Oilfield Generators - CDL Gateway™

The CDL Gateway™ is a pre-configured data aggregator and protocol converter that automatically determine what type of CAT® engine it is connected too and converts the Cat Data Link (CDL) into as many as 6 protocols simultaneously. Very little, if any, setup is required in the field because the CDL side is automatic and the output side is pre-configured according to the customer's needs. Setup in the field is normally limited to setting device addresses for serial networks or IP addresses in Ethernet applications using our free software, MonicoView™. Therefore, installation cost is dramatically reduced and integration time is minimal.

A very popular application for the CDL Gateway™ is for monitoring Caterpillar® generators that dominate the market for power generation on Drilling Rigs. The CAT® 3512B and 3512C models are dominant and only have a very basic local monitoring system and no generator controls. In most applications, there is no monitoring of the engines by the rig control system. There is tremendous value to monitoring the generator engines to maximize fuel economy, minimize downtime, and drastically reduce rig blackouts.

Several Drilling Contractors are now installing the CDL Gateway™ to integrate the engines into the overall rig automation system. One major drilling contractor reports that engine integration has virtually eliminated rig blackouts and significantly reduced fuel consumption. Another major Natural Gas E & P company is installing a custom engine monitoring system on all of their Mid-Continent rigs to monitor and reduce fuel consumption. Another major E & P company is using the CDL Gateway™ to not only monitor the Caterpillar® engines, but to monitor the GTI Bi-fuel natural gas injection system, pre-catalyst and post-catalyst pressure and temperature, and a hazardous gas detection system. Selected data is logged on a 2GB Compact Flash card and presented to the contractor via our Virtual HMI using only Internet Explorer. The contractor's customer is also allowed to view certain information via a separate custom HTML web server.

Drilling rigs are one of the most challenging applications for communications. Typically, we are forced to run communications wires in the same raceway as extremely high current power wires into the power house which contains several variable frequency drives that create a huge amount of electrical noise. Our experience in this environment has forced us to learn how to properly wire these installations to operate with rock-solid reliability. We will typically install an isolated repeater to eliminate any noise collected in the wiring run from affecting the engine operation and proper grounding of the engine and the drain wires is critical.

Genset data is brought in via the dedicated CDL port, which leaves (2) RS-232 ports, (1) RS-485 port, and (1) Ethernet port for gathering data from other system components such as Woodward controllers. Each serial port can communicate via one protocol independently either master or slave. The Ethernet port can communicate via four protocols simultaneously. With the addition of I/O modules for analog and digital I/O provide a powerful monitoring solution. The ability to push all data to Allen Bradley PLC's, GE Fanuc PLC's, Siemens PLC's, and Omron PLC's is very important.

• The CDL Gateway™ also allows the addition of Input/Output Modules such as:
• Thermocouple Inputs for individual cylinder temps, bearing and winding temperatures, or Pre and Post Catalyst temperature sensors
• RTD Inputs for bearing and winding temperatures
• Analog Voltage inputs for pressure sensors or continuous fuel tank sensors
• Digital SSR inputs and outputs for digital information such as fuel tank sensors and switchgear relay status.

• The CDL Gateway PLUS� also adds features such as:
• Real-Time Data Logging on 2 GB Compact Flash card
• Email notification upon alarm
• Sync server to sync log files to a remote server
• FTP server to allow remote access to the log files from a remote FTP Master
• Virtual color touch screen HMI over Internet Explorer
• Custom HTML web Server for customized web integration