Industrial facilities such as production lines in the automotive industry will consume much less energy in the future, thanks to Siemens’ Simatic ET 200S PM-E RO power module, which was displayed at the Hanover Trade Fair. The module allows operators to switch off entire sections of a factory during production breaks and subsequently turn them back on. Some parts of a facility still consume up to 60 percent of the energy needed during production even when no vehicles roll off the line on weekends. Users expect the new system to cut energy consumption by up to 80 percent.

This goal is realistic when one considers that a lot of machinery cannot be switched to a standby mode when it is not operating. A TV, for example, is in standby mode when very little power is consumed and only a small red light below the screen is turned on. However, unlike TV sets, complex production facilities do not have an on/off button. Because the facilities consist of many separate machines that have to be perfectly coordinated with one another, there is a high risk that the whole system could get out of sync if it were turned off.

This could result in production faults or cause the entire production line to shut down. Another factor that needs to be considered is time. After all, every industrial robot and conveyor belt requires a certain amount of lead time until it is fully started up. If a robot glues two parts together, for example, it has to restart sooner than its welding counterpart because the adhesive has to be heated up first.
 

The new function modules from Siemens Industry Automation make it possible to manage the energy of entire plant sections. Entire plant sections can therefore be fully automatically shut down not only on weekends but also during lunch breaks. When the workers return to the production line after their meal, they can immediately start working again once the facility is switched on.