The launch of SIPOS SEVEN - Taking user-friendliness to the next level

摘要

Way back in August 2002 Thomas Heindel and Steffen Koehler contributed their first article to Valve World. That technical paper discussed how up-to-date actuator technology can protect valves. Of course, in twelve years a lot can change in engineering so Valve World felt it was time to contact SIPOS Aktorik again and ask for an 'actuation update'. When we recently caught up with Steffen Koehler it immediately became clear that the timing was perfect for an update, for the company has just taken a remarkable step forward with the development of their new SIPOS SEVEN actuator Mr Koehler said that the company took this step in order to follow up on customer recommendations to implement new technologies and provide some significant advancements for the actuation industry. "The time was ripe for a bigger step," was Mr Koehler's comment on the development. Asked to explain some of the new features, Mr Koehler noted that the SIPOS SEVEN actuator has been given a full-colour display. "This provides numerous user benefits," he stated. "A really convenient advantage is that it indicates the status of the actuator using colours, which are clearly visible from a distance. The display can also be turned, comparable to a smartphone, and this allows the operator to read information easily. In addition, we can now install onscreen animations to provide step-by-step instructions that are easy to understand. This is a great feature during commissioning or trouble shooting. And finally, the SIPOS SEVEN actuator is able to display special characters that are used for example in Mandarin or Arabic, an important consideration for a global product." It goes almost without saying that the SEVEN is compatible with a multitude of communications and control systems Mr Koehler added: "it is a 'FIVE++', which means that all communication protocols of SIPOS 5 are fully supported. So, the new features of the SEVEN actuator definitely offer several benefits."