Improved fault diagnostic techniques in induction generators is a field of growing interest given the negative impact * that unexpected breakdowns have on energy production and on the electrical system. New diagnostic techniques based on induction generator currents monitoring have recently been developed, but their use is still irrelevant despite the advantages that presents to detect electrical faults in the generator. This situation is due to the needs of high computing power and memory resources which are not available in embedded devices for on-line monitoring, also, to the use of signal processing techniques that generate volumes of data difficult to transfer to control centres, where they could be processed. This paper proposes the use of a recent methodology known as the harmonic order tracking analysis (HOTA) that solve these problems to for the diagnosis of induction generators. This approach can be implemented in low cost digital devices; the resultant patterns are very simple and easily interpretable, even by nonqualified personnel. Moreover, these patterns are characterized by a very low number of parameters, which make easy their transmission to remote control centres. In this paper the practical application of this approach is proposed using a laboratory test bed.

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) are key components in modern packaging automation systems. But their success has led to the presence of a broad range of brands and models, each one with its own and unique features, but also with its own environment for software development. This situation has some major drawbacks: it is very difficult to upgrade an installation by changing the PLC, maintenance costs rise with the multiplicity of PLC brands in a given factory, and production parameters must be changed when the production is changed to a machine with a different PLC.In this paper, a first step is presented to address such a situation: instead of developing the same program from scratch for each different PLC brand, a unique program is stored using the PLCopen XML standard. When the program must be ported to a given PLC, an automatic tool, the postprocessor, generates the final code that has to be downloaded to the target PLC. In this paper the PLC tool adapter is presented and an example is shown for three of the major PLC brands present in the packaging industry such as Siemens, Schneider Electric and ABB.