Companies that will not compromise on specification but want a low cost data recorder may be interested in the launch of Eurotherm’s new 6100E model. The design brief was to create an easy-to-use, secure and adaptable recorder that will meet the needs of industry at a competitive price.
Many companies have an ongoing requirement to record data relating to a manufacturing process, but do not need the sophistication of higher cost recorders. The 6100E looks to be a good choice for basic visualisation and recording requirements, and serves as a replacement for small strip chart recorders. Of course, the now “old” strip recorders offer none of the security and flexibility of secure electronic data files. For a small instrument, the 6100E’s full colour display is impressive and particularly when you consider that the screen uses touch technology for clear intuitive configuration and operation. Eurotherm have incorporated a USB port as standard to enable the use of a mouse, keyboard or bar code scanner so that there are a variety of interfaces available.
Security is always a concern (particularly with news of increasing cyber attacks), so it’s reassuring that the 6100E stores data in check summed, binary compressed files for security purposes. A graphic recorder ensures that pens and paper will never run out, and data can be moved manually or archived automatically to multiple locations. In practice, this means removable media, network servers or the Eurotherm Review database which can sit on any PC. An internal, non-volatile 8Mb memory gives adequate storage and a data review capability at the instrument itself, which in turn enables the operator to set up the best strategy for a specific application. The USB port can further be used to support a removable memory stick for increased local archive capacity.
Communication is provided via an Ethernet port with both Modbus TCP (slave) and FTP protocols supported. With this connectivity, the 6100E recorder can easily be integrated into a larger system with data transparency across the network. The specification of this recorder is completed by the inclusion of relay outputs and configurable channels for Maths, Totalisers and Counters give companies the further flexibility to adapt the recorder in order to meet specific application needs. Maths functions include add, subtract, multiply, divide, constant, group max, group average, channel min, channel max, channel average, rolling average and slaves comms.