New human-machine interface for active harmonic filter

Schaffner has introduced a new and easier to use human-machine interface (HMI) to its active harmonic filter (AHF) solution, the Ecosine Active Sync.

The Ecosine Active Sync is a modular product that has been on the market for around five years and actively mitigates the harmonics sent back to an electrical network, reducing or suppressing disturbances by taking the harmonic current generated by non-linear loads and converting it. In Europe, the current level for effective harmonic mitigation is 50Hz and the AHF solution is ideal for applications where harmonics levels are continually changing, such as when producing high-quality products like semiconductor wafers.

Ecosine delivers a solution for three- or four-wire system, mitigating harmonics between the phases and neutral wire. It needs to be programmed to fine-tune it to a specific application but, up until now, the traditional way of doing this has been by connecting a computer or laptop with a special cable plus associated software. At the same time, direct machine-face interaction was only possible through a 2-inch (5cm) monochrome display that required the user to press physical buttons to switch through the various parameters and enter values.

As an alternative to the monochrome Display module and the AHF Viewer PC software, Schaffner step up the user experience with the new HMI unit that uses a large 7 inch (18cm) capacitive colour touch-screen. Using simple screen swipe functions familiar to any smartphone user, this modern user interface makes it more straightforward to access and view all the necessary parameters – while reading and entering values where required.

The new HMI makes it possible to change and monitor all filter parameters and measured values of the three-phase network. It can plot up to six traces in an oscilloscope-style view, and ensures all measurements are saved automatically to the built-in memory (for subsequent downloading to a USB drive if needed).

With the Ecosine Active Sync used widely in such challenging and demanding sectors as the automotive and robotics industries – as well as in large data centres and semiconductor manufacturing – simplifying the AHF’s operation and modernising how users interact with it were key factors behind Schaffner developing the new HMI.

Says Luc Mosca, Product Manager at Schaffner: “This new HMI is a substantial advance on the previous user interface and enables us to upgrade the user experience to a level where interaction with the Ecosine is a much easier process. With just a simple check, the operator can see instantly whether everything is working okay or if there are any alerts, with errors or warnings displayed clearly on the large colour screen.”