This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at La importancia del laboratorio en el desarrollo de productos

Investigation and security in electricity

The importance of the laboratory in the development of products

Antonio López, Continuous Engineering Manager of Final Distribution of Schneider Electric Spain26/10/2011

When we speak of the competition and importance of a laboratory during the process of creation of the offer, in the frame of the development of products, are referring us to the technical binomial of development versus competent laboratory. This involves several premises of índole technical and social: the knowledge of the norms involved in the development of the product, the knowledge of the useful and machines of essays, the conditions of the certification of the product and his surroundings, the hypothetical deployment in other countries with distinct climatic conditions to the ones of the country origin of the certification, as well as other condicionamientos local that will have to take into account in the process and the national deviations in the norms of application.

Antonio López in the installations of Schneider Electric in Meliana (Valencia).

The competition of a laboratory from the point of view of the process of creation of the offer is based in two clearly clear-cut concepts: the number of accreditations related with the antiquity of the same and the experience of the technical personnel and his knowledge of the technologies to develop in the breast of the laboratory.

Schneider Electric, in his centre/center of innovation and global development situated in Meliana (Valencia) develops differential switches, switches magnetotérmicos, switches seccionadores and switches of control of power, mainly, that afterwards use to international level and export to all the world. The centre/center of production of Schneider Electric possesses the accreditations and certifications enabled according to the European and international norms IN/ IEC 61008-1, IN/ IEC 60898-1 and IN/ IEC 60947-2, IN/ IEC 60947-3, JOINS 20317, etc.

*Signpost of control and control of the station of power of cortocircuito until 16 kA to 400 V.

In any laboratory, the experience contrasted of the technical personnel is an indispensable requirement to the hour to share the futures dictámenes and the technical works in the breast of this centre/center of proofs. The main training in a laboratory of average and low tension is the one of technical or industrial engineering with electrical speciality/specialty, although they exist also specialitys/specialtys of mechanics, chemical or electronic.

The process of interaction between the creation of the offer and the laboratory

The start of the relation between the technical department and the laboratory produces from the same moment in that it decides initiate a project of creation of a new product, put like example a switch, already was magnetotérmico, differential, seccionador, etc.

Reading of the warmings obtained in a differential switch by means of thermocouples and camera of infrared.

In the first meetings establishes , by part of the technicians of development, a series of essays of verification, validation and qualification inside a planning established, basing us in a series of parameters, indicated to continuation. These parameters are shared by all the team involucrado in the project and by the laboratory, with the aim to develop the activities mentioned.

In relation to the essays of validation, the most important in the process of development of the product, once chosen the technology, the matter, the dimensions, etc., can classify in the following fields:

Essays on materials envolventes: risk of fire, traction, break, etc.
Essays on terminals: break, pair of tighten, corrosion, behaviour/behavior of the terminal in extreme conditions of lubricación or of oxidation to observe the breaks or likely fissures in the materials, etc.
thermodynamic Essays in climatic conditions of high temperatures until 110 °C and underneath of 0 °C until -25 °C; in overload, with the aim to study the behaviour/behavior of the electronic components and the envolventes of the device, etc.
Essays of power of cortocircuito: defined by the norm in question. It analyses/analyzes the group of protections water up and waters down, so much with fusible as with switches magnetotérmicos of different characteristic.
Essays of humidity and corrosion: established by climatic cycles of tropicalización forced. They subject the products to upper temperatures to 50 °C and relative humidity of 99% variable; also they carry out essays by corrosion in environments salinos or industrial with urea, UNDER2. The aim is to reproduce the conditions of industrial environments very polucionados. The chlorine helps to asemejar the essay to some conditions of corrosion very extreme, such like swimming pools, spas urban and other environments that polucionan strongly the metallic pieces of the aparamenta electrical, etc.
electromechanical Essays: established in the norm through the endurancia, but with a factor of overload upper, so much in number of operations as in current and factor of power very inductivo.
Essays of electromagnetic compatibility: defined in the norm, but with a factor of upper correction in frequency, tension and current to avoid shots intempestivos and perturbations in the electrical network or in the products commercialised/commercialized.

Setting of essays of electromagnetic compatibility for the control of differential switches.

All these essays obey to a planning contractual established between the boss of project and the laboratory in question, that has to be respected with the end to fulfil/fulfill with the certifications and the commercialisation/commercialization, so much national like international.

Conclusions in the activities realised/realized

Once realised/realized the essays detailed in the previous chapter, and whenever the results of the same are positive, would happen to the qualification of the products inside the group of the production. The steps to be followed they would be the following:

Validation of the providers of components, so much in his productive capacity like technician, as well as in his logistical chain.
Validation of the industrialisation/industrialization and the methods of production of the already validated products by the laboratory, to justify that the previous steps inside the project of development fulfil/fulfill respecting the parameters wished.
Certification of the products with norm IN or IEC by an international organism of accreditation, as it can be Aenor, LCIE, VDE, IMQ or other international entities inside the IEC.
Manufacture and commercialisation/commercialization of the products tested.
Follow-up of the quality of the products manufactured, at least once a year, through a program of essays, respecting the normative parameters and verifying the repetition of the quality in the processes regarding the starting point of the project of development.

Installation of thermocouples for reading of warmings.

The process of creation of the product Acti 9 of Schneider Electric: the magnetotérmico safer of the market

The Acti 9, launched in May of 2011, constitutes the fifth generation of modular systems of Schneider Electric. The centre/center of production of Meliana, where is situated the laboratory, and that besides is a plant of global production of the group Schneider Electric, that is to say that exports to all the world, will manufacture around 4 million units to the year.

Treats , therefore, of one of the big launchings of the company during this year. The function of a differential is to protect against the electrical downloads (escapes of current). An automatic protects to the electrical circuits in front of overload and cortocircuitos. It treats , then , of a fundamental element in any electrical installation. His process of creation, therefore, had to answer to a high degree of exigencia that guaranteeed the maximum security in any installation.

Thanks to this strict process, the Acti 9 could develop a series of competitions that turn it into the magnetotérmico safer of the market. Between his systems of security, stands out the VisiSafe, that guarantees a total isolation of the circuit water down, even in the most severe conditions in terms of sobretensión and polución. The Acti 9 also incorporates a double isolation Class 2 in the frontal part, that ensures a manoeuvre/maneuver without risk independently of the surroundings or the experience of the user. Finally, the device possesses a mechanism of brusque closing that limits the wear of the contacts and reduces the aging by sobrecalentamiento.

Machine for control of endurancia electromechanical until 125 To and 440 V.

Schneider Electric invests annually between a 4 and 5% of his annual turnover in R&D, what corresponds to some 818 million euros during the last exercise. A total of 8.600 engineers delivered in 25 countries integrate the team of R&D of the company, with the aim no only to develop solutions that optimise/optimize the efficiency and reduce costs, but also that they increase the simplicity, the ease of use and the environmental profits.

Schneider Electric and the European directives RoHS and of the Reach

On line with the commitment of the company by the sustainable development and the fight against the climatic change, all the products, services and solutions of Schneider Electric fulfil/fulfill the managerial Europeans of the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and of the Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemical substances). The offer of Schneider Electric finds free of all the materials excluded by the RoHS, like lead, cadmium, mercury, PBB, chromium hexavalente and PBDE. In reference to the managerial Reach, the company has identified, registered and excluded the 16 included substances in the relation Substances Very High Concern (SVHC). These guidelines apply in the centres/centers of production of Schneider Electric and in the materials that come from of external providers.

On the company

Like global specialist in management of the energy and with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integral solutions for different segments of market, having positions of leadership in energy and infrastructures, industrial processes, automation of buildings and centres/centers of process of data, as well as a wide presence in the residential sector. Through his commitment to help to the people and to the organisations/organizations to maximizar the use of the energy of way safer, more reliable and more efficient; the more than 110.000 collaborators of the company reached a volume of business of more than 19.600 million euros in 2010. In Spain, Schneider Electric has 9 centres/centers of production and a logistical centre/center of 58.000m2. From his headquarters of Barcelona, Schneider Electric directs the activity of the group in the territory Emeas, that comprises Europe, Middle East, Africa and south America. www.schneiderelectric.es

*The images of this article correspond to teams of the laboratory of average and low tension of Schneider Electric in his plant of Meliana (Valencia).