ASK THE EXPERT
Emerson’s first Power-over-Ethernet Transmitter, the new Micro Motion 1600 Coriolis Transmitter offers a scalable, plug-and-play solution.
Manufacturers in the food and beverage, chemical, and life science industries face a myriad of problems on a day-to-day basis, including consumers’ ever-changing preferences, supply chain issues, staff shortages, and safety guidelines.
What would you say is the most beneficial feature of the 1600 Transmitter?
A: Our customers love the compactness and the PoE capability. Some love the fact that it has all the diagnostics and software options that they are familiar with and how that data can be easily accessed over Ethernet. It’s also priced competitively, is available in hygienic stainless steel and can be integrally or remote mounted.
Can the 1600 perform under some of the harsh conditions found in the food and beverage and chemical industries?
A: Absolutely. The stainless-steel option is our hygienic option and it’s IP69. For some of our customers with clean-in-place or washdown applications, that is really important.
If it’s going to be raining high-pressure hot water from the ceiling constantly, it’s important that their electronics don’t get exposed to that.
Does the 1600 report data in real time?
A: Yes, a Coriolis meter measures and reports in real time. Additionally, the 1600 Transmitter has a real-time clock built into it. That means that when the customer goes to commission it for the first time, they would enter the time and date on it. And the clock keeps track of, and time stamps every single thing that happens with the meter for the remainder of its life. If there’s a power outage, the clock can keep running with its own internal battery.
That real-time clock works hand in hand with the Data Historian feature, where the user can go back and look at their files and see what happened exactly at a certain point in time for up to 30 days.
Does the 1600 Transmitter offer Smart Meter Verification?
A: Yes, the 1600 offers Smart Meter Verification, which is an easy-to-use, automatic diagnostic tool that monitors the flow meter performance and integrity — without interrupting the process or the measurement. That ensures you’re being proactive about maintenance on your meter and minimizing downtime. It will tell you if your meter is doing great, so you can trust your measurements. If something is off-kilter, it will trigger a real time alarm. Also, there are a lot of different licensable packages and software options on the 1600, making it a customizable solution for customers’ changing needs.
What licensable packages and software are available on the 1600?
A: I’ll highlight two of my favorite licensable options. The first one is concentration measurement. A Coriolis meter has three main outputs: mass, density, and temperature. With concentration measurement, we can take that density and temperature output and assess the concentration of a liquid going through the meter. For example, in a food and beverage application, if a batch of product is too sugary or if it’s not sugary enough, then potentially you’d have to redo that entire batch and waste product, energy and time trying to figure out how to improve the recipe. Concentration Measurement can help you minimize this waste of product and resources by detecting deviations in your recipe.
The second one is Advanced Phase Measurement which is a two-phase flow mitigation software. It can assess when there’s entrained gas present, take the last known density value and automatically correct the flow measurement.
Do you have to physically check the meter, or can it be done remotely?
A: One of the other beneficial things about the 1600 is that it has a web server built in and because it has that Ethernet port in it, as long as it’s connected to your network, you can remotely log into it and monitor that meter.
Will Bluetooth be added to the 1600?
A: Within the next few months, customers will be able to have access to their meters using Bluetooth, and that’s an important factor in the chemical and food industries. The meters are often in harsh environments, and you want your personnel away from them. Bluetooth is a great solution. It’s a point-to-point connection where, as long as the user is within 50 feet, they can log in to every single device with its own unique ID. It’s really a game-changer.
Do users need long training sessions to learn about the 1600?
A: We have videos with a trainer walking through all the steps needed to set up the 1600 and integrate it into their PLC and Ethernet network. And every Coriolis meter ships out with a QR code that the customer can scan, which will take them to a site with many “how-to” and helpful videos as well as installation manuals.
To learn more about the new Micro Motion 1600 Transmitter, visit emerson.com/micromotion1600.
