The cover story in this issue of AppliedAutomation completes the three-part series on motor measurement from Yokogawa’s Bill Gatheridge. In this article, Gatheridge continues his explanation of how to make power measurements for 3-phase ac motors and drive systems. He explains why it is important to accurately measure VFD input and output power, electrical input power to the motor, and motor mechanical power. He also discusses the use of filters when measuring PWM VFDs and during harmonic analysis, as well as how they affect measurement outcomes.
This issue also includes an article about designing real-time process controllers. Hardware-based automation and control systems are giving way to software-based control, according to the author. As he states: “Almost all automation and control systems are designed, developed, and built using data processors, microprocessors, DSPs, or any other processing device that executes instructions derived or compiled from a software program.”
The third story expands on the concepts of the enterprise information system maturity model as it was introduced in the article, “Understand the maturity model to better manage, integrate plant floor, enterprise systems,” (Control Engineering, Aug. 2014). The author provides advice on several aspects of Level 1 sustainability, which include software licensing, system/application extensibility, and system openness, scalability, and support.
