System Technical Note

How can I…
Improve Motor Management with iPMCC – V3.1

Device Integration
2 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved
 The information provided in this documentation contains general descriptions and/or technical
characteristics of the performance of the products contained herein. This documentation is not
intended as a substitute for and is not to be used for determining suitability or reliability of these
products for specific user applications. It is the duty of any such user or integrator to perform the
appropriate and complete risk analysis, evaluation and testing of the products with respect to the
relevant specific application or use thereof. Neither Schneider Electric nor any of its affiliates or
subsidiaries shall be responsible or liable for misuse of the information that is contained herein. If
you have any suggestions for improvements or amendments or have found errors in this
publication, please notify us.

No part of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, without express written permission of Schneider Electric.

All pertinent state, regional, and local safety regulations must be observed when installing and
using this product. For reasons of safety and to help ensure compliance with documented system
data, only the manufacturer should perform repairs to components.

When devices are used for applications with technical safety requirements, the relevant
instructions must be followed.

Failure to use Schneider Electric software or approved software with our hardware products may
result in injury, harm, or improper operating results.

Failure to observe this information can result in injury or equipment damage.

© 2019 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.

3 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

Important information
People responsible for the application, implementation and use of this document must make sure
that all necessary design considerations have been taken into account and that all laws, safety
and performance requirements, regulations, codes, and applicable standards have been obeyed
to their full extent.

Schneider Electric provides the resources specified in this document. These resources can be
used to minimize engineering efforts, but the use, integration, configuration, and validation of the
system is the user’s sole responsibility. Said user must ensure the safety of the system as a
whole, including the resources provided by Schneider Electric through procedures that the user
deems appropriate.

Notice
This document is not comprehensive for any systems using the given architecture and does not
absolve users of their duty to uphold the safety requirements for the equipment used in their
systems, or compliance with both national or international safety laws and regulations.

Readers are considered to already know how to use the products described in this document.

This document does not replace any specific product documentation.

The following special messages may appear throughout this documentation or on the equipment
to warn of potential hazards or to call attention to information that clarifies or simplifies a
procedure.

The addition of this symbol to a Danger or Warning safety label indicates that an
electrical hazard exists, which will result in personal injury if the instructions are not
followed.

This is the safety alert symbol. It is used to alert you to potential personal injury hazards.
Obey all safety messages that follow this symbol to avoid possible injury or death.

DANGER
DANGER indicates an imminently hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in death
or serious injury.

Failure to follow these instructions will result in death or serious injury.

4 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

 WARNING
WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can result in death
or serious injury.

Failure to follow these instructions can cause death, serious injury or equipment
damage.

CAUTION
CAUTION indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can result in minor
or moderate injury.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury or equipment damage.

NOTICE
NOTICE is used to address practices not related to physical injury.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in equipment damage.

Note: Electrical equipment should be installed, operated, serviced, and maintained only by
qualified personnel. No responsibility is assumed by Schneider Electric for any consequences
arising out of the use of this material.

A qualified person is one who has skills and knowledge related to the construction, operation and
installation of electrical equipment, and has received safety training to recognize and avoid the
hazards involved.

Before you begin

This automation equipment and related software is used to control a variety of industrial
processes. The type or model of automation equipment suitable for each application will vary
depending on factors such as the control function required, degree of protection required,
production methods, unusual conditions and government regulations etc. In some applications
more than one processor may be required when backup redundancy is needed.

Only the user can be aware of all the conditions and factors present during setup, operation and
maintenance of the solution. Therefore only the user can determine the automation equipment
and the related safeties and interlocks which can be properly used. When selecting automation
and control equipment and related software for a particular application, the user should refer to

5 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

 the applicable local and national standards and regulations. The National Safety Council’s
Accident Prevention Manual also provides much useful information.

Ensure that appropriate safeties and mechanical/electrical interlocks protection have been
installed and are operational before placing the equipment into service. All mechanical/electrical
interlocks and safeties protection must be coordinated with the related automation equipment and
software programming.

Note: Coordination of safeties and mechanical/electrical interlocks protection is outside the scope
of this document.

START UP AND TEST

Following installation but before using electrical control and automation equipment for regular
operation, the system should be given a start up test by qualified personnel to verify the correct
operation of the equipment. It is important that arrangements for such a check be made and that
enough time is allowed to perform complete and satisfactory testing.

WARNING
EQUIPMENT OPERATION HAZARD

• Follow all start up tests as recommended in the equipment documentation.

• Store all equipment documentation for future reference.

• Software testing must be done in both simulated and real environments.

Failure to follow these instructions can cause death, serious injury or equipment
damage.

Verify that the completed system is free from all short circuits and grounds, except those grounds
installed according to local regulations (according to the National Electrical Code in the USA, for
example). If high-potential voltage testing is necessary, follow recommendations in the equipment
documentation to prevent accidental equipment damage.

Before energizing equipment:

• Remove tools, meters, and debris from equipment

• Close the equipment enclosure door

• Remove ground from incoming power lines

• Perform all start-up tests recommended by the manufacturer

6 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

Operation and adjustments
The following precautions are from NEMA Standards Publication ICS 7.1-1995 (English version
prevails):

Regardless of the care exercised in the design and manufacture of equipment or in the selection
and rating of components; there are hazards that can be encountered if such equipment is
improperly operated.

It is sometimes possible to misadjust the equipment and thus produce unsatisfactory or unsafe
operation. Always use the manufacturer’s instructions as a guide for functional adjustments.
Personnel who have access to these adjustments should be familiar with the equipment
manufacturer’s instructions and the machinery used with the electrical equipment.

Only those operational adjustments actually required by the operator should be accessible to the
operator. Access to other controls should be restricted to prevent unauthorized changes in
operating characteristics.

WARNING
UNEXPECTED EQUIPMENT OPERATION

• Only use software tools approved by Schneider Electric for use with this equipment.

• Update your application program every time you change the physical hardware
configuration.

Failure to follow these instructions can cause death, serious injury or equipment
damage.

Intention
This document is intended to provide a quick introduction to the described system. It is not
intended to replace any specific product documentation, nor any of your own design
documentation. On the contrary, it offers information additional to the product documentation on
installation, configuration and implementing the system.

The architecture described in this document is not a specific product in the normal commercial
sense. It describes an example of how Schneider Electric and third-party components may be
integrated to fulfill an industrial application.

A detailed functional description or the specifications for a specific user application is not part of
this document. Nevertheless, the document outlines some typical applications where the system
might be implemented.

7 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

 The architecture described in this document has been fully tested in our laboratories using all the
specific references you will find in the component list near the end of this document. Of course,
your specific application requirements may be different and will require additional and/or different
components. In this case, you will have to adapt the information provided in this document to
your particular needs. To do so, you will need to consult the specific product documentation of the
components that you are substituting in this architecture. Pay particular attention in conforming to
any safety information, different electrical requirements and normative standards that would apply
to your adaptation.

It should be noted that there are some major components in the architecture described in this
document that cannot be substituted without completely invalidating the architecture,
descriptions, instructions, wiring diagrams and compatibility between the various software and
hardware components specified herein. You must be aware of the consequences of component
substitution in the architecture described in this document as substitutions may impair the
compatibility and interoperability of software and hardware.

CAUTION
EQUIPMENT INCOMPATIBILITY OR INOPERABLE EQUIPMENT

Read and thoroughly understand all hardware and software documentation before attempting
any component substitutions.

Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury or equipment damage.

8 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

 This document is intended to describe how to improve motor management using an iPMCC in
EcoStruxure for Plant architecture.

DANGER
HAZARD OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, BURN OR EXPLOSION

• Only qualified personnel familiar with low and medium voltage equipment are to perform
work described in this set of instructions. Workers must understand the hazards involved in
working with or near low and medium voltage circuits.

• Perform such work only after reading and understanding all of the instructions contained in
this bulletin.

• Turn off all power before working on or inside equipment.

• Use a properly rated voltage sensing device to confirm that the power is off.

• Before performing visual inspections, tests, or maintenance on the equipment, disconnect

all sources of electric power. Assume that all circuits are live until they have been
completely de-energized, tested, grounded, and tagged. Pay particular attention to the
design of the power system. Consider all sources of power, including the possibility of back
feeding.

• Handle this equipment carefully and install, operate, and maintain it correctly in order for it
to function properly. Neglecting fundamental installation and maintenance requirements
may lead to personal injury, as well as damage to electrical equipment or other property.

• Beware of potential hazards, wear personal protective equipment and take adequate safety
precautions.

• Do not make any modifications to the equipment or operate the system with the interlocks
removed. Contact your local field sales representative for additional instruction if the
equipment does not function as described in this manual.

• Carefully inspect your work area and remove any tools and objects left inside the
equipment.

• Replace all devices, doors and covers before turning on power to this equipment.

• All instructions in this manual are written with the assumption that the customer has taken
these measures before performing maintenance or testing.

Failure to follow these instructions will result in death or serious injury.

9 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved

The STN collection
The implementation of an automation project includes five main phases: Selection, Design,
Configuration, Implementation and Operation. To help you develop a project based on these
phases, Schneider Electric has created the Tested, Validated, Documented Architecture and
System Technical Note.

A Tested, Validated, Documented Architecture (TVDA) provides technical guidelines and

recommendations for implementing technologies to address your needs and requirements, This
guide covers the entire scope of the project life cycle, from the Selection to the Operation phase,
providing design methodologies and source code examples for all system components.

A System Technical Note (STN) provides a more theoretical approach by focusing on a particular
system technology. These notes describe complete solution offers for a system, and therefore
support you in the Selection phase of a project. The TVDAs and STNs are related and
complementary. In short, you will find technology fundamentals in an STN and their
corresponding applications in one or several TVDAs.

Development environment
Each TVDA or STN has been developed in one of our solution platform labs using a typical
EcoStruxure Plant architecture.

EcoStruxure Plant, the process automation system from Schneider Electric, is a collaborative
architecture that allows industrial and infrastructure companies to meet their automation needs
while at the same time addressing their growing energy efficiency requirements. In a single
environment, measured energy and process data can be analyzed to yield a holistically optimized
plant.

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11 | © 2019 Schneider Electric All Rights Reserved
Table of contents

1. Introduction 13
1.1. Purpose 13
1.2. Context 13
1.3. Motor protection and control 14
1.4. Customer challenges 15
1.5. iPMCC offer 18
1.6. iPMCC in EcoStruxure for Plant system 20

2. iPMCC overview 25
2.1. iPMCC versus MCC 25
2.2. What is an iPMCC? 25
2.3. Intelligent motor control and energy costs 26

3. iPMCC integration in a EcoStruxure for Plant system 31

3.1. System integration 31
3.2. Plant asset management 32
3.3. Network architecture integration and consistency 32

4. Selection 35
4.1. Selection criteria 35
4.2. iPMCC offer segmentation 38

5. iPMCC offer description 43

5.1. Introduction 43
5.2. Competitive iPMCC description 44
5.3. High Dependability iPMCC description 51
5.4. Fieldbus iPMCC description 66

6. Conclusion 71

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction

1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose
The intent of this System Technical Note (STN) is to describe the capabilities of the different
Schneider Electric solutions that answer most applications of motor management with iPMCC
(Intelligent Power and Motor Control Center). The integration of iPMCC within a EcoStruxure for
Plant system is one of the main objectives of this document.

It provides a description of a common, readily understandable reference point for end users,
system integrators, OEMs, sales people, business support, and other parties.

This new release provides an update of iPMCC architectures in EcoStruxure for Plant system
using M580 controller (standalone and redundant) and using new Ethernet architectures and
infrastructures.

1.2. Context
We need to protect our motors the best we can, not so much because of the motors themselves,
as most of them are small and relatively inexpensive, but because motor failures mean that the
process is not available. Motor failures result in loss of production, maintenance costs, and
unacceptable risks in any critical process. Therefore, by protecting our motors, we are in fact
protecting our process.

Protection is a global issue. It includes not only the protection of the motors and the process, but
also the protection of personnel – either operators or maintenance staff at the electrical network,
at motor starter or at the load – by means of isolation and consignation. It also includes the
protection of the electrical network feeding the motor.

The evolution in industrial automation and information technology has helped customers to
increase productivity and lower the costs in continuous processes. Nowadays, more and more
equipment is being integrated into the automation system to make the process more available.
This integration, however, brings a new set of challenges.

The continuity and availability of the process are most critical to many customers because
downtime in the process may result in heavy financial losses and, in some cases, human injury or
even damage to the environment. A process consists of many steps which are linked together in
a successive manner. It can consist of many interacting process batches within which motors play
a very important role. Motors are key elements of manufacturing machines such as compressors
or dashers. Moreover, the semi-manufactured goods are transported from one process batch to
the next by conveyors which are also driven by motors. So, any motor failure in an important

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
procedure may stop the whole process and cause a substantial loss (maintenance costs, raw
material costs, production loss, etc.).

Motors which drive the continuous process are a fundamental element of any industrial or
infrastructure site. An essential precondition to achieving a continuity of process is for all the
motors to work under optimal conditions. Hence, motor protection and control are among the
most important topics to address regarding reliability and availability of the process.

1.3. Motor protection and control

Figure 1: Okken iPMCC switchboard example

As mentioned previously, motor protection and control are the foundations to provide continuity to
the process.

Conventional solutions based on thermal overload protections and restrictions on communication

with higher levels are no longer sufficient to meet the requirements of continuous process
industries for the following reasons:

• There are many causes of motor failure, including abnormal load or power supply, insulation
failure, incorrect wiring, detrimental environment influences, and so on. Any of these factors
may induce motor burnout or other negative consequences, and different actions should be
taken depending on the conditions. The traditional solution of “circuit breaker + contactor +
thermal relay” only provides protection from short circuit and overload. According to studies

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
carried out on the causes of motor failures, short circuit and overload cover only 35% of
breakdowns. Thus, these protections are not sufficient to provide the continuity of a critical
process. Almost half of motor breakdowns can be avoided by monitoring power and loading.

 Customers are asking for systems that can detect all possible risks in order to better
protect their processes and even to provide insight into the causes of the risks.

• Secondly, protecting a motor by just shutting it down is unacceptable in many cases.

Normally, protecting a motor from damage is not the customer’s main concern since the
motor is cheap compared to the cost of process downtime. As described in the previous
section, the downtime of a continuous process may cause significant loss, so achieving
continuity of this process, especially a critical one, is what concerns our customers most.

 Customers are asking for an “intelligent” protection system, which can identify the
potential risks and send alarms to the maintenance staff to act before a failure occurs. The
motor protection system should be “intelligent” enough to ensure the availability of the
process by giving the right information to the right people at the right moment.

• Thirdly, a continuous process is composed of many facilities, including motors. There is

always a control system for controlling and monitoring the process, and sometimes an
electrical control system for controlling and monitoring the electrical installation. The
electrical control systems may be called “SCADA” (Supervisory Control And Data
Acquisition) or “EMCS” (Energy Management Control System).

 An intelligent Power and Motor Control Center (iPMCC) should can communicate with
both the control system and an EMCS. It is then necessary for the motor protection and
control system to have the capability to transmit the real-time parameter data and receive
control orders through communication networks. To have proper interoperability between
control systems and equipment, it is better to transmit the data via network protocols widely
used in industrial automation.

1.4. Customer challenges

An iPMCC is a system integrating intelligent motor protection relays (IMPR) in a highly
dependable PCC and MCC switchboard, while at the same time providing the connectivity to the
supervision and control system through an industrial communications network.

Compared to traditional solutions, an iPMCC offers significant advantages in both the project
design and execution stages, as well as at the operations stage.

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction

Value proposition for contractors and system integrators during the project stage:

• Improved project efficiency

• Reduced engineering work as starters are more standardized over a wider range of ratings

• Reduced onsite wiring time thanks to the use of fieldbuses

• Reduced setup time thanks to remote configuration of control motor devices

• Reduced commissioning time by:

• Facilitating a better understanding of process reactions through detailed diagnostics and

statistics

• Allowing faster error fixing and bug tracking

• Helping to fix process startup issues

• Taking advantage of TVDAs (Tested, Validated and Documented Architectures)

Value proposition for end users during the operation stage:

• Improved continuity of service by:

• Increasing process availability through improved protection of motors and loads

• Using more accurate sensors

• Using more accurate motor protection models

• Reduced untimely downtime

• Alarms often allow time to fix the problem before tripping occurs

• Trip conditions are detailed to help corrective operations

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
• Statistics can be used for continuous improvement

• Recording all protection parameter changes

• Reduced operational costs

• Reduced energy costs and energy consumption

• Optimized energy consumption, benchmarking, cost allocations

• Reduced maintenance costs

• Less downtime and faster problem fixing

• Less spare parts stock and preventive maintenance strategy

• Reduced evolution costs and time

• Simplified engineering

• No wiring required

• Simplified setup

• Easier process tuning and commissioning

A complete iPMCC offer concentrates the knowledge and experience of electrical distribution,
motor protection and control, automation, and installation.

The installation system, also known as a functional switchboard, is a key element of the above-
mentioned value propositions. The following diagram shows the switchboard’s requirements
during the plant’s life cycle and the different “Index of Service.”

Figure 2: Switchboard service index

iPMCCs with removable functional units, also called drawers, such as Okken and Blokset
iPMCCs, provide Level 3 functionalities on the three vertical axes.

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
1.5. iPMCC offer
First and foremost, Schneider Electric differentiates itself by being a ‘one-stop-shop supplier’ for
process control, electrical distribution, motor control, and energy management.

Figure 3: iPMCC switchboard components

iPMCC is a complete Schneider Electric package offer, including intelligent motor protection
relays (IMPR), motor control center (MCC), power control center (PCC), and communications
solutions with tested, validated and documented architectures (TVDA). iPMCC performance is
being continuously tested as a complete installation, not only communications but also
performance, cost, and dependability issues, as well as installation issues such as EMC, heat
dissipation, ease of wiring and so on. iPMCC provides standard configurations and wiring
guidelines for each kind of application. It greatly eases the engineering and panel building work
required.

iPMCC is a powerful motor protection and control solution that provides a full set of motor
protection functions, from protections based on current measurement to protections based on
voltage measurement. Moreover, it provides accurate parameter measuring and an alarm
mechanism. It provides the possibility to define customized control modes besides the predefined
ones.

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
iPMCC is a comprehensive offer with different levels of motor protection, declined in iPCC, and
iMCC. Customers can choose the appropriate configuration to build an optimized solution
according to their needs. All the key components and switchboards are from Schneider Electric,
which implies high interoperability.

iPMCC is one of the most “open” solutions on the market. It supports the major protocols used in
industrial communications networks in native mode.

iPMCC and proximity: Schneider Electric has a large switchboard manufacturing network around
the world, including our own equipment plants and a large network of licensed partners, as well
as independent panel builders. With this global network, we can offer quick response and local
service to customers. We can provide short delivery times, adaptations according to special
needs, as well as other services including pre-sales consulting, project execution, and after-sales
support.

Okken Blokset

Figure 4: iPMCC switchboard ranges of offer

Our iPMCC solution, with highly dependable, high performance, and high safety Okken and
Blokset switchboards, is fully compliant with the IEC 61439 standard, including options for
marine, anti-corrosive for harsh environments, as well as seismic withstand (G2.7 for earthquake
and G5 for nuclear plants).

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction

The Model 6 switchboard is designed and manufactured in compliance with the NEMA
standards.

Figure 5: iPMCC Model 6

1.6. iPMCC in EcoStruxure for Plant system

EcoStruxure for Plant is Schneider Electric's collaborative and integrated automation architecture for
industrial and infrastructure customers.

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
It brings together our Telemetry, PLC/SCADA and DCS offerings with complete lifecycle services to
help make our customers operations more efficient. From initial design to modernization,
EcoStruxure for Plant transparently connects control, operation and enterprise levels of our
customers’ business

Our iPMCC solutions seamlessly integrate with EcoStruxure for Plant using open and standard
network architectures with a comprehensive range of motor protection and variables speed drives.

Figure 6: EcoStruxure architecture

Figure 7: iPMCC integrated in a EcoStruxure for Plant system architecture

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
EcoStruxure for Plant architectures cover several types of segments and applications:

• Continuous process, such as in the Oil & Gas segment

• Hybrid process, such as in the WWW or MMM segments

• Discrete applications

• Remote control applications

This STN only considers the integration of iPMCC in hybrid applications such as water treatment,
MMM, Food & Beverage.

iPMCC integration in a EcoStruxure for Plant system brings intelligence to motor control in the whole
application life cycle.

Figure 8: Application life cycle

• Plan stage

• EcoStruxure for Plant Tested, Validated and Documented Architectures help reduce the
design phase and improve the robustness of the solution.

• EcoStruxure for Plant pre-tested libraries facilitate the design and, therefore, the full
integration of the iPMCC solution in a EcoStruxure for Plant system.

• Install stage

• EcoStruxure for Plant provides all capabilities to ease the iPMCC installation and
commissioning thanks to the transparent access to all device diagnostic information,
using FDT/DTM and web technologies.

• Operate stage

• The system operation delivers operators all the data they need to operate an iPMCC
switchboard, as well as power and motor control devices.

• EcoStruxure for Plant libraries provide graphical interfaces to diagnose the process and
the system, as well as advanced alarm and trend acquisition features.

• iPMCC helps cut the maintenance time and reduce process downtime thanks to
withdrawable drawers and advanced services, such as Faulty Device Replacement

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction
(FDR), to automatically reload the configuration into a new device in the event of part
replacement. Easy access to process and device data improves the diagnostics of
iPMCC and related motor control functions.

• Optimize stage

• iPMCC contributes to the energy consumption optimization of the process with smart
power and energy meters and variable speed drives. EcoStruxure for Plant’s Energy
Management library makes it possible to control and monitor power devices for better
energy efficiency.

• Renew stage

• EcoStruxure for Plant facilitates the modernization of an existing motor control solution
to a full iPMCC architecture.

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 OOOOO 1 – Introduction

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 OOOO 2 – iPMCC Overview

2. iPMCC overview
2.1. iPMCC versus MCC
In an MCC (Motor Control Center), numerous signals pass in and out of the motor starters to
allow remote control and supervision.

In the past, only a small quantity of information was requested for control and supervision, e.g.
on/off/trip information and close/open orders.

Currently, customers are asking for control systems that deliver full information about the motor
status (faults, overheating), statistics on functioning (what occurred in the last hours), and so on.

Using traditional copper wires to transmit this information would require one wire for each
elementary data, resulting in a great number of cables for each MCC. The number of wires
generates a lot of engineering work and errors which are very time consuming to detect and
correct at commissioning time. It also requires that the final list of loads is completely defined at a
very early stage in the project engineering. It incurs high installation and maintenance costs, as
well as complicated evolution of the MCC (adding, removing, and modifying motor starters). In
addition, some types of data simply cannot be obtained using electrical signals.

Digital communications dramatically reduce the number of cables needed to transfer information,
and intelligent electronic devices allow modification of the list of loads at a later stage of the
project.

2.2. What is an iPMCC?

An iPMCC (intelligent Power & Motor Control Center) is a complete solution based on three main
foundations:

• It is based on IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices) which can be IMPRs (Intelligent Motor
Protection Relays) such as Masterpact or Compact NSX, or motor control devices DOLs
(TeSys U or T) or VSDs (Variable Speed Drives, Altivar 6xx/9xx).

• It is connected through a communications network.

• It is installed in a functional switchboard complying with international standards and type

tested assembly criteria (TTA).

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 OOOO 2 – iPMCC Overview

Figure 9: Universal enclosure

Consequently, an iPMCC is the only solution to satisfy the customer challenges mentioned in
section 1.4.

2.3. Intelligent motor control and energy costs

Motors are a major energy consumer. Many industries can significantly reduce their energy costs
simply by addressing the inefficiencies that reside in their motor loads. According to an ARC
survey, in a single year a motor can consume enough energy to account for 10 times its initial
cost.

As an example, in the infrastructure and industrial sectors in the USA, motors account for 70% of
the total electrical energy consumed.

Deploying variable speed drives and intelligent motor control centers integrated with the
automation system can significantly reduce these energy costs. The following picture shows a
typical example of an iPMCC switchboard.

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 OOOO 2 – iPMCC Overview

Figure 10: iPMCC example

Several studies have confirmed the energy savings achieved with variable speed drives (VSD):

• According to an Oil & Gas report by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) on
VSDs, significant energy savings can be achieved by installing VSDs on fans. Savings vary
between 15% and 50% when retrofitting fans with VSDs.

• Estimated power savings range from 3% to 8% using high efficiency motors and drives in
cement plants.

• The savings are particularly high for pumps and compressors using VSDs. Considerable
energy savings can be achieved because the motor only consumes the power which is
required. The overall energy demand is considerably lower than for fixed-speed drives with
the same performance.

Motor protection relays deliver load motor information to process control and energy management
systems. This information makes it possible to identify energy efficiency issues and savings
opportunities.

Furthermore, motor protection relays provide energy savings because their own power
consumption is lower than that of electromechanical protection devices.

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 OOOO 2 – iPMCC Overview
2.3.1. Monitoring your motors

Each motor within a facility operates with some level of distinctiveness from the other motors.
This distinctiveness may be due to a combination of factors, including:

• Nameplate rating

• Voltage

• Load/application

• Duty cycle

• Environment

• Adjacent loads

• Impedances

• Age

The more information that can be accumulated about a motor and how it operates, the easier it is
to reduce the energy costs associated with that motor. Permanent monitoring systems are
particularly useful because they are able to capture a great deal of information (both real-time and
historical) over the course of the motor’s life.

A fundamental issue that can affect a motor’s energy usage is its suitability for the intended
application. Motors are designed to operate most efficiently at their nameplate rating. Selecting
the wrong motor for an application or operating the motor outside its recommended parameters
will decrease the motor’s performance, introducing additional losses into the electrical system.
Monitoring systems can identify many symptoms that result in reduced motor performance,
including deviations from various nameplate parameters.

For example, Figure 4 illustrates several consequences that occur when the voltage deviates
from the motor’s nameplate voltage rating.

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 OOOO 2 – iPMCC Overview

Figure 11: Effect of voltage variations on induction motor characteristics

2.3.2. Where to look for savings

There is a wealth of information about a motor’s wellbeing buried in the characteristics of the
electrical signals at the motor’s terminals. With the motor’s nameplate data and these electrical
characteristics, it is possible to quantify many energy savings opportunities for a given motor. The
fundamental electrical characteristics include the voltage, current, and frequency data for each
phase. By collecting data on these fundamental characteristics, monitoring devices can provide
additional information needed to maximize energy savings, including:

• Power factor

• Voltage variations

• Voltage imbalance

• Motor load (based on current)

• Harmonic distortion

• Frequency deviations

2.3.3. Power factor improvement

The first and most obvious opportunity for motor energy savings is power factor correction. Most
monitoring systems provide a wide range of data directly or indirectly associated with the power
factor, including:

• Displacement power factor (total and per phase)

• True power factor (total and per phase)

• Distortion power factor (total and per phase)

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• Min/max power factor

• Reactive power and energy

• Real power and energy

• Apparent power and energy

2.3.4. Voltage imbalance

Voltage imbalance (including single phasing) is both a leading cause of inoperative motors and a
major contributor to energy losses in motors. The resulting current imbalances produce additional
losses in the motor. Monitoring systems are typically used to quantify voltage imbalance for
power quality purposes but may also be used to provide information on the losses due to voltage
imbalance at the terminals of three-phase induction motors.

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3. iPMCC integration in a EcoStruxure for Plant system

The following diagram shows how the iPMCC integrates with the hybrid process automation system
and interacts with other key functions and components. A cement plant is used to illustrate a typical
EcoStruxure for Plant process architecture.
Process control room
Historian
Technical room Energy
& Reporting
PES Performance
Engineering and
application
servers

Asset
PES Management Engineering
operation + network client
servers mngt
Operator Power Monitoring
workstations
Ethernet control network Optical fiber

Local motor iPMCC

control switchboard

iPMCC
switchboard iPMCC
switchboard

Cement Mill 1 & Material Handling Roller Press 1 / 2 Packing Section

Cement Mill - 2

Figure 12: Example of iPMCC integration within a cement plant’s process automation system

3.1. System integration

EcoStruxure for Plant allows plant owners to fully benefit from iPMCC features without excessive
software engineering costs. The key value contributed by EcoStruxure for Plant is system
integration, meaning transforming key iPMCC features into real values for plant automation
system users.

The following list details the iPMCC domains of integration and their features:

• Integration of the control loops

Integration means a close interaction of controller and device functions, allowing the effective use
of device intelligence for improved control and protection strategies.

• Integration of the control room and plant floor operator interfaces

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Integration means giving the operators direct access to motor control “faceplates,” allowing quick
and secure monitoring, manual control, diagnostics, tuning.

• Integration of the data management functions

Integration means logging of data and events related to motors and power, together with
information related to other aspects of the operation of process execution equipment, allowing
context-rich reporting, as well as the cross analysis of data. This capability represents a solid
foundation to implement an efficient energy management strategy.

3.2. Plant asset management

EcoStruxure for Plant provides the architecture and tools for the management of iPMCC
equipment, both from a hardware and software point of view, as for any other part of the
EcoStruxure for Plant system.

This allows for, among other things, “plug and operate” replacement of functional units, saving
and restoring of intelligent device configuration parameters, version control, condition monitoring
and so on.

EcoStruxure for Plant provides tools that encompass every aspect of a device’s life cycle, from
commissioning to disposal.

A basic definition of plant asset management tools:

• Software that allows simple device parameterization, condition monitoring, and configuration of
all intelligent field devices

• By using status information, it also provides a simple but effective means of checking the health of
the field devices

Following Schneider Electric’s strategy, EcoStruxure for Plant architecture fully complies with
open standards, including FDT/ DTM. This technology allows device-specific tools to be
integrated in compliant software environments and allows access to devices for their
commissioning, in-depth diagnostics, and management.

EcoStruxure for Plant system software acts as an FDT (Field Device Tool) "Frame Application,"
whereas DTMs (Device Type Manager) are or will be provided for the commissioning, in-depth
diagnostics, and management of Schneider Electric intelligent devices installed inside the
iPMCCs.

3.3. Network architecture integration and consistency

iPMCC network architecture must be consistent with, and well integrated in, the plant’s overall
network architecture.

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Three levels of network architecture have to be analyzed:

• Integration with the PAC device network architecture

• Network architecture between the PAC and the iPMCC

• Integration and consistency of the iPMCC switchboard backbone architecture

• Network architecture between all columns within an iPMCC system

• Integration and consistency of the iPMCC switchboard architecture

• Network architecture within an iPMCC column

PAC device network architecture

iPMCC backbone network architecture

iPMCC colunm network architecture

Figure 13: iPMCC sub-systems architecture

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 OO 4 – Selection

4. Selection
The objective of this chapter is to present the Schneider Electric iPMCC automation architectures
within a EcoStruxure for Plant system and then the selection criteria. Before defining the selected
automation architectures, the main selection criteria are presented in the following section.

4.1. Selection criteria

4.1.1. Project characteristics

Project environment

First, a basic question must be answered about the project environment: Greenfield or
brownfield?

In the case of brownfield projects, a control system such as a Programmable Automation

Controller (PAC) or a Distributed Control System (DCS) has probably already been installed, and
the iPMCC must respect the existing communication networks.

In the case of greenfield projects, there is a stronger possibility for a complete system offer
(process control and iPMCC). However, some customers may have certain network technologies
or control systems (strong prescription) in mind that would require either changing the
prescription or complying with the prescribed specification.

Project size

The size of the project in term of number of motors to be controlled is a key criteria to define the
most relevant automation architecture.

Small size: Less than 200 motors

Medium size: Between 200 and 500 motors

Large size: More than 500 motors

Control architecture topology

Several control architecture topologies also must be considered to select the most relevant
iPMCC architecture within EcoStruxure for Plant.

• A distributed PAC architecture can be proposed with a PAC managing several iPMCC
switchboards, but also managing other parts of the process such as instrumentation. In this
case, the PAC is located outside the iPMCC switchboard and in a remote technical room.

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• A centralized PAC architecture can also be selected with a PAC dedicated to the iPMCC
switchboard management. In this case, the PAC can be located inside the switchboard or in
a technical room close to the iPMCC.

The level of availability is also an important criteria that must be taken into consideration. In some
cases, a redundant PAC solution can be proposed to properly fulfil the project specification.

4.1.2. iPMCC architectures functional requirements

Communication requirements

Concerning the communication protocol, users are very straightforward about their requirements:

Since we are dealing with intelligent MCCs, the operation and protection information passes
through the network, locally in the MCC as well as in one or more control and supervisory
systems (process, electrical) which the MCC is connected to, associated with the PAC.

Intelligent relays, variable speed drives, soft starters, and other devices whose data needs to be
accessed must, therefore, be able to connect to the specific communication network.

The supplier is required to conduct a simulation test integrating the MCC to the communication
network through the HMI and local buttonholes. The test is an integral part of the proposal.

Drawers requirement

The project includes specifications about removable or fixed drawers, sometimes using power
criteria.

Protection relay requirements

Most users ask for micro-processed relays and their basic functionalities. The micro-processed
relays should at least have the following protection functions:

• Thermal overload protection

• Leakage to earth protection

• Imbalance and phase absence protection

• Protection against free running motor

• Complex conjugate and blocked rotor limitation

• Long startup

• The relays should have the following features:

• Motors control

• Thermal alarm

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• Faults signaling

Besides the protection and signaling functions, the units should have the following measurements
and information through the data network:

• Phase current

• History of the last five power-offs (causes and measurements)

• Operation and alarms status

There should be a practical and safe way of activating or deactivating these protections and
measurements at any time through the serial and/or local communication ports.

1. Digital inputs and outputs

The relays should also have digital inputs to acknowledge the statuses of all the other drawer
components. At the very least, the following statuses should be acknowledged:

• Reset through button

• Circuit breaker on

• Drawer in the test position

• Contactor on

• Emergency stop

2. Relay communication

The relays should have a communication port and communicate using a network to allow the
setup of all their parameters, as well as exchanging the following information:

• On/Off

• Statuses of their protections and of all the other drawer components

• Instant current measurements and all the other fault statuses

• The trigger reset may be performed in the local and remote forms

Variable speed drive requirements

Frequency inverters should be provided with the following protections:

• Under voltage (adjustable)

• No phase in the supply

• Over current

• Three-phase short circuit and ground-phase in the outputs

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• Over temperature in the inverter heat sinks

These requirements are examples but can vary according to the project.

4.1.3. Life cycle requirements

Often requirements are not explicit in the system specification documents, but are nonetheless
important to an effective iPMCC solution, and are divided into three main areas: Configuration,
Operation, and Maintenance.

Configuration:

• Device parameters easy to configure

• Easy communication configuration of the entire system

• Addition of a feeder on a running system

Operation:

• Remote and transparent device parameter access

• Network performance

• System availability

• Remote and local user interfaces

Maintenance:

• Remote condition monitoring

• Fast and secure device replacement

• Local user diagnostics

• Centralized configuration management

4.2. iPMCC offer segmentation

EcoStruxure for Plant addresses a broad scope of industrial processes, ranging from medium-
size water and wastewater treatment to large mines or food & beverage plants. Similarly, iPMCC,
which is standard in the most critical industries such as petrochemical, is gaining acceptance in
industries that have less critical requirements, but which still value the ease and safety of
operation it offers.

This chapter describes how EcoStruxure for Plant architecture, with its modularity and flexibility,
makes it possible to build scalable solutions to address the variety of requirements found in the
various target industries and applications.

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Requirement segmentation
User
openness
+ High dependability,
energy efficiency, process
Open optimization, asset
Greenfield optimization
CAPEX
Easy Operation • Desalination, large WWW plants
• MMM, Oil & Gas
& maintenance

(limited workforce &

expertise on site):

Brownfield • Small WWW plants Installed fieldbus

or prescribed • Quarries technology for
network • Concrete instrumentation & motor
(Profibus, • Transportation control.
DeviceNet)

--
Application
Requirements

+
Figure 14: iPMCC segmentation

Customer projects differ mainly in their levels of technical requirements, on the one hand, and
their openness to core Schneider Electric network technologies, on the other hand.

Technical requirements, for a large part, relate to:

• The expected dependability of the control system, resting on its availability, maintainability,
manageability

• The amount of data and parameters to be handled by the control system, down to the
intelligent motor and power control devices, for the purpose of energy management, process
optimization, asset usage optimization

Customer openness to core Schneider Electric technologies depends on the level of customer
experience, and possibly an installed base with "classic" fieldbus technologies such as Profibus
DP in Europe or DeviceNet in the USA.

Schneider Electric’s flagship network architecture, addressing the highest customer requirements,
is based on the maximal use of Ethernet, down to the field devices such as TeSys T motor
controllers or Altivar drives. This technology is the most advanced when it comes to data
throughput, flexibility of topologies, scalability, and consistency to address everything from real-
time requirements at the lowest control levels to the IT protocols used by the data management
applications. We call this integration architecture the "High Dependability iPMCC integration
architecture."

However, it must be clear that building, maintaining, and managing network architectures
designed to give this level of service come at a price: The acquisition price, on the one hand, and

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 OO 4 – Selection
the operational price, on the other. This higher initial investment cost is justified by the fast return
on investment due to the level of services achieved over the project’s entire life cycle.

Fast evolving technologies and the growing number of experienced personnel make this price
decrease rapidly, but some industries or regional markets may not be ready to pay the added
acquisition cost or recruit the personnel with the appropriate qualifications to maintain and
manage such systems. For this reason, we also propose an architecture to address markets with
less critical technical requirements regarding system availability and data management
capabilities, and with requirements to minimize acquisition costs and ease of ownership. This
architecture is based on the use of the "native" communication capabilities embedded in the
intelligent devices and available in the widest product range.

The core technologies adopted by Schneider Electric are the cost-effective Ethernet for motor
control and Modbus Serial Link for power data acquisition. The cost-effective Ethernet interface is
becoming increasingly available for all families of TeSys starters and motor controllers and Altivar
drives. Modbus Serial Link is available for all Schneider Electric power control and measurement
devices (circuit breakers, protection relays, power meters, power factor correction). We call this
architecture the "Competitive iPMCC integration architecture."

Some customers, mostly those with significant experience with intelligent process
instrumentation, have developed internal standards and competencies based on "traditional"
fieldbuses, especially Profibus DP. For those users, we propose an iPMCC integration
architecture based on Profibus DP, providing state-of-the-art communication services between
the devices and the control and system management levels. We call this architecture the
"Fieldbus iPMCC integration architecture."

User
openness
Competitive iPMCC High dependability iPMCC
Network architecture:
-Full Ethernet architecture and
Greenfield services
-Redundancy options
-No single point of failure option
Network architecture:
-Ethernet cost effective Software architecture:
-Modbus Serial line -Full system approach
-DTM for whole lifecycle
Cost driven iPMCC management
- New differentiators
Software architecture:
-Device libraries
-DTM for engineering Fieldbus iPMCC
and simple diagnostic Network architecture:
-Embebbed device -Profibus or
management -DeviceNet
-Installed base

Brownfield PLC or DCS already present or

prescribed
or
Prescribed
network Application
requirements
Figure 15: iPMCC solution positioning

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Fieldbus Competitive High Dependability

iPMCC iPMCC
iPMCC

Configuration Device Per device Per device System wide

configuration

Communication Mainly Software and Software

configuration hardware hardware

Addition of a May impact a May impact a Minimal impact

feeder in running whole sub- whole sub-
stage system system

Operation Remote access Limited Depends on Full access

to device network
parameters interface

Network Good Good High

performance

System Low Low High dependability

availability

User interface Complete Complete Complete

Maintenance Remote condition Basic Basic Complete

monitoring

Fast device Basic Depending on Full

replacement device type and
network
interface

Local user Complete Complete Complete

diagnostics

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 O 5 – iPMCC offer description

5. iPMCC offer description

5.1. Introduction
As indicated previously, the iPMCC core is a combination of networks, intelligent motor starters,
intelligent variable speed drives, and power devices (power meters and breakers). Therefore, the
technology positioning will be based on these points (with an emphasis on the network strategy).

Our network strategy will take into consideration some basic needs for iPMCC:

• Transparency

The device data is directly accessible from the control system, supervision, and other
high-level tools (energy management and so on).

• Diagnostics and maintenance

The device profile is seamlessly accessible from software tools (from different network
levels).

Devices are easily replaced when needed (mechanically and configuration).

• Performance

The network provides performance levels (data exchange, interlocking, motor start and
stop actions) adapted to the requirements specific to each process and application.

The iPMCC solution allows several networking possibilities, depending on the customer’s and the
project’s requirements. However, we will focus on the three previously described classes of
architectures capable of covering most customer requirements, from low to high-end expectations
and costs:

• Competitive iPMCC integration architecture

• High Dependability iPMCC integration architecture

• Fieldbus iPMCC integration architecture

For each class of architecture, depending on the size and the control architecture topology,
several options can be proposed and selected:

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Local control Distributed control

architecture architecture

Small Large
Medium
iPMCC size IPMCC size
iPMCC size
(number of motors)

Figure 16: Classification of iPMCC integration architectures

5.2. Competitive iPMCC description

5.2.1. Context
The competitive architecture is an optimized and recommended reference for some dedicated
applications where high availability is not required, and a cost-effective solution is requested.

This communication architecture solution is fully based on devices with native Ethernet TCP/IP
and/or Modbus serial line interface for power and motor management.

This solution also allows power monitoring facilities with new communication devices supporting web
servers.

The following illustration shows a EcoStruxure for Plant system architecture with several control
units, including Competitive iPMCCs for motor control.

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Engineering
Batch Station
Historian /
server
Asset
management
Control room
SCADA Servers
Redundant I/O
server,
alarm server Operators
trends server
workstations

M580 M580
M340

Competitive
Competitive iPMCC
iPMCC

Control unit 1 Control unit 2 Control unit n

Figure 17: Competitive iPMCC integration in a EcoStruxure for Plant system architecture

An Ethernet control network connects the control room to all control units associated with the
process steps. In each control unit, a PAC controls the process and all devices. A control unit
integrates Competitive iPMCCs to manage power and motor control devices. A Modicon M580 or
M340, depending on the size and complexity of the process, is in charge of controlling these
iPMCCs.

In this previous example, the PAC controls both the process and the iPMCC (distributed
architecture). Other architectures with a local PAC within the iPMCC switchboard can also be
proposed for large motor control centers.

The M580, as well as the M340 PAC, proposes an Ethernet NOC module with an embedded
switch supporting RSTP to manage an Ethernet loop and provide a good level of availability.

5.2.2. Competitive iPMCC architecture

The internal switchboard architecture of a Competitive iPMCC is cost driven. It is based on the
use of an Ethernet network using a cost-effective solution for devices, offering an embedded
Ethernet port and Modbus for the other devices.

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Cost effective Ethernet ConneXium switches with 5, 8 or more ports (for instance, the TCSESU
unmanaged switches) are used to connect up to 3 or 5 devices (one port is reserved for
maintenance) such as variable speed drives (ATV6xx or 9xx) or motor starters (TeSys T). A
Modbus serial line is also proposed to connect power devices (Compact NSX, Masterpact, power
meter), using an EGX150 / Link150 gateway. This network architecture and topology allow the
device to be disconnected without physically opening the network.

Optionally, a local interface (Magelis HMI offer) can also be connected to the switchboard
Ethernet network to control and monitor the iPMCC switchboard and all the system components.

The iPMCC backbone network that connects several columns together consists of an Ethernet
network. An Ethernet switch on top of each column is connected to the iPMCC backbone network.
Unmanaged or basic managed ConneXium switches can be used depending on the level of
availability required and the size of the installation. The flexibility of this architecture allows for
easy extensions of an existing installation.

In a distributed architecture, the iPMCC backbone is then connected to the PAC that controls one
or several iPMCCs as well as other parts of the process.

The following illustration shows an example of a Competitive iPMCC switchboard comprising

three columns connected in a distributed architecture to an M580 PAC:

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M580

Ethernet RSTP loop

Modbus

EGX150 Modbus

Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet

Unmanaged
switch

Figure 18: Competitive iPMCC using distributed architecture

The iPMCC backbone is an Ethernet network loop connected to the PAC Ethernet NOC module
that provides RSTP to properly manage the availability of this network.

On top of each column, a ConneXium Ethernet switch (basic switch - TCSESB083F23F0,

or standard managed switch) offers the connection to the Ethernet iPMCC column network.

The first column represents a PCC with power meters and intelligent circuit breakers such as
MasterPact or Compact NSX. The architecture shows integration with these Low Voltage (LV)
devices through a Modbus serial link using a Modbus TCP to Modbus serial line gateway such as
Link150/EGX150. The connection of the LV switchgear to the process controller is optional. Some
users prefer that this system be directly connected to the energy management system, instead.
Motor starters (TeSys T) are part of column 1. They are connected to an Ethernet unmanaged
switch with 5 or 8 ports or more. With the TeSys U, they are connected to Modbus serial link and
to an EGX150 gateway.

The second column integrates Direct On-Line (DOL) starters with TeSys T and a variable speed
drive with Altivar 6xx or Altivar 9xx. They are all connected directly to an Ethernet star topology
network using a ConneXium 16 ports switch (TCSESM163F23F0).

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A Modicon STB is also part of the iPMCC configuration to manage the drawer positions and other
status data which then allows the PAC and the SCADA to get this information.

The last column contains a mix of motor starters and variable speed drives (either ATV6xx or
ATV9xx) plus a Magelis HMI to locally control and monitor the switchboard. All these devices
embed a cost-effective Ethernet interface that allows easy connection to Ethernet switches and,
therefore, to the PAC.

Depending on the project requirements, either a removable drawer or a fixed unit can be
proposed to mount these devices.

A local PAC architecture can also be proposed, in this case the PAC (M340, for instance) can be
installed in the switchboard or in a cabinet close to the iPMCC.

The following drawing shows an example of a local PAC architecture. In this case, the M340
proposes a Modbus serial line module to connect all Modbus devices, and an Ethernet module to
connect all iPMCC columns together and to connect the devices to the PAC.

Digital modules can also be configured in the PAC to manage all input data of the iPMCC
switchboard instead of using a Modicon STB.

In this case, the PAC behaves as a data concentrator and provides all iPMCC information to the
control and SCADA level of the process.

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Figure 19: Competitive iPMCC using local PAC architecture

5.2.3. Competitive iPMCC system integration

The following sub-sections detail how the Competitive iPMCC is integrated in a EcoStruxure for
Plant system architecture following the different application life cycle phases.

Design and configuration

The EcoStruxure for Plant General Purpose Library (GPL) and Energy Management library
facilitate and, thereby, accelerate the design of a Competitive iPMCC.

For all motor control devices connected to Ethernet and Modbus serial line, function blocks for the
PAC application and SCADA faceplates are provided to integrate iPMCC functions in a
EcoStruxure for Plant system.

The following illustration shows an example of object libraries for a Tesys T and TeSys U:

Figure 20: General Purpose Library examples

Similar objects are available for power devices such as the Compact NSX and other motor control
devices such as variable speed drives. These pre-tested objects improve the robustness of the
design and hence accelerate the commissioning phase of the iPMCC. The iPMCC devices are an
integrated part of the PAC configuration software.

Operation and maintenance

Besides the TeSys and Altivar local displays, some users ask for a local HMI for maintenance
and operation (basically, an HMI for each iPMCC area). The competitive architecture offers
possible options for this request: Using the backbone Ethernet network for the local HMI or,

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alternatively, having the HMI attached to a USB port of the local PAC, if it is embedded within the
switchboard.

The competitive iPMCC can also be controlled and monitored from a centralized SCADA system
such as Citect SCADA or Wonderware System Platform. Below is an example of a Citect SCADA
interface to monitor a Competitive iPMCC switchboard.

Competitive iPMCC Switchboard Overview

Competitive
PMCC
Process
Overview

Competitive
PMCC
Device
Overview

Figure 21: Competitive iPMCC SCADA interface example

Using the SCADA system interface, the operator can easily obtain all required information to
monitor the iPMCC switchboard with the drawers’ status, and control all devices, considering the
motor operating modes, for instance.

The iPMCC electrical diagram can be monitored either from the process SCADA system or from
a dedicated power SCADA system. Below is the illustration of a Competitive iPMCC single line
diagram displayed from a Citect SCADA process SCADA system.

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Competitive iPMCC Single line diagram

Figure 22: Single line diagram example

5.3. High Dependability iPMCC description

5.3.1. Context

This communication architecture solution increases process availability with a high level of
redundancy and performance. It is fully based on devices with native Ethernet TCP or Ethernet IP
protocols, for power and motor management architectures.

This kind of architecture embeds the best performance supporting RSTP protocols and covers all
communication faults.

This solution also allows power monitoring facilities with new communication devices supporting a
web server.

The following illustration shows an example of a EcoStruxure for Plant system architecture with
several control units, including High Dependability iPMCCs for motor control. Depending on the
size and level of dependability required, several classes of architectures are proposed. For
instance, the control unit 3 illustrates an architecture with a redundant M580, offering a high level
of availability.

The following drawing shows a highly available EcoStruxure for Plant automation system that
connects the control room to all control units, using a dual Ethernet ring.

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ERP System

Firewall Asset
Historian management

Batch Manufacturing Energy

System Execution
performance
System

Redundant
Engineering
SCADA
Workstation
Servers
/

System

servers
Global Operators workstations

Cluster 1 Cluster 2

Dual Ethernet ring : Control network

M580 M580
M580 Ethernet Redundant

Ethernet

High
dependabilty
iPMCC High
dependabilty
iPMCC

Control Unit 1 Control Unit 2 …………………… Control Unit n

Figure 23: High Dependability iPMCC integration in a EcoStruxure for Plant system architecture

The advantages of Ethernet and IP-based networks are impressive:

• IT industry continues to drive lower costs.

• Control systems are taking advantage of standard Ethernet services, such as web services,
at the device level.

• Ethernet is standard for information and control levels.

• Ethernet standard is becoming the common factor between industrial process, energy
infrastructure, and building management systems.

• Ethernet IP-based networks also provide benefits in terms of system performance:

• Ethernet’s significant bandwidth produces very small-time values.

• Queuing and wire propagation delays are insignificant.

• Broadcast rate limiting, and multicast filtering prevent queuing delays.

The flexibility of Ethernet architectures makes it possible to propose several classes of

architectures, depending on the level of dependability required by the process and the project
specification.

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In the following chapters, we will describe two classes of architectures, depending on the level of
availability required by the targeted application. The selected architecture of a specific project will
certainly be a mix of these two types of architectures.

5.3.2. High Dependability iPMCC architecture

The internal architecture of a High Dependability iPMCC is based around a fault tolerant ring
backbone (either fiber optic or copper) to which all the subsystems are connected via ConneXium
managed switches.

Subsystems with different topologies are connected to the iPMCC backbone. The RSTP protocol is
used to provide good network recovery in case one of the network components fails.

The switchboard network is also an RSTP loop that makes it possible to connect the Ethernet motor
starters located in iPMCC drawers.

The lite managed switch is a cost-effective standard Ethernet switch that offers all diagnostic and
maintenance features to provide effective network management. Each switch is associated to one or
two drawers where motor control devices are located. One drawer opening doesn’t impact the
RSTP loop status.

Figure 24: Lite managed switch

In this example, four RJ45 copper ports (two for the sub-ring and one per Modbus TCP device)
are needed, so the reference TCSESL043F23F0 is selected. It is an optimized managed switch
that fully supports RSTP. No configuration is required to enable RSTP service.

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Below is a table of criteria listing the benefits of the Ethernet architecture based on the Lite
managed switch.
Network
Cost Ethernet diagnostic recovery time
IP address Security
effective services when a drawer is
opened

No impact One IP address in

Standard Ethernet
the switch, but not
Lite managed diagnostics & Less than 50 ms Standard Ethernet
switch
+ maintenance provided
mandatory to
cybersecurity
when the loop is configure RSTP
by the switch impacted loop

The iPMCC backbone network on top of each column is composed of one or several dual ring
switches. A ConneXium switch with extended capabilities, also called a Dual Ring Switch (DRS),
is proposed in this case.

For iPMCC purposes, an RJ45 copper cable is selected with the reference TCSESM083F23F1.
One switch can manage one or several iPMCC columns

Figure 25: TCSESM083F23F1

The following drawing shows an example of an iPMCC switchboard with three columns using lite
managed switches.

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M580

Ethernet RSTP loop

DRS
DRS

IFE IFE

Compact NSX

Tesys T
Masterpact

Lite Lite Tesys T Lite

Managed Managed Managed
Tesys T
Switch Switch Switch

Lite Tesys T
Tesys T Managed Tesys T Lite Lite
Switch Managed Managed
Switch Switch

Ethernet Ethernet Ethernet

Tesys T
RSTP
Tesys T
RSTP RSTP
Tesys T
Lite Tesys T
Lite Lite
Managed
Managed Managed
Switch Tesys T
Switch Switch

Tesys T Tesys T
Lite
Lite Lite
Managed
Managed Managed
Switch
Switch Switch

Tesys T Lite Tesys T Lite Tesys T Lite

Managed Managed Managed
Switch Switch Switch

Altivar 6xx Altivar 9xx Altivar 9xx

Colunm1 Colunm 2 Colunm 3

Figure 26: High Dependability iPMCC architecture

The iPMCC Ethernet backbone connects all columns, providing a highly available solution using
RSTP to manage the Ethernet ring. A dual ring switch (DRS TCSESM083F23F1, for instance) is
connected on top of a column and manages the backbone RSTP ring as well as the switchboard
RST ring. Up to 40 devices can be part of one RSTP ring. Therefore, several columns can be
managed by the same DRS.

The first column proposes an effective and simple architecture where each drawer and, therefore,
each motor control device is connected to one switch. Depending on the project requirements,
either a removable drawer or a fixed unit can be proposed to mount these devices. RSTP is used
in all switchboard network rings for continuity of service when a drawer is opened.

All motor control devices (TeSys T and Altivar) and power devices (circuit breaker, power meter)
are directly connected to Ethernet, allowing a high level of service in terms of performance,
diagnostics, and maintenance.

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A Modicon STB is also used to get all diagnostic information about the switchboard, such as
drawer position. This information is then read and managed by the PLC that is in charge of
controlling and managing the iPMCC.

A lite managed switch can connect two motor control devices.

5.3.3. Full Redundant architecture

A redundant architecture can also be proposed to increase the level of availability of this class of
architecture. A redundant M580 PAC is used here to deliver a high level of availability with a primary
and a secondary PAC CPU.

The availability level of the iPMCC backplane network is also increased by using a dual DRS switch
on top of each column.

Figure 27: iPMCC redundant architecture

Only one switch is active. In case of failure, the second switch takes control of the RSTP switchboard
loop, providing an architecture with no single point of failure.

The following drawing shows an example of an iPMCC redundant architecture with three columns. In
this architecture example, two columns are connected to the same dual DRS using lite managed
switches to connect the motor control devices, and one column is connected to one dual DRS using
a Lite Managed switches to connect two motor control devices each.

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Figure 28: High dependability redundant PMCC architecture

One pair of DRS can manage up to 39 devices in the same RSTP loop so several columns can
be controlled by the same DRS.

5.3.4. Local PAC for high dependability architecture

A PAC (M580 or M340) can also be located inside the switchboard or close to it in order to act as
a data concentrator for the iPMCC.

The following drawing shows an M580 PAC embedded in the switchboard with several Ethernet
NOC modules and I/O digital modules to manage drawer’s status.

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M580

IFE
Compact NSX
IFE

Tesys T Lite Tesys T Lite

Managed Managed
Switch Switch

Tesys T Lite Tesys T

Managed Lite
Switch Managed
Switch
Ethernet Ethernet
RSTP Tesys T
RSTP
Tesys T

Lite
Managed Tesys T Lite
Switch Managed
Switch

Tesys T Lite Tesys T

Managed Lite
Switch Managed
Switch

Tesys T Lite Tesys T Lite

Managed Managed
Switch Switch

Altivar 71 Altivar 71

Colunm1 Colunm 2

Figure 29: High Dependability iPMCC using local PAC

Depending on the size of the iPMCC, one or multiple Ethernet modules must be used. Each NOC
Ethernet module can control and scan up to 112 devices; it also manages the RSTP loop with a
maximum of 40 participants in the same loop. Therefore, several RSTP loops must be created to
manage the maximum number of devices. Using DRS switches, several RSTP loops can easily
be created and managed.

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8 port 8 port
switch switch

RSTP RSTP
Sub Ring Sub Ring

< 40 devices < 40 devices

≤ 125 devices

Figure 30: RSTP sub-ring in High Dependability iPMCC architecture

Depending on the PAC family, up to four Ethernet NOC modules can be configured to allow
around 600 devices to be managed in an iPMCC switchboard. In this case, it is recommended to
configure several subnets to define separate broadcast domains.

5.3.5. Network transparency

The High Dependability iPMCC is based on an Ethernet-down-to-the-device concept. Using Ethernet

from the SCADA level down to the devices allows for transparent data access to all iPMCC
information to better control and manage motors and the associated process.

The SCADA system, asset management tool, engineering workstations, and network management
tool can directly read or write data in all devices embedded in the switchboard.

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Asset
Engineering
management SCADA
workstation
tool client/server

Routing capabilities

Transparent
Data access

Figure 31: Transparency feature

Usually several subnets are defined to protect the different Ethernet networks. The SCADA system
will be configured in a different subnet than the iPMCC switchboard and the PAC. To allow data
access transparency between all these different Ethernet networks, routing capabilities have to be
implemented. The M580 PAC offers an Ethernet module, BME NOC 0321, providing IP forwarding
functions between several subnets (up to three). It also provides an Ethernet backplane that delivers
transparent communication between all Ethernet modules located in the same PAC system.

In a very large installation, an external router can also be used to supply the full routing function
between the different levels of the network architecture.

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Asset
Engineering
management SCADA
workstation
tool client/server

iPMCC

Figure 32: Large architecture using external router

5.3.6. High Dependability iPMCC system integration

The following sub-sections detail how a High Dependability iPMCC is integrated in a EcoStruxure
for Plant system architecture following the different application life cycle phases.

Design and configuration

The EcoStruxure for Plant GPL and Energy Management library facilitate and accelerate the
design of a High Dependability iPMCC.

For all motor control devices connected to Ethernet, function blocks and SCADA faceplates are
provided to integrate iPMCC functions in a EcoStruxure for Plant system.

The following illustration shows the faceplate dedicated to an Altivar speed drive.

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Figure 33: Example of GPL faceplate

Similar objects are available for all types of motor control devices and for the intelligent power
devices embedded in an iPMCC. The following figure shows a faceplate for a circuit breaker,
Compact NSX.

Figure 34: GPL faceplate for Compact NSX

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Operation and maintenance

The iPMCC operation can be done through different user interfaces:

• SCADA system (Wonderware System Platform or Citect SCADA)

• A web browser interface

• A local HMI

The centralized or distributed process SCADA system is used to control and monitor a High
Dependability iPMCC. From this interface, the operator can go directly to the right information to
diagnose the switchboard, the drawers, the network, and all key components.

Below is an example of a Wonderware System Platform interface developed to control and

monitor an iPMCC. Process and device views are proposed to get access to all information
required to manage the iPMCC information.

Figure 35: Example of SCADA interface for iPMCC

Ethernet and web technologies have been promoted by Schneider Electric for many years now.
Accordingly, Tesys T and ATV 6xx/9xx have embedded web pages that can be accessed
automatically from any standard web browser.

The screenshot below is an example of a Tesys T embedded web page:

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Figure 36: TeSys T web page

The following table describes all the functions of the web server pages. The availability of the
functions depends on the configuration:

Menu Displayed Information Function

Identification of the connected product: LTM R

HOME Home page
controller with/without LTM E expansion module
Language Display of the pages in the selected language
Activation and deactivation of data modification
Identification
mode
Link to the http://www.schneider-electric.com
DOCUMENTATION References
website
Display of information from input/output status
MONITORING Product status
and the internal product status
Display of measured data with numerical value
Metering
and graphical representation
DIAGNOSTICS Ethernet basic diagnostics Display of information on the address and FDR
Ethernet extended Display and reset (password-protected) of
diagnostics communication statistics for each port
Display of faults and warnings status and fault
Faults and warnings count, if any, for each data and reset (password-
protected) of fault count
Display and reset (password-protected) of the
Fault history
thermal, current, voltage and power fault history

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Menu Displayed Information Function

MAINTENANCE Counters Display and reset (password-protected) of statistics

Display and modifications (password-protected) of
SETUP Thermal settings
editable thermal settings
Display and modifications (password-protected) of
Current settings
editable current settings
Display and modifications (password-protected) of
Voltage settings
editable voltage settings
Display and modifications (password-protected) of
Power settings
editable power settings
Password Modification of the password used to edit data

Asset manager in local HMI

An advanced local control may be required; in this case, a Magelis GTU for instance can be
installed on the iPMCC switchboard, and be connected to the Ethernet backbone, as shown
below:

A standard web browser is used to access the embedded web pages of motor control devices as
described in the previous item. Moreover, a complete local asset manager system is offered with
full documentation integrated in electronic form for all the LV switchboard components. No PAC
programming is required, only a Vijeo XD license and an Excel tool.

The advantages for the customer are:

• No need to know the name of the product or its commercial reference. Therefore, no paper
or archive is needed.

• Immediate access to the relevant documents, at the right place:

• All the information is embedded in the LV switchboard, so the iPMCC switchboard and
related product documentation is at hand.

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• Intuitive access:

• The documentation is structured in the same way as the switchboard to facilitate the
information access.

• Easy to install and to maintain.

The following snapshots show some screen examples:

5.4. Fieldbus iPMCC description

5.4.1. Context

An EcoStruxure for Plant system can easily meet project specifications prescribing specific
fieldbus technologies such as Profibus DP. The following illustration shows a EcoStruxure for
Plant system architecture, including functional units, with Fieldbus iPMCC using Profibus DP.

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Engineering
Batch Station
Historian /
server
Asset
management
Control room
SCADA Servers
Redundant I/O
server,
alarm server Operators
trends server
workstations

Ethernet

M340 Profibus DP
M580

Fieldbus
iPMCC

Fieldbus
iPMCC

Control unit 1 Control unit 2 Control unit n

Figure 37: Fieldbus iPMCC integration in a EcoStruxure for Plant system architecture

An Ethernet control network connects the control room to all functional units distributed in the
plant.

When a project prescription requires Profibus DP, several solutions can be proposed based on an
M340 or M580 PAC, using a Profibus Remote Master (PRM). The Fieldbus iPMCC described in
this chapter uses a Profibus Remote Master (TCSEGPA23F14F) that allows the integration of
Profibus iPMCC to the EcoStruxure for Plant system. The PRM is located inside the switchboard
rather than outside as was shown in the previous figure for explanatory purposes.

5.4.2. Fieldbus iPMCC architecture

The following image shows the internal architecture of a Fieldbus iPMCC using Profibus DP.

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Ethernet

PRM
EGX150

Profibus DP

Modbus SL

Profibus DP

Profibus DP

TA

Figure 38: Fieldbus iPMCC switchboard architecture

The Fieldbus iPMCC uses Profibus DP to connect all motor control devices such as TeSys T,
TeSys U, and variable speed drives. All these components have Profibus integrated ports; the
network is tied (daisy chain) inside the Profibus DP connector, allowing the device to be
connected without physically opening the network.

This is a Profibus connector showing the internal daisy chain connection:

In addition, the architecture shows potential integration with the LV switchgear (Masterpact, NS
and power metering) through a Modbus serial link. The connection of the LV switchgear to the

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process controller is optional. Some users instead prefer that this system be directly connected to
the energy management system.

The Profibus Remote Master (PRM) makes it possible to connect Profibus DP architecture to
Ethernet and, therefore, to fully integrate the iPMCC with the rest of the EcoStruxure for Plant
system.

The Profibus Remote Master can manage up to 126 Profibus DP devices so that several iPMCC
columns can be connected to the same PRM.

On top of all the columns, an Ethernet fault tolerant ring increases the availability of the solution.

5.4.3. Fieldbus iPMCC system integration

The following sub-sections detail how a Fieldbus iPMCC is integrated in a EcoStruxure for Plant
system architecture following the different application life cycle phases.

Design and configuration

The PRM allows the deployment of a remote Profibus network. As the Profibus master is
connected to an Ethernet network, the constraints in terms of distance to the PAC are not very
strong. As the below diagram shows, the PRM can be used with an M580 or M340 PAC.

The PRM has a large I/O interface for cyclic exchanges of 1022 input words and 1046 output
words, as well as 26 input words and 2 output words for the PRM, itself. Therefore, a single PRM
can manage a significant number of iPMCC columns and motor control devices.

The Profibus DP configuration is fully integrated in EcoStruxure for Plant software.

Pre-tested libraries are also provided to accelerate the design phase.

The PRM is compliant with FDT/DTM technology that allows easy configuration and diagnostics
of the iPMCC devices.

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Operation and maintenance

Besides the TeSys and Altivar local displays, some users ask for local HMI for maintenance and
operation (basically, an HMI for each iPMCC area). In Profibus DP, it can be used as a Profibus
DP slave HMI (Magelis GTU provides Profibus slave adapter).

A centralized or distributed SCADA system is used to control and monitor the Fieldbus iPMCC,
including all related power and motor control devices.

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6. Conclusion
iPMCC architecture concentrates the knowledge and experience of electrical distribution, motor
protection and control, automation, and installation. Therefore only a few leading electrical
distribution and automation companies can access this market.

iPMCC provides a scalable and comprehensive offer with various levels of motor protection.
Customers can choose the appropriate configuration to build an optimized solution to suit their
needs.

iPMCC integration in EcoStruxure for Plant architecture, with its modularity and flexibility, makes
it possible to build the most relevant solutions that will address the wide range of requirements of
the various targeted industries and applications.

The three iPMCC system architectures described here can cover most customer requirements,
from low to high-end expectations and costs.

• Fieldbus iPMCC:

EcoStruxure for Plant is also open to other fieldbus technologies, such as Profibus DP or
DeviceNet, that can be prescribed in some dedicated projects.

• Competitive iPMCC:

EcoStruxure for Plant proposes this solution for small and medium size projects where the
cost is the key selection criteria. In this case, a mix of cost effective Ethernet and Modbus
serial line is proposed

• High Dependability iPMCC:

EcoStruxure for Plant network strategy is based on open and standard technologies using
Ethernet networking as the preferred solution. This solution offers high level services in terms
of diagnostics, availability, maintenance, and performance.

Customers are facing numerous challenges and demanding more and more from their production
means, while at the same time must adapt their automation systems according to the volatile
state of the global economy. Therefore, for the three iPMCC solutions, EcoStruxure for Plant
system automation software helps to reduce the development and maintenance efforts with its
pre-tested object libraries.

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About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is leading the Digital Transformation of Energy Management and Automation in Homes,
Buildings, Data Centers, Infrastructure and Industries.

With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is the undisputable leader in Power Management –
Medium Voltage, Low Voltage and Secure Power, and in Automation Systems. We provide integrated efficiency
solutions, combining energy, automation and software.

In our global Ecosystem, we collaborate with the largest Partner, Integrator and Developer Community on our
Open Platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency.

We believe that great people and partners make Schneider a great company and that our commitment to
Innovation, Diversity and Sustainability ensures that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment.
www.schneider-electric.com

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