Application Scenarios
In a steel rolling mill in northern Europe, the existing drive communication backbone suffered from sporadic synchronization loss between the AC 800M controller and the 18 ABB ACS6000 drives powering the roughing, intermediate, and finishing stands. The legacy communication card required manual reboot cycles that halted the entire mill line, costing the plant an estimated €12,000 per hour in lost production. By deploying the ABB 3BSE018137R1 CI858-1 motherboard in the AC 800M rack, the plant established a dedicated 8 Mbit/s DriveBus master link to all 18 drives through a chained NDBU branching unit topology. The fiber-optic DriveBus eliminated the electrical noise susceptibility that had plagued the previous copper-based link. Over a 14-month observation period, the ABB 3BSE018137R1 delivered zero communication-related mill stoppages, and the hot-swap capability meant that any future module replacement could be performed without halting the rolling schedule. This deployment illustrates how the ABB 3BSE018137R1 resolves the critical pain point of drive network fragility in high-noise, high-stakes production environments.
h2 Parameter
| Main Parameters | Value/Description |
|---|---|
| Product Model | ABB 3BSE018137R1 (CI858-1) |
| Manufacturer | ABB |
| Product Category | DriveBus Communication Motherboard / Interface Unit |
| Compatible Controller | AC 800M (System 800xA) |
| Communication Protocol | ABB DriveBus (master or slave) |
| Transmission Speed | 8 Mbit/s |
| CEX-Bus Power | 24 V DC via controller backplane, typ. 200 mA |
| Max Drives per Module | 24 ABB drives |
| Max Special I/O Units | 12 modules |
| Modules per AC 800M | Up to 2 CI858 modules on CEX bus |
| Hot Swap Support | Yes |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C to +55°C |
| Storage Temperature | -40°C to +70°C |
| Corrosion Protection | G3 compliant to ISA 71.04 |
| Protection Class | IP20 |
| Mounting | TP858 baseplate (3BSE018136R1), DIN-rail |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 59 × 185 × 127.5 mm |
| Weight | 700 g |
| Marine Certifications | ABS, BV, DNV-GL, LR |
h2 Technical Principles and Innovative Values
Innovation Point 1: CEX-Bus Powered DriveBus Gateway. The ABB 3BSE018137R1 draws its 24 V DC power directly from the AC 800M processor unit via the CEX-Bus, eliminating the need for any external power supply or separate wiring. This self-powered architecture simplifies cabinet layout and removes a common failure point—external power anomalies—that plague third-party communication gateways.
Innovation Point 2: Fiber-Optic DriveBus with 8 Mbit/s Deterministic Link. The ABB 3BSE018137R1 provides one fiber-optic DriveBus interface operating as a DriveBus master station, delivering 8 Mbit/s of noise-immune, deterministic communication to connected drives. Unlike copper-based fieldbus alternatives, the fiber-optic physical layer makes the ABB 3BSE018137R1 immune to the severe EMI generated by high-power drive cabinets in rolling mills, paper machines, and metallurgical process lines.
Innovation Point 3: Scalable Drive Topology via NDBU Branching. A single ABB 3BSE018137R1 can address up to 24 ABB drives. When more than one drive is connected, the NDBU branching unit creates a logical bus with a physical star topology, and branching units can be chained for expansive installations. This allows the ABB 3BSE018137R1 to serve both compact drive clusters and massive sectional drive arrays with the same module.
Innovation Point 4: Hot-Swap Capability for Zero-Downtime Maintenance. The ABB 3BSE018137R1 supports hot-swapping, meaning the module can be withdrawn and replaced while the AC 800M controller and the process remain running. Combined with G3 corrosion protection per ISA 71.04 and marine certifications from ABS, BV, DNV-GL, and LR, the ABB 3BSE018137R1 is engineered for the harshest industrial and offshore environments where unplanned downtime is not an option.
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