Topics April 2, 2020
Power Supply 4.0 – More Power for Your Control Cabinet

Fast, flexible, as cost-effective as possible – in the face of increasing cost pressure, scarce resources and tight delivery times. The demands on the control cabinet industry are steadily increasing. Production processes are undergoing more and more digitization and automation to reduce costs and save time, with power supplies playing a decisive role.

But what does a modern power supply look like? And what must it be able to do? With the WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply, WAGO introduces future-proof devices to power your application: Choose the power of the possible!

Highly Communicative, Highly Efficient –
WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply

Power with Communication for Industry 4.0
Intelligent Overload Behavior
Resource-Efficient Energy Use
Challenging Environmental Conditions

Save Time with Modular Circuit Diagrams

A modern power supply must basically do one thing: Convert alternating current into a safely electrically isolated direct current. It is simultaneously necessary to save time and money – but how? According to a 2017 study by EPLAN and the Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Units at the University of Stuttgart, planning and creating the circuit diagram account for over 50 % of the design time. There is significant potential here for savings. This study on Control Cabinet Manufacturing 4.0 shows that switching from project-specific or order-oriented circuit diagrams to modular circuit diagrams can trim the engineering process times by up to 45 %. There is significant potential for optimization like this in control cabinet manufacturing and in the power supply, since many steps are still performed today without automation. 92 % of the study participants surveyed still rely on two-dimensional engineering. But why? One industry that is facing particular challenges in this regard is the automotive industry.

The Automotive Industry: Increasing Demands on Power Supplies

If an auto manufacturing system is idle for even a few minutes, it can quickly cost several thousand euros and mean fewer vehicles produced. This is made all the more frustrating if it’s caused by a failed power supply whose original price was only a fraction of these costs. To avoid this, choosing a reliable power supply is imperative. “Availability plays an important role for automobile manufacturers above all else. An important selection criterion for the power supply is its theoretical life expectancy,” says Manfred Grabowski, Automotive Key Account Manager at WAGO. It’s worth closely inspecting the datasheets when selecting the power supplies: Comparable devices may differ significantly when you look a little closer. A long life expectancy is usually also associated with low heat generation and low power loss. The example of power loss makes it clear that proper selection and dimensioning of power supplies can also reduce energy costs.

The Crucial Difference: the Right Control Cabinet Cooling

The higher the power loss is, the more the power supply heats up. This directly affects the cost to cool a control cabinet through increased air conditioning. Even a 1 C heat increase in the control cabinet means significantly higher energy consumption. Therefore, manufacturers of air conditioners for control cabinets recommend a temperature of 95 °F (35 °C). However, if a higher temperature is set, as is the case with some automotive industry users – for example, 100 °F (38 °C) – the delta of 3 °C contributes significantly to reducing the energy costs and CO_{2 emissions. However, the control cabinet components and the power supplies must be up to this. The designer needs to take the derating curves of individual components into account – but not with the new WAGO Pro 2 Power Supplies, which can operate up to +140 °F (+60 °C) without derating.}

Pro 2 – the New Heart of Your Control Cabinet

WAGO’s efficient power supplies always deliver a constant supply voltage – whether for simple applications or automation with greater power requirements. A high-efficiency design permits space-saving dimensions; a uniform housing design and a digital twin make the implementation very easy. Another advantage: Plug-in connections enable pre-assembled cabling and faster installation.

We present the most important functions of the new Pro 2, which provide power for the Power Supply 4.0: Choose the power of the possible!

Overview of the Top Functions

Power with Communication for Industry 4.0

The WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply is configured so that the most important operating status information can be read off the front – even more valuable data can be retrieved through the controller. Assessing situations in real time and responding judiciously requires real-time status information. Therefore, the WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply has various functions and components that keep the user informed. The LED bar chart on the front reliably indicates the current output power, as well as overloads/load reserves. Furthermore, the LEDs indicate the selected operating mode and, if worst comes to worst, warnings and errors.

For data collection and read-out of status information, the Pro 2 Power Supply can be connected to a dedicated communication module at any time, allowing selection of the desired protocol for coupling to the automation and control level.

Intelligent Overload Behavior

Applications with high output requirements call for professional power supplies capable of handling power peaks reliably. The WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply gives you the power of the possible for all projects. Its load management features corresponding intelligence – after all, the point is to supply power reliably to your equipment and protect it at the same time. With TopBoost, PowerBoost and further parameterizable overload behavior, the WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply protects your equipment and provides intelligent current and switching modes. 150 % PowerBoost and up to 600 % TopBoost are available for reliable and fail-safe system availability.

Resource-Efficient Energy Use

Small but powerful: The difference lies in the details. We can demonstrate with a small example: The typical efficiency of a simple power supply with nominal power of 960 W is 91 %. With the Pro 2 Power Supply, the efficiency is 96 %. At first glance, five percent doesn’t seem like much, but it makes all the difference: The superior efficiency of the Pro 2 Power Supplies eliminates 55 W of power loss. Calculated with respect to an operating time of five years, this means savings of 198 euros on energy costs and one metric ton of CO2 at the same time. For comparison: A 80-year-old beech tree standing 75 feet (23 m) tall can store one metric ton of CO2 – so with several hundred power supplies in a production line, that would be a whole forest. As you can see, a small difference, but a big effect!

Challenging Environmental Conditions

Whether in the Arctic or the desert, the WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 can start and run in temperatures from −40°C to +70°C. Low derating begins > 60 °C and allows 70 % output power in 70 °C applications as well – even at an elevation of 5,000 m above sea level. Furthermore, the wiring in the WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply has a high degree of resistance against transients. Overvoltage category III ensures safe operation in power grids with overvoltage surges or control cabinets with regenerative drive controllers.

THE PRO 2 TURNS THE DEMANDS OF TOMORROW INTO OPPORTUNITIES TODAY FOR ANYONE WHO WORKS WITH CONTROL CABINETS [...] THIS IS THE BENCHMARK FOR EVERY OTHER POWER SUPPLY

Stefan Wagner, Head of PM for Power Supplies

Pro 2 Product Features

Learn more about the potential of the
WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply

The New Heart of Your Control Cabinet

The WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply: Control cabinets are undergoing a transformation, because the both quantitative and qualitative demands on them are constantly increasing. Greater networking, rising energy costs and increasing customization require economy, speed and flexibility in a minimal footprint for control cabinets.

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Topics April 2, 2020 Power Supply 4.0 – More Power for Your Control Cabinet

Highly Communicative, Highly Efficient –WAGO Pro 2 Power Supply