Most of us know someone who carries a really old smartphone, or maybe just a cellphone. Some people do this deliberately as a statement, but others just can’t be bothered with doing an upgrade. Everybody doesn’t need the latest whiz-bang technology, but many truly useful capabilities don’t work on old platforms. Such can be the reality in many industrial environments, where the pinnacle of achievement for some is still 4-20 mA with HART 5. The rationale: “It does everything we need, why should we spend the money to improve?”
In some cases, this is a perfectly rational response. If a long-serving flow meter is performing its job reliably, is there a reason to replace it with something newer and likely more expensive? Besides, making the change calls for an outage and those are infrequent. This is partially reasonable but misses important considerations. It also ignores an exciting new possibility, which is the topic of my article at automation.com, Emerson’s Coriolis Flow Transmitter with Bluetooth Option Improves Productivity, Safety and Reliability.
We’re not talking about just any flow meter, but Emerson’s Micro Motion family of Coriolis Mass Flow Meters. These are well known for their accuracy and longevity, so they aren’t replaced all that frequently. This doesn’t sound like a problem, but users may miss some improvements, especially in the transmitters.
Older transmitters often have outdated local operator interfaces that perform as originally designed, but without the latest features. For example, older units may use a two-button interface, which can make operation interactions difficult and time consuming. Many of these interfaces do not have a backlit display, which makes configuring the device at night quite cumbersome. In addition to local operator interface issues, connecting to older transmitters can be difficult, often requiring the use of legacy physical connections, such as RS-485. Older transmitters typically don’t provide smart diagnostic tools, making troubleshooting rigorous and burdening plant personnel.
So what’s the solution? With most models, the transmitter on that tried-and-true Micro Motion flow meter can be upgraded to a 4700 Coriolis Configurable Inputs and Outputs Transmitter, gaining some important advantages.
The Micro Motion 4700 Coriolis Transmitter addresses this issue with a retrofit solution designed to replace the legacy transmitter in existing installations for integral mount 1700/2700 transmitters. Once installed, the transmitter will automatically interface with the existing flow meter, adding capabilities just as if it were a new application The transmitter is compatible for new installations with all Micro Motion ELITE (CMF and CMFS), F-Series, G-Series, H-Series, R-Series, T-Series, and HPC-Series Coriolis flow meters.
That list of upgradeable meters covers much of our installed base, and here’s a list of the leading practical advantages gained:
The list goes on. Keep in mind these do not interfere with the legacy installation, so none of the original connections need to be changed. Naturally, new Micro Motion flow meters can also be ordered with the 4700 transmitter, standardizing installations throughout a plant or facility.
For more information, visit Emerson’s Micro Motion pages at Emerson.com. You can also connect and interact with other engineers in the Flow Measurement Groups at the Emerson Exchange 365 community.
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