Power Generation - 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 common application for the CDL Gateway™ is monitoring and basic control of natural gas fueled and diesel fueled generators. To read a whitepaper on Bi-Fuel in Generators please click here. The most common generators we monitor are made by Caterpillar®, but we also provide customer interfaces for Cummins, Generac, and MTU/Detroit. The CDL Gateway™ is compatible with all Caterpillar® EMCP II series of Generator Set Controllers (GSC) regardless of engine type. Whereas the EMCP 3 Gateway™ is compatible with EMCP 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 Generator Set Controllers regardless of engine type. It is important to note that the EMCP 3.1 offers no customer communications options, so our EMCP 3 Gateway™ is the only option. The Gateway can also be used to provide data concentration for other devices such as Digital I/O, Analog I/O, Thermocouples, RTD's, Switchgear, and fuel tank level monitoring.

On EMCP II, EMCP II+, and EMCP II+P Generator Set Controllers (GSC), the CDL Gateway™ is installed on the primary Cat data link (CDL) where it can gather electrical information from the GSC and detailed information from electronic engines with ADEM II, ADEM III, or ADEM IV ECM's. If a mechanical engine is used, then we communicate directly with the GSC to gather complete electrical data and basic engine data. Complete fault code support is available for all EMCP II and EMCP 3 Caterpillar® generators. Gensets with mechanical engines and the basic EMCP II GSC will provide about 8-10 valuable monitoring parameters plus fault codes. The EMCP II+ and EMCP II+P GSC's offer very detailed electrical information including line to line and line to neutral voltages, line currents, and various Power calculations. Electronic engines will provide about 50-80 additional parameters of detailed information. Some of the larger gensets, such as the G3520C Landfill Gas engine with an EMCP II+ GSC will have 4-5 Electronic Control Modules and provide up to about 220 parameters of data for monitoring purposes.

Older diesel fueled generators and all gas fueled gensets use the EMCP II series of GSC's. Almost all new diesel gensets use the EMCP 3 series of GSC's. The EMCP II series do not offer any commonly used customer interfaces. The only options are the CAT CCM module or the CDL Gateway™ which is much more powerful, faster, and more flexible.

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 ASCO switchgear or Woodward controllers. Each serial port can communicate via one protocol independently either master or slave. The Ethernet port can communicate via four protocols simultaneously.

Common applications for the CDL Gateway™ would be to gather data from an Electronic engine and the GSC via the CDL port, gather data from an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) and a Power Meter acting as a Modbus Master. Then put the engine, electrical, ATS, and Power meter data into a contiguous set of Modbus Registers as a Modbus TCP Slave over Ethernet. BACnet protocol is increasingly more popular over Ethernet and serial for Building Management Systems (BMS).

The EMCP 3 Gateway™ resides on the Primary CAN link between the Engine and the GSC. From this location, it offers detailed engine information from electronic engines and full electrical data from the GSC. In addition, complete DM1 and DM2 Diagnostic codes support is available. The EMCP 3 Gateway™ offers the same number of ports and protocols as the CDL Gateway™ and is available in the PLUS version that adds valuable additional features.

If a BMS system is not available, then the CDL Gateway PLUS™ can act as the primary interface if an Ethernet network is available. In this scenario, the CDL Gateway PLUS™ offers a pre-configured Virtual color touch screen HMI over Internet Explorer. The email server can notify the customer when certain conditions occur and then the Virtual HMI is available from anywhere on the network for viewing live data and detailed fault codes. If an Ethernet network is not available or the customer does not want the Generators connected to the BMS, then we can also offer Cellular solutions that provide a cost-efficient alternative.

• The CDL Gateway PLUS™ adds IP 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

• The CDL Gateway™ and EMCP 3 Gateway™ have the capability to add 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 Current 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.