The Faraday Predictive S200 Switchgear-Mounted Condition Monitoring System comprises a number of elements, that combine to provide advice to users on Maintenance and Energy Optimisation.
As a permanently installed solution the S200 provides continuous monitoring of your equipment, 24×7. Each S200 unit stores up to 3 months worth of data locally. The information from the units can be communicated to users in a number of different ways – including
- Permanent on-line connection into your Ethernet Network, replicating to your central server.
- Communication by LTE (ie Mobile Phone network) into our cloud server.
- Periodic capture of data by hand-held device – either
- The R100 USB data capture unit that you use to transfer the data to a Faraday Predictive Workstation; or
- The F250 Faraday Predictive Complete Portable Workstation, that captures the data direct, and also provides viewing, reporting and analysis; and can also be replicated onto your network if you wish;
These elements can be combined in a number of different architectures, depending on the location of the central processing, and the methods of communicating between them. Some of the main options are listed below, and described in detail lower down on this page – click on the relevant item to go straight to that section
At the heart of the system are two key components – the individual S200 units and the central storage and display system.
The S200 unit itself mounts in the vicinity of the motor starter – either inside the same cabinet if there is space, or in an adjacent cabinet if required. It takes inputs measuring voltage and current drawn by the motor on all three phases, carries out local processing using the B10 software package, and communicates the results out via Ethernet, WiFi, LTE, Modbus or manual download via USB.
The central data storage and interrogation is managed by Faraday Predictive’s B20 software suite. Data from the individual S200 units is fed into, and stored in, an SQLServer database. B20 allows the user to interrogate, analyse and display the information in a variety of ways, and to remotely control the S200 devices connected to it.
Generic architecture
The software and storage can either be held somewhere in your premises, on your network, or can be on Faraday Predictive’s own cloud server.
Information can be communicated from this system to other corporate systems such as plant historians, like OSI PI, to maintenance management systems like Maximo/MIMS/SAP, or Process Control systems, via OPC or via T-SQL queries, providing a powerful and flexible way of presenting the right information in the right place at the right time.
System architecture using Faraday Predictive cloud server
The central data storage can be held on Faraday Predictive’s own cloud server, communicating between the units and end users via the internet as shown in the diagram below.
Using the Faraday Cloud Server means you will always be benefiting from the most up-to-date software. It avoids the need for in-house work to set up new servers, or to gain approval for incorporating new software on your network. It also makes it easy for Faraday Predictive staff to help with queries and support to diagnostic interpretation and to provide advice based on the most up to date picture of your equipment condition.
System architecture using LTE (mobile phone network) comms direct from condition Monitoring units to our cloud server
Each S200 unit can communicate direct via LTE using a simple plug in dongle. Where the signal is weak (eg when the unit is mounted inside a metal motor starter cabinet) an external aerial can be connected and located in a location with stronger signal. This arrangement avoids the need for any special software to be installed on your network, avoiding the need for potentially lengthy testing and authorisation from your IT department, making it particularly suitable for rapid start projects, for remote field stations or for small projects.
Sometimes it can be just too difficult to set up continuous communication from the sensing units to a central system – for example, where you are remote from any Ethernet connection points, where there is no viable mobile phone signal, or where your assets are mobile. The S200 is able to cope with these situations and still provide continuous recording of data, with a simple automated system for capturing this data and feeding it into your central system, where it can be displayed alongside equivalent data for your connected units. We offer two alternative techniques for this, one using a simple data capture unit (the “R100”) and a fixed Workstation (the “F200”), the other using a Mobile Complete Workstation (the “F250”) that not only captures the data and communicates it to the central server system, it also provides the means to store and analyse the data, providing a complete solution in its own right.
System architecture for “starter kit”
A quick way to get started, without the need for integration with corporate WAN/LAN systems is to make use of Guest WiFi faciities, using a local PC connected directly via Cat 5 cable to the S200s. Local users view the data from this local PC. Remote users view the data from the Faraday Predictive cloud server, which is synchronised with the local PC using Guest WiFi, or possibly LTE comms. This also allows Faraday Predictive to be able to view the data in real time, and able to provide diagnostic interpretation and support.
System architecture using Faraday Predictive S200 monitoring units and R100 USB data capture device for periodic manual data collection
The R100 is a small, lightweight, robust device that captures up to three months’ data from the S200s automatically when plugged into the USB port on the S200. LEDs indicate when the process is complete (typically a minute or two). Once data has been captured from each S200 individually, the R100 is connected to the F200 Faraday Predictive Workstation, where the data can be communicated up to the Server for long term storage and analysis. For a truly simple, stand-alone system, the Workstation can be specified with Analytical software, allowing full interrogation and analysis without using a server at all.
System architecture using Faraday Predictive S200 monitoring units and F250 complete portable workstation for periodic manual data collection
The F250 Complete Portable Workstation combines the benefits of the R100 USB capture device with the F200 workstation, in a stylish, ruggedized Surface Pro PC which allows you to automatically capture data direct from your S200s into the built-in database. Pre-loaded with the latest, most powerful, Faraday Predictive diagnostic and analytical software, this Portable Workstation allows you to view trends, alerts, alarms, predictions of equipment condition, corrective advice, and create reports, meaning that this could be all the system you ever need for your disconnected assets. In addition, the Workstation database can also be automatically synchronised with the central server to give you information on all of your disconnected and connected S200 assets in one place, and all in exactly the same format.
Hybrid architecture – gives a single central view of all monitored machines, whether they are permanently connected or standalone. As standalone machines get connected, system automatically incorporates them with no break in data history.
