Beckhoff Automation GmbH (Germany) - SMI master terminal flexibly integrates light and shading solutions into building automation.

Beckhoff has extended its range of sub-bus systems for building automation via two SMI master terminals, the KL6831 and the KL6841, which connect the Bus Terminal system with the SMI (Standard Motor Interface) bus. Each terminal can control up to 16 SMI-compliant roller shutter and sunblind drives. The energy consumption for heating/cooling and lighting is reduced by intelligently controlling the blinds or roller shutters according to the position of the sun.

The SMI command set, which is completely supported by the Beckhoff Bus Terminals, not only allows SMI drives to perform up and down movements, but also enables them to move to defined roller shutter positions and precise louvre angles. This is exactly where the greatest advantage lies: in conjunction with intelligent energy and lighting management, the louvres are positioned or tracked according to the position of the sun. This results in a reduction of the heating and/or cooling power consumption on the one hand and on the other optimises light regulation to ensure glare-free living and working areas. The feedback signals supplied by the SMI drives for the current position of the motor/blind can be forwarded to the higher-level building automation system and to the management and operation levels.

According to the different designs of roller shutters and blinds, the KL6831 is designed for LoVo SMI drives (24 V DC) and the KL6841 for 230 V AC SMI drives. Both SMI master terminals have two digital inputs, to which freely definable SMI movement commands can be assigned. External sensors such as weather stations or manual operation modules with an override function over the automatic controller are thus easy to integrate. In addition, commissioning is facilitated simply by actuating the two inputs, since the connected SMI drives can be driven upwards and downwards without a control program.

Preconfigured PLC function blocks from the TwinCAT PLC SMI library cover the complete range of SMI functions. Thus, control functions are very easy to implement, and external signals or central commands from other building bus systems, such as BACnet, EIB/KNX, LON, Ethernet or Modbus/TCP, will be forwarded to the SMI drives via the TwinCAT controller.