DART quick question and answers!
Your Top DART Questions — You asked, we answered!
1) I want to remotely monitor my ABB drives. Is DART the answer?
DART is your ABB variable speed drive’s new super-smart sidekick! It’s a compact, plug-and-play device that watches your drives 24/7 and sends all the important data straight to a secure cloud dashboard. Think of it as having a friendly robot engineer living in your plant room — constantly checking performance, temperatures, and even the air quality around your drives. No more surprise breakdowns or weekend emergency call-outs!
2) What does DART actually monitor and how does it help prevent inverter failure?
- Pretty much everything that matters! DART tracks up to 25 variables including:
- Motor speed, torque, current & power
- Drive & inverter temperature
- Environmental conditions: humidity, dust/particulates, and gases like H₂S
It trends the data over time so you can spot tiny problems before they become expensive ones. DART has unique ambient monitoring capability, and is the only product which monitors the environment around the drive and not just the drive itself. So it'll provide a warning of conditions that would ultimately cause drive failure, before the drive itself registers a fault. Your drives will feel truly seen.
3) How many ABB drives can one DART unit handle?
One single DART device can monitor up to 16 ABB drives at once! It auto-detects compatible models like ACS580, ACS880, ACH580, ACQ580 and more. Whether you’ve got a small pump station or a massive industrial hall, one DART has you covered.
4) Is DART secure? (My IT team is asking...)
Yes — and they’ll love this. DART uses military-grade encryption, controlled outbound-only connections, and layered cybersecurity. It’s designed to meet the strictest industrial IT/OT requirements. Your data stays safe while you get real-time alerts on your phone, tablet, or laptop. Customers can (if required) fully bypass SIM-based connections and integrate the device via Ethernet directly into their existing firewall-protected corporate networks. This gives IT/OT teams complete control over data routing and ensures alignment with internal cybersecurity policies. So DART comes with peace of mind included.
5) How hard is it to install?
Super easy — it’s genuinely plug-and-play! Most customers have DART up and running in under an hour. No complex programming or long downtime. Just mount it, connect it to your drives, and it starts sending data to the cloud. Your local DART partner can do it for you if you want zero hassle.
6) What’s the ROI? Will it actually save me money?
Absolutely! Customers typically see payback in just a few months through:
- Reduced unplanned downtime
- Predictive maintenance instead of emergency fixes
- Better energy optimisation
- Extended drive and motor life
You get instant alerts the moment something’s off, so you can fix issues during normal hours instead of at 2am. Many sites report big reductions in reactive maintenance costs. Bottom line: DART pays for itself faster than you can say “variable speed drive”!
7) Why does environmental monitoring matter for ABB drives?
Because it's the only way your drive can tell you 'Help me! I'm melting!'
Environmental monitoring plays a vital role in preventing unexpected breakdowns and extending the operational life of Variable Speed Drives (VSDs). Drives are particularly vulnerable to environmental conditions such as excessive heat, humidity, dust and airborne contaminants, all of which can lead to premature component failure and costly downtime.
Continuous inverter condition monitoring of temperature, humidity and air quality helps identify potentially damaging conditions before they develop into serious problems. Excessive temperatures can cause electronic components to overheat, while moisture and contamination can lead to corrosion, electrical faults and insulation breakdown.
By detecting changes in environmental conditions early, maintenance teams can take preventative action before equipment performance is compromised. This proactive approach reduces unplanned shutdowns, minimises expensive repairs and improves overall system reliability.
Effective environmental monitoring protects your VSD investment, increases equipment lifespan and helps maintain consistent, efficient operation across critical industrial processes.
So...
If your primary assets are ABB VSDs and you're in water / wastewater, industrial manufacturing, facilities management or are an SME seeking low-cost, plug-and-play predictive maintenance (without SCADA complexity) and looking to predictive maintenance to eliminate breakdowns.
Have a question about DART? Email DART@edcscotland.co.uk. We're here to help and our tech team LOVE questions (and I mean really love them).