Sparks Electrical News April 2018

MCCS AND MOTOR PROTECTION

17

DRY ICE BLASTING is a safe and effective way to clean machinery and surfaces. By propelling dry ice pellets at high speeds, Dry Ice International provides dry ice blasting that is highly effective and less abrasive than sand blasting. Sand blasting is an abrasive, surface preparation process, whereas dry ice blasting is a cleaning process that does not alter the surface being cleaned. Dry ice blasting is a dry-cleaning method, therefore, even delicate parts such as switchboards and other electric components can be cleaned gently. There is no moisture and no residual media left be- hind. Dry ice pellets sublimate immediately after impact on the surface, therefore, the time and costs associated with disposal of blasting media are eliminated. Unlike other blasting media, CO 2 /dry ice particles have a low tem- perature of -78.5 °C. Because of the temperature differential between the dry ice particles and the surface being treated, a phenomenon WHAT IS DRY ICE BLASTING?

BEFORE

AFTER

known as ‘fracking’ or thermal shock can occur. As a material’s temperature decreases, the material becomes embrittled, enabling the particle impact to break-up the coating. Because dry ice blasting is virtually non-abrasive, it is an ideal solution to clean busbars and other equip- ment where surface finishes should not be altered. This means that in comparison to traditional blasting methods with sand or glass beads, the cleaned sur- faces are not damaged or altered. Dry ice blasting is ecologically friendly. No residual blasting media needs to be disposed of and no sol- vents or chemicals are used. Dry Ice International of- fer a comprehensive product range of dry ice clean- ing solutions.

Enquiries: www.dryice.co.za

OPTIMUM MACHINE SAFETY USING EXTENDED SAFETY

INTEGRATED FUNCTIONS

SIEMENS has extended the Sinamics S210 servo drive system to include the Extended Safety Inte- grated functions. Existing basic functions, such as Safe Torque Off (STO), Safe Stop 1 (SS1) and Safe Brake Control (SBC), are now complemented by ex- tended functions provided by the new firmware ver- sions V5.1 SP1: Safe Stop 2 (SS2), Safe Operating Stop (SOS), Safely-Limited Speed (SLS), Safe Speed Monitor (SSM), Safe Direction (SDI), and Safe Brake Test (SBT). All these functions ensure machine func- tions are provided with comprehensive protection. Also, the encoders of the Simotics S-1FK2 motors have been updated, to support the new Extended Safety functions and provide an encoder resolution of 22 bits. The motors fitted with the new encoders can be used as replacement parts for previous mod- els. Typical uses for the new drive system include, in particular, packaging machines, handling applica- tions such as pick and place, wood and ceramic pro- cessing, and digital printing.

Enquiries: www.siemens.com

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

APRIL 2018