Yokogawa Electric Corporation will be releasing an enhanced version of its Centum VP integrated production control system. The enhancements in this latest release, R6.04, include a new input/output (IO) module that will give Yokogawa end users a greater range of choices.
Development background
Centum VP solutions encompass all stages of the plant lifecycle, from design, engineering, installation, startup to full operation, routine and major maintenance.
Control systems rely on field IO devices to transfer data to and from field instruments such as sensors and valves to automate the control of plant facilities. Centum VP’s N-IO (Network-IO) is one such field IO device.
As the universal IO module originally developed for the N-IO device can handle a wide variety of IO signal types, it is easy to install different types of sensors when constructing a new plant or renovating an existing facility.
Enhancements
New IO module
A new, low-cost IO module that handles only digital signals has been added to the N-IO lineup. To accommodate both analog and digital signals, it can be used in combination with the universal IO module.
In addition, a signal conversion function is included in the new IO module’s adaptor. With the universal IO module, a dedicated signal conversion board is required to directly receive signals from a field instrument, such as a temperature sensor.
The incorporation of this function in the new IO module eliminates the need for this hardware.
Windows 10
This latest Centum version uses Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise. Microsoft provides five years of extended support in addition to the standard five years of mainstream support, free-of-charge. It includes security patch updates. This enables a 10-year product lifecycle.
Ring network topology
Centum VP’s Vnet/IP is a control network originally developed by Yokogawa. Centum VP’s Vnet/IP real-time control bus uses the star topology, in which all devices are connected to a central hub. This latest Centum version also allows the use of a ring topology, in which devices are connected to each other in the form of a ring. With this feature, more flexible networks can be configured to satisfy customer needs.