SMART SENSOR, AUTOMATION AND MOTION CONTROL: GEFRAN PRESENTS PERVASIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DIGITISATION AT SPS

Visitors will be welcomed with a stand full of new products touching on the Company’s four Business Units: sensors, industrial process control systems, electric drives and automation components.

The last frontier of communication: Gefran’s solutions speak IO-Link
SPS is the ideal setting to present the new smart devices with IO-Link based architecture, the open protocol that is very much on the increase in industrial automation, enabling digital communication from field level upwards. The GR single-phase, solid-state relay series stands out here. It is a scalable platform with incremental performance and integrated diagnostics for controlling electrical resistances in industrial heating. We are talking about the GRS-H, GRP-H and the totally new GRM-H models here, all characterised by an ultra-compact design with current range from 15A to 120A. In particular, GRP-H and GRM-H are distinguished on the market for being the first relays in the world to possess IO-Link connectivity and for being easily configurable in the field thanks to the Gefran NFC (Near Field Communication) App. Furthermore, GRM-Hs integrate the typical characteristics of a power controller within the dimensions of an SSR: they allow management of linear and non-linear resistive loads such as MoSi2, Sic, SWIR, graphite and transformers. They also feature an even more sophisticated Soft Start function for controlling short-wave infrared lamps.

The Gefran range of IO-Link solutions, which already includes magnetostrictive position transducers and Melt pressure transducers, is also enriched by the new KS industrial pressure probe, equipped with IO-Link 1.1 interface and advanced diagnostic functions. The fundamental role of IO-Link will be the subject of Paolo Buzzi's presentation, Gefran's Controllers & Power Controllers Marketing Manager who, at the scientific conference “The next generation of automation between integration and simplicity of use”, will further delve into the advantages of this smart communication technology by illustrating two cases applied in the world of packaging and extrusion (25/05 at 12:20, SPS Arena).

The three-day event will also include a preview of TWIIST, the innovative position transducer, the first of its kind, with a patented system for measuring based on the 3-dimensional Hall Effect. TWIIST will be available in multivariable versions with digital CANopen and IO-Link output and in monovariable version with analogue output. Thanks to these unique features, TWIIST can be used in many industrial and mobile hydraulics sectors, where advanced safety functions can be implemented.




High-performance Multitouch HMI
For a further look at the future of Smart Connected Factories, SPS will be an opportunity to discover G-Vision, the new Gefran multitouch capacitive Panel PCs Platform, UL certified with integrated Web Server and 4.0 connectivity to communicate with all the main fieldbus protocols.




Technological Evolution and Control of Electric Motors serving specific applications
On the Drives&Motion side, Gefran will present two inverter lines: ADV200-SP for pumping systems with photovoltaic power supply and ADL500 for civil lifting. Solutions that testify to Gefran Drives&Motion’s willingness to differentiate its technological development capacity, focusing on increasingly green and evolved sectors, both from the point of view of system control and smart communication.

In detail, ADV200-SP is the AC Drives line with integrated MPPT control best suited to meet the needs of each type of system and user, thanks to an extended power range of up to 1.8MW, a simple interface and the ability to manage hybrid systems with dual power supply. ADL500 is the new generation of Gefran inverters dedicated to the world of lifts, which attracts attention due to its more advanced additions in terms of safety, energy saving, wireless and remote communication. The innovative Zero Contactors concept is introduced here, with the Safe Torque Off SIL3, Safe Brake Test and Electronic Brake Control SIL3 functions. Finally, the ADL500 inverters are equipped with the new Gefran GF_Liftouch APP, which allow interaction with the drive via WiFi from any mobile device through a simple and intuitive User Interface, for monitoring and controlling the system.

“Gefran considers innovation to be an essential requirement in seizing the opportunities deriving from digital transformation” says Marcello Perini, Gefran's CEO. “A strategy witnessed by the presentation of four solutions to SPS Italia 2022, three of which are unique on the market, namely the GRP-H and GRM-H solid-state relays and the multivariable position sensor TWIIST, with IO-Link communication protocol. Gefran’s goal is to make digitisation pervasive within the machines made by our customers, in order to implement monitoring, operational safety and maximisation of efficiency”. “In this respect, the three innovations will have a positive impact in terms of sustainability, understood in its three-dimensional connotation: economic, by virtue of scalable product platforms produced by robotic systems in collaboration with increasingly specialised professionals, that are able to guarantee better performance and energy savings to our customers; environmental, with solutions that can make a difference in future sectors such as semiconductors, batteries and hydrogen and, finally, social, thanks to advanced technologies such as TWIIST, which raise safety standards at work".




Finally, confirming the Group’s dedication towards developing a talent-oriented culture, an area of the exhibition will be dedicated to kenFLY, a digital evolution of FLY Gefran Talent Academy. This will be a space in which visitors can try out an interactive gamification experience and access the kenFLY hub dedicated to the fair’s stakeholders, designed to promote skills-training through the methodologies used by the Group to develop know-how and innovation. The kenFLY multimedia platform will also be at the centre of Patrizia Belotti’s speech, Gefran's Chief People & Organization Officer, during the inaugural Round Table “Automation and Digital for a resilient and sustainable manufacturing” (24/05 at 09:30, Arena 4.Technology) and part of the Gefran programme for students participating in the “Lezioni in fiera” initiative at the stand.

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