler-Hammer®, Moeller®, Powerware®, Holec®, MEM®, Santak®, and MGE Office Protection Systems™ provide customer-driven PowerChain Management® solutions to serve the power system needs of the data center, industrial, institutional, government, utility, commercial, residential, and OEM markets worldwide.

Eaton Corporation

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with 2009 sales of $11.9 billion. Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 70,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit

For more information, visit www.eaton.com.