

- Techspro ifix scada drivers#
- Techspro ifix scada driver#
- Techspro ifix scada upgrade#
- Techspro ifix scada software#
GE Fanuc offers the OPC Driver Toolkit, which is a plug-in component to iFIX that provides the tools to easily develop high performance, reliable I/O servers to communicate between the system hardware and iFIX, OLE Automation, and OPC client applications.

Techspro ifix scada drivers#
OPC is used to facilitate this information exchange, through the hundreds of I/O drivers that enable iPower to communicate with a wide range of RTUs, PLCs and other I/O devices. In addition, operators perform controls such as remote opening and closing of circuit breakers.

Alarm and event processing are other important monitoring tools. Analog data includes voltages and currents at key locations and digital data includes the state of the circuit breakers. Human operators monitor the state of the electricity network at the iPower workstations by monitoring the system through the information from the RTUs. Communication to the RTUs from the control room is often accomplished by radio. The control room is usually in the power company’s headquarters, while the substations are spread across the power network. The RTU is wired to analog and digital transducers, relaying their current value/state back to the iPower SCADA computers in the power company’s control room. Distribution cooperatives provide electric service directly to residential and commercial/industrial members.Įach electricity substation has a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), an Input/Output device similar to a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC).

Dakota Electric is a distribution cooperative. The iPower application is at the very center of the safe and reliable delivery of electricity to DEA’s customer base.
Techspro ifix scada software#
“iPower SCADA software offers full-featured, safe, reliable and affordable SCADA suitable for distribution cooperatives of any size.” “The needs of electric distribution cooperatives were not met by SCADA suppliers,” said Randy Poulson, vice president, Engineering Services for Dakota Electric. The result is a sophisticated Windows-based SCADA system, affordable and perfect for the needs of rural electric cooperatives.” We added the software services needed to meet the requirements of electric distribution SCADA. “We started with a market-leading, sophisticated control system in Proficy HMI/SCADA iFIX from GE Fanuc. “iPower was developed to deliver the best of both worlds,” said Tony Haresnape, president of Catapult Software. The factory automation systems’ shortcoming was a lack of specific functionality required for electric distribution SCADA. The second are sold in high volumes, deliver considerably more sophistication and are much better priced. The first seemed overly expensive, yet typically lagged behind current industry standards and trends. When one of Catapult Software’s electric distribution customers asked Catapult to look at the available SCADA systems, Catapult found that existing systems fell into two camps-those that were developed specifically for the electric industry and those control systems developed for larger factory automation markets. IPower delivers a modern, sophisticated and “evergreen” SCADA software to electric utilities, and includes all of the safety, performance, reliability and management needs to efficiently operate an electric network. The company develops iPower, a product specifically for electric utility SCADA operations that is based on GE Fanuc’s Proficy HMI/SCADA iFIX, a robust Human-Machine Interface (HMI) and SCADA solution providing process visualization, data acquisition and supervisory control of operations. As SCADA systems age, they can become unreliable and are difficult to interface to the other computer systems in the business, making it hard for the company to integrate business processes and access critical data.ĭakota Electric turned to New Zealand-based Catapult Software, which has been developing SCADA software products and installing SCADA systems for the electricity industry since 1991.
Techspro ifix scada upgrade#
To serve its ever-growing population, DEA had to upgrade its obsolete Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) master station, the most critical real-time system in the business, which serves as the central monitoring and control system used by the electric company to operate its electricity network. Because Dakota County cities are growing rapidly, Dakota Electric Association acquires approximately 2,200 new members each year. The company is committed to providing reliable, affordable, electric energy and a high level of personal service to members and their communities. Covering 507 miles and serving more than 95,000 members, Dakota Electric is the second-largest electric cooperative in Minnesota and is ranked among the 20 largest electric distribution cooperatives nationally. Dakota Electric Association (DEA), founded in 1937 by a group of farmers, is a member-owned, non-profit electric utility serving parts of Dakota, Goodhue, Scott and Rice counties, just south of Minneapolis and St.
