Siemens AG (Germany) - New heating control systems from Siemens switch and control heating panels and elements in industrial applications: Siplus HCS4200 is suitable for 230 V networks, Siplus HCS4300 for 400 V/480 V networks. Built to a modular, compact and space-saving design, these distributed I/O systems can be adapted to specific applications. Heating control systems from Siemens can be found in a range of sectors and applications all over the world, drying paint and coatings, for example, in the molding of plastics and lightweight construction materials, in plastic welding and in film extrusion. The new heating control systems promise to help plant operators cut their energy consumption by facilitating energy-efficient heating element actuation and avoiding current spikes in the network.

Thanks to their modular structure and integral functions, the new Siplus HCS heating control systems require up to 80 percent less space in the cabinet than conventional heating solutions with separate components and are considerably easier to wire up too. The Siplus HCS heating control systems integrate components including switching elements and fuses as well as functions such as Profinet communication, actuation mechanisms and extensive, detailed diagnostics in one compact device. The new product lines improve the heating process and help to reduce downtime and avoid outages. The comprehensive and detailed diagnostic functions in the heating control systems, for example, help users to detect and localize problems in the heating process – which heat source has failed, perhaps, or which incoming or outgoing fuse has tripped – quickly. The diagnostic data is reported to the central system controller via Profinet.

The heating control units are readily integrated into the automation system with, for example, HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices, controllers and motion control components via the TIA (Totally Integrated Automation) Portal engineering framework. All automation devices are processed in a single project in the engineering process. The TIA Portal includes a thermographic library for the WinCC advanced Scada (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system that makes it quick and convenient for users to visualize heating panels and connect them to the operating, machine and process workflows.