Company Announcement - Yokogawa announces Release 3 of the SMARTDAC+® GX/GP series paperless recorders and GM series data acquisition system. This new release includes a number of new features and capabilities for the SMARTDAC+ system’s GX series panel-mount type paperless recorder, GP series portable paperless recorder, and GM series data acquisition system.This latest SMARTDAC+ release includes an advance reminder notification and calibration correction feature that will help customers in the heat treatment industry comply with the requirements of the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap) and the SAE AMS2750E standard, and options that facilitate communications with a variety of industrial equipment, a key requirement for the Industry 4.0 initiative. In addition, the release features multi-batch capability, a DC power supply module (GM series only), and a pulse input module, and also adds support for a communications protocol used by supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA*¹) systems and human machine interfaces (HMIs).

Recorders and data acquisition systems (data loggers) are used on production lines and at product development facilities in a variety of industries to acquire, display, and record data on temperature, voltage, current, flow rate, pressure, and other variables. Yokogawa offers a wide range of such products, and is one of the world’s top manufacturers of recorders. Since releasing the SMARTDAC+ data acquisition and control system in 2012, Yokogawa has continued to strengthen it with the release of a variety of recorders and data acquisition devices that meet specific market needs and comply with industry-specific requirements and standards.

Aerospace companies often need to certify that their heat treatment and other industrial processes are Nadcap compliant. This SMARTDAC+ release includes a new option that addresses this need as well as options that facilitate connectivity with other types of industrial equipment, a key requirement for achieving the objectives of the Industry 4.0 initiative.

With this release, four (4) new firmware options and two (2) new optional hardware modules (a pulse input module and a GM series DC power supply module) are available. The key features of the four firmware options are as follows:

• Heat treatment process option for Nadcap and SAE AMS2750E certification

Nadcap and the SAE AMS2750E standard specify the pyrometric requirements for thermal processing equipment that are used in the heat treatment industry. In heat treatment processes where sensors, recorders, and data loggers are mounted directly on the heat treatment equipment to monitor their operating temperature, it is important for their calibration cycle to be clearly displayed. It is also important with accuracy tests for any calibration errors to be clearly displayed. In addition to having these capabilities, this heat treatment process option facilitates the management of calibration schedules. It can also set error compensation values for individual sensors, recorders, and data loggers, and record these values together with the measurement data. This option makes it easier for companies to obtain and maintain Nadcap and SAE AMS2750E certification.

• OPC-UA and SLMP communications options

Release 3 includes a server option that complies with the OPC-UA communication standard necessary for Industry 4.0 automation. This enables measurement data stored on general-purpose data servers to be accessed directly by SCADA systems and HMIs. With this option, the GX/GP series paperless recorders and the GM series data acquisition system can function as subsystems for the transfer of data from field sensors and measuring instruments to upper level systems. Also available with release 3 is a seamless message protocol (SLMP*²) communications option that eliminates the need for a separate module or program to connect with SLMP-compliant PLCs via an Ethernet link.

• Multi-batch recording option

Processes in the heat treatment, food/beverage, and pharmaceutical industries often require the use of more than one recording instrument to capture data on multiple batch processes. With the multi-batch option, a single recording device can record data from multiple batch processes, with the ability to individually control the start and stop of recording for each process. Furthermore, as SMARTDAC+ I/O units can connect to a network via Ethernet cables, access to multi-batch data distributed over a wide area is assured.