If you had more than 100 years of experience building control valves and 30 years of digitalizing them on your resumé, it’s a good bet your next digital valve controller would continue that longstanding tradition of innovation and reliability. Well, Emerson has those credentials because it’s sold more than 3 million Fisher Fieldvue controllers and digital valve controllers, which have provided more than 10 billion hours of field operations, typically in critical applications.
“In the early 1990s, we were the first to digitize with Fisher Fieldvue DVC5000 and its microprocessor-based design, which let users receive data values and perform calibrations remotely,” says Tom Brandau, VP for Emerson’s Fisher instruments. “These innovations continued with Fisher Fieldvue DVC6000, which was double-acting and had a modular design that was easier to use and more reliable. The next major advance was Fisher Fieldvue DVC6200 in 2009, which was truly non-contacting, separating the controller from the valve linkage. This resulted in far less vibration and adverse feedback, and increased reliability 10 times compared to the feedback from traditional magnetic technologies.”
Given this proud lineage, it’s no surprise that Emerson is releasing its Fisher Fieldvue DVC7K digital valve controller. It employs real-time edge computing to deliver diagnostics, alerts and recommendations to improve the performance, reliability and uptime of on-off and control valves and their processes. DVC7K can be specified for all new valve purchases, retrofitted to most existing valve installations, and quickly and easily commissioned via its local user interface.
“The step change now is useability and connectivity,” says Brandau. “DVC7K still has 4-20 mA HART, but now it also has Bluetooth for diagnostics, calibration and receiving software updates, as well as a local interface for ‘Advice at the Device.’ Plus, DVC7K doesn’t just monitor and report on process values. When it detects a problem, it provides alerts that are viewable locally or remotely, along with recommended actions, which is a new and unique feature. This eliminates many former obstacles, such as going out to the field, clipping on a HART communicator, and running data through ValveLink software or another asset management system.”
DVC7K interprets data by combining patented technology, experience-based algorithms and continuous, real-time analytics with flexible connectivity and easy integration. Its onboard, real-time edge computing analyzes issues and creates actionable information. This provides real-time awareness of valve health by analyzing data locally with onboard diagnostics.
All of DVC7K’s data can be viewed on its local user interface, nearby via Emerson Secure Bluetooth, or remotely after it’s transmitted to a host, such as a distributed control or an asset management system. The local interface uses LEDs to show valve status and health at a glance, and users can drill down from its home screen for more details. Emerson Secure Bluetooth enables access to one or more DVCs at up to 50 feet from any device with Bluetooth, such as a tablet or smartphone.
“The local user interface provides alerts about issues like low supply pressure, friction or leaks, but instead of just delivering data, it recommends fixes like checking regulator air settings or tightening packing,” explains Brandau. “Just as users need knowledge to interpret and form conclusions, DVC7K develops do’s and don’ts based on the data it receives, and it can tell users if they’re out of spec or out of bounds, suggest several options, and push them to a host system. We push alerts about deeper diagnostics, rather than relying on an asset management system.”
Brandau reports that DVC7K’s other main advance is that it constantly performs real-time analytics onboard, instead of initiating diagnostics from outside and then seeking solutions. “Users can now do analytics all the time with DVC7K, so rather than starting to look for problems such as low pressure, it can track and capture issues continuously,” adds Brandau. “When an upset occurs, DVC7K already has the evidence ahead of time and what support is needed during that period. This is what makes DVC7K the most reliable, highest-performing valve controller in the process industries, and the solution on which users can build their plants of the future.”
For more information, visit Emerson.com/FisherDVC7K.
