Patent Publication Number: US-11394321-B2

Title: Systems and methods for de-energized point-on-wave relay operations

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to switching devices, and more particularly to operation and configuration of the switching devices. 
     Switching devices are generally used throughout industrial, commercial, material handling, process and manufacturing settings, to mention only a few. As used herein, “switching device” is generally intended to describe any electromechanical switching device, such as mechanical switching devices (e.g., a contactor, a relay, air break devices, and controlled atmosphere devices) or solid-state devices (e.g., a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR)). More specifically, switching devices generally open to disconnect electric power from a load and close to connect electric power to the load. For example, switching devices may connect and disconnect three-phase electric power to an electric motor. As the switching devices open or close, electric power may be discharged as an electric arc and/or cause current oscillations to be supplied to the load, which may result in torque oscillations. To facilitate reducing likelihood and/or magnitude of such effects, the switching devices may be opened and/or closed at specific points on the electric power waveform. Such carefully timed switching is sometimes referred to as “point on wave” or “POW” switching. However, the opening and closing of the switching devices are generally non-instantaneous. For example, there may be a slight delay between when the make instruction is given and when the switching device actually makes (i.e., closes). Similarly, there may be a slight delay between when break instruction is given and when the switching device actually breaks (i.e., opens). Accordingly, to facilitate making or breaking at a specific point on the electric power waveform, a number of embodiments may be employed to enable the switching device to operate with respect to a specific point on the electrical power waveform. As such, the present disclosure relates to various different technical improvements in the field of POW switching, which may be used in various combinations to provide advances in the art. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
     In one embodiment, a point-on-wave relay device includes a first contact relay and a second contact relay in series with the first contact relay. A first state of the first contact relay in conjunction with a first state of the second contact relay causes a point-on-wave open operation and second state of the first contact relay in conjunction with a second state of the second contact relay causes a point-on-wave close operation. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatical representation of a set of switching devices to provide power to an electrical load, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a similar diagrammatical representation of a set of switching devices to provide power to an electrical motor, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a similar diagrammatical representation of a set of switching devices to provide power to an electrical motor, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a single-pole, single current-carrying path switching device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective exploded view of the device of  FIG. 4 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a system view of an example single-pole, single current-carrying path relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a current-time graph for a relay device operating using a nominal voltage, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a current-time graph for various relay devices having various coil inductance operating with a voltage that corresponds to a rating of a respective coil in a respective relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a current-time graph for various relay devices having various coil inductance operating with a voltage that is higher than a rating of a respective coil in a respective relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a circuit diagram for providing a constant current to a coil of a relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a current-time graph that depicts the coil current in two coils of two relays that are driven by a constant current source and a constant voltage source, respectively, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a position-time graph that depicts armature positions over time with respect to various coil resistances for various relay devices, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is an inductance-current graph that depicts the coil currents in various relay devices having various armature positions that are driven by a constant current source and a constant voltage source, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a current-time graph that depicts a relationship between the current of a number of coils in a number of relay devices having various coil resistances with respect to time when the respective coil is driven by a constant current source and a constant voltage source, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a voltage-time graph that depicts a relationship between the voltage change in a relay coil when the relay coil is driven with a constant voltage source versus a constant current source, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 16  illustrates an example position-time graph that depicts a position of the armature over time, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 17  illustrates an example circuit that may be employed to add external inductance to a relay coil, in accordance with the embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 18  illustrates a current-time graph that depicts a pulsed coil current being provided to a relay coil, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 19  illustrates a pulsed coil current graph that includes a coil current curve relative to an armature position curve, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 20  illustrates a process implemented on specialized circuitry that may be employed to control POW close and open operations by de-energizing operations, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 21  illustrates an example circuit for arcing mitigation, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIGS. 22 and 23  illustrate example circuitry for load balancing of operations on contacts and connection redundancy, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 24  illustrates an example three-pole relay circuit which uses POW techniques to provide reliable operation with a reduced number of contacts, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIGS. 25 and 26  illustrate processes and associated circuitry states for contact erosion mitigation in an electromechanical switching device (e.g. like the one in  FIG. 24 ), in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 27  illustrates a flow chart of a method for opening contacts of a relay device during a fault condition, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 28  illustrates a flow chart of a method for controlling power provided to a relay device during a disruptive event, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 29  illustrates a flow chart of a method for controlling an actuator to open contacts based on a change in current value, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 30  is a system view of an example single-pole, single current-carrying path relay device with an actuator, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 31  illustrates a flow chart of a method for controlling an actuator to positions contacts for an open operation based on a position of an armature of in a relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 32  illustrates a flow chart of a method for controlling an actuator to position contacts for a close operation based on a position of an armature of in a relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 33  illustrates a flow chart of a method for dynamically configuring POW settings for a relay device, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 34  illustrates a flow chart of a method for dynamically adjusting POW settings for a relay device based on protection equipment data, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 35  illustrates a flow chart of a method for coordinating activation of multiple devices with respect to POW settings for multiple respective relay devices, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 36  illustrates a flow chart of a method for dynamically controlling a beta delay for a relay device based on harmonics data, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 37  illustrates a flow chart of a method for dynamically controlling a beta delay for a relay device based on a presence of a magnetic core, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 38  illustrates a flow chart of a method for implementing a soft start initialization process using POW switching, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 39  illustrates a flow chart of a method for reconnecting power to a rotating load, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 40  illustrates a flow chart of a method for reconnecting power to a rotating load based on back electromotive force (EMF), in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 41  is a perspective view of an exemplary printed circuit board (PCB) implementing a single motor controller, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 42  is a schematic representation of the motor controller of  FIG. 41 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 43  is a diagrammatical view of exemplary control circuitry of the motor controller of  FIG. 41 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 44  is a simplified representation of an exemplary PCB implementing multiple motor controllers, in accordance with an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 45  is a flowchart of a method for an initialization process to automatically adjust circuit connections on the PCB of  FIG. 44  to route wires between motors coupled to the PCB and motor controllers coupled to the PCB, in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
     As described above, switching devices are used in various implementations, such as industrial, commercial, material handling, manufacturing, power conversion, and/or power distribution, to connect and/or disconnect electric power from a load. To consistently implement POW switching, a number of factors may be taken into consideration to ensure that the respective switching device closes or opens within a consistent amount of time after receiving a signal causing the respective switching device to close or open. That is, a coil drive circuit that controls the closing and opening of the switching device may be affected by a coil resistance, a temperature, a coil supply voltage, a coil inductance, and the like. The present embodiments described herein assists the switching device to close or open within a consistent time frame that may enable the POW switching operations to be more effective. 
     With the foregoing in mind, it should be noted that an ideal inductor current is expected to be linear when coupled to a constant voltage source. That is, the inductor current (i) is inversely proportional to the coil inductance (L) when coupled to a constant voltage source (v(t)), as described below in Equation 1. 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     However, due to the change in inductance of the coil as the armature of the switching device (e.g., relay device) moves, the coil current is not linear when a voltage that corresponds to the rating of the coil is applied to the coil. With this in mind, in some embodiments, a voltage source that outputs a voltage that is higher (e.g., 4 to 5 times higher) than the rated voltage of the coil. The higher voltage may significantly reduce the variability of the time in which various switching devices closes due to the coil current reaching a threshold current value within a shorter amount of time as compared to when the rated voltage is applied to the coil for the same various switching devices. In other words, driving the coil using a higher voltage source than the voltage rating for the respective coil will minimize the effect of inductance variability in the coil on the operation (e.g., close time) of the switching device. 
     In addition to using a higher voltage source as compared to the rating of the coil, the present embodiments may also employ a constant current source to drive the coil. The constant current source may enable the switching device to close more consistently over various coil resistances (e.g., +/−10%), various temperatures (e.g., additional +/−10% on coil resistance), various coil supply voltages (e.g., +/−5%). Additional details for employing a constant current source with a relatively high voltage source to drive the coil of a switching device is described below with reference to  FIGS. 1-14 . 
     By way of introduction,  FIG. 1  depicts a system  10  that includes a power source  12 , a load  14 , and switchgear  16 , which includes one or more switching devices that may be controlled using the techniques described herein. In the depicted embodiment, the switchgear  16  may selectively connect and/or disconnect three-phase electric power output by the power source  12  to the load  14 , which may be an electric motor or any other powered device. In this manner, electrical power flows from the power source  12  to the load  14 . For example, switching devices in the switchgear  16  may close to connect electric power to the load  14 . On the other hand, the switching devices in the switchgear  16  may open to disconnect electric power from the load  14 . In some embodiments, the power source  12  may be an electrical grid. 
     It should be noted that the three-phase implementation described herein is not intended to be limiting. More specifically, certain aspects of the disclosed techniques may be employed on single-phase circuitry and/or for applications other than power an electric motor. Additionally, it should be noted that in some embodiments, energy may flow from the source  12  to the load  14 . In other embodiments energy may flow from the load  14  to the source  12  (e.g., a wind turbine or another generator). More specifically, in some embodiments, energy flow from the load  14  to the source  12  may transiently occur, for example, when overhauling a motor. 
     In some embodiments, operation of the switchgear  16  (e.g., opening or closing of switching devices) may be controlled by control and monitoring circuitry  18 . More specifically, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may instruct the switchgear  16  to connect or disconnect electric power. Accordingly, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may include one or more processors  19  and memory  20 . More specifically, as will be described in more detail below, the memory  20  may be a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium that stores instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors  19  perform various processes described. It should be noted that non-transitory merely indicates that the media is tangible and not a signal. Many different algorithms and control strategies may be stored in the memory and implemented by the processor  19 , and these will typically depend upon the nature of the load, the anticipated mechanical and electrical behavior of the load, the particular implementation, behavior of the switching devices, and so forth. 
     Additionally, as depicted, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may be remote from the switchgear  16 . In other words, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may be communicatively coupled to the switchgear  16  via a network  21 . In some embodiments, the network  21  may utilize various communication protocols such as DeviceNet, Profibus, Modbus, and Ethernet, to mention only a few. For example, to transmit signals between the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may utilize the network  21  to send make and/or break instructions to the switchgear  16 . The network  21  may also communicatively couple the control and monitoring circuitry  18  to other parts of the system  10 , such as other control circuitry or a human-machine-interface (not separately depicted). Additionally, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may be included in the switchgear  16  or directly coupled to the switchgear, for example, via a serial cable. 
     Furthermore, as depicted, the electric power input to the switchgear  16  and output from the switchgear  16  may be monitored by sensors  22 . More specifically, the sensors  22  may monitor (e.g., measure) the characteristics (e.g., voltage or current) of the electric power. Accordingly, the sensors  22  may include voltage sensors and current sensors. These sensors may alternatively be modeled or calculated values determined based on other measurements (e.g., virtual sensors). Many other sensors and input devices may be used, depending upon the parameters available and the application. Additionally, the characteristics of the electric power measured by the sensors  22  may be communicated to the control and monitoring circuitry  18  and used as the basis for algorithmic computation and generation of waveforms (e.g., voltage waveforms or current waveforms) that depict the electric power. More specifically, the waveforms generated based on input the sensors  22  monitoring the electric power input into the switchgear  16  may be used to define the control of the switching devices, for example, by reducing electrical arcing when the switching devices open or close. The waveforms generated based on the sensors  22  monitoring the electric power output from the switchgear  16  and supplied to the load  14  may be used in a feedback loop to, for example, monitor conditions of the load  14 . 
     As described above, the switchgear  16  may connect and/or disconnect electric power from various types of loads  14 , such as an electric motor  24  included in the motor system  26  depicted in  FIG. 2 . As depicted, the switchgear  16  may connect and/or disconnect the power source  12  from the electric motor  24 , such as during startup and shut down. Additionally, as depicted, the switchgear  16  will typically include or function with protection circuitry  28  and the actual switching circuitry  30  that makes and breaks connections between the power source and the motor windings. More specifically, the protection circuitry  28  may include fuses and/or circuit breakers, and the switching circuitry  30  will typically include relays, contactors, and/or solid-state switches (e.g., SCRs, MOSFETs, IGBTs, and/or GTOs), such as within specific types of assembled equipment (e.g., motor starters). 
     More specifically, the switching devices included in the protection circuitry  28  may disconnect the power source  12  from the electric motor  24  when an overload, a short circuit condition, or any other unwanted condition is detected. Such control may be based on the un-instructed operation of the device (e.g., due to heating, detection of excessive current, and/or internal fault), or the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may instruct the switching devices (e.g., contactors or relays) included in the switching circuitry  30  to open or close. For example, the switching circuitry  30  may include one (e.g., a three-phase contactor) or more contactors (e.g., three or more single-pole, single current-carrying path switching devices). 
     Accordingly, to start the electric motor  24 , the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may instruct the one or more contactors in the switching circuitry  30  to close individually, together, or in a sequential manner. On the other hand, to stop the electric motor  24 , the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may instruct the one or more contactors in the switching circuitry  30  to open individually, together, or in a sequential manner. When the one or more contactors are closed, electric power from the power source  12  is connected to the electric motor  24  or adjusted and, when the one or more contactors are open, the electric power is removed from the electric motor  24  or adjusted. Other circuits in the system may provide controlled waveforms that regulate operation of the motor (e.g., motor drives, automation controllers, etc.), such as based upon movement of articles or manufacture, pressures, temperatures, and so forth. Such control may be based on varying the frequency of power waveforms to produce a controlled speed of the motor. 
     In some embodiments, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may determine when to open or close the one or more contactors based at least in part on the characteristics of the electric power (e.g., voltage, current, or frequency) measured by the sensors  22 . Additionally, the control and monitoring circuitry  18  may receive an instruction to open or close the one or more contactors in the switching circuitry  30  from another part of the motor system  26 , for example, via the network  21 . 
     In addition to using the switchgear  16  to connect or disconnect electric power directly from the electric motor  24 , the switchgear  16  may connect or disconnect electric power from a motor controller/drive  32  included in a machine or process system  34 . More specifically, the system  34  includes a machine or process  36  that receives an input  38  and produces an output  40 . 
     To facilitate producing the output  40 , the machine or process  36  may include various actuators (e.g., electric motors  24 ) and sensors  22 . As depicted, one of the electric motors  24  is controlled by the motor controller/drive  32 . More specifically, the motor controller/drive  32  may control the velocity (e.g., linear and/or rotational), torque, and/or position of the electric motor  24 . Accordingly, as used herein, the motor controller/drive  32  may include a motor starter (e.g., a wye-delta starter), a soft starter, a motor drive (e.g., a frequency converter), a motor controller, or any other desired motor powering device. Additionally, since the switchgear  16  may selectively connect or disconnect electric power from the motor controller/drive  32 , the switchgear  16  may indirectly connect or disconnect electric power from the electric motor  24 . 
     As used herein, the “switchgear/control circuitry”  42  is used to generally refer to the switchgear  16  and the motor controller/drive  32 . As depicted, the switchgear/control circuitry  42  is communicatively coupled to a controller  44  (e.g., an automation controller. More specifically, the controller  44  may be a programmable logic controller (PLC) that locally (or remotely) controls operation of the switchgear/control circuitry  42 . For example, the controller  44  may instruct the motor controller/driver  32  regarding a desired velocity of the electric motor  24 . Additionally, the controller  44  may instruct the switchgear  16  to connect or disconnect electric power. Accordingly, the controller  44  may include one or more processor  45  and memory  46 . More specifically, the memory  46  may be a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium on which instructions are stored. As will be described in more detail below, the computer-readable instructions may be configured to perform various processes described when executed by the one or more processor  45 . In some embodiments, the controller  44  may also be included within the switchgear/control circuitry  42 . 
     Furthermore, the controller  44  may be coupled to other parts of the machine or process system  34  via the network  21 . For example, as depicted, the controller  44  is coupled to the remote control and monitoring circuitry  18  via the network  21 . More specifically, the automation controller  44  may receive instructions from the remote control and monitoring circuitry  18  regarding control of the switchgear/control circuitry  42 . Additionally, the controller  44  may send measurements or diagnostic information, such as the status of the electric motor  24 , to the remote control and monitoring circuitry  18 . In other words, the remote control and monitoring circuitry  18  may enable a user to control and monitor the machine or process  36  from a remote location. 
     Moreover, sensors  22  may be included throughout the machine or process system  34 . More specifically, as depicted, sensors  22  may monitor electric power supplied to the switchgear  16 , electric power supplied to the motor controller/drive  32 , and electric power supplied to the electric motor  24 . Additionally, as depicted, sensors  22  may be included to monitor the machine or process  36 . For example, in a manufacturing process, sensors  22  may be included to measure speeds, torques, flow rates, pressures, the presence of items and components, or any other parameters relevant to the controlled process or machine. 
     As described above, the sensors  22  may feedback information gathered regarding the switchgear/control circuitry  42 , the motor  24 , and/or the machine or process  36  to the control and monitoring circuitry  18  in a feedback loop. More specifically, the sensors  22  may provide the gathered information to the automation controller  44  and the automation controller  44  may relay the information to the remote control and monitoring circuitry  18 . Additionally, the sensors  22  may provide the gathered information directly to the remote control and monitoring circuitry  18 , for example via the network  21 . 
     To facilitate operation of the machine or process  36 , the electric motor  24  converts electric power to provide mechanical power. To help illustrate, an electric motor  24  may provide mechanical power to various devices, as described below. For example, the electric motor  24  may provide mechanical power to a fan, a conveyer belt, a pump, a chiller system, and various other types of loads that may benefit from the advances proposed. 
     Point-on-Wave (POW) Switching 
     As discussed in the above examples, the switchgear/control circuitry  42  may control operation of a load  14  (e.g., electric motor  24 ) by controlling electric power supplied to the load  14 . For example, switching devices (e.g., contactors) in the switchgear/control circuitry  42  may be closed to supply electric power to the load  14  and opened to disconnect electric power from the load  14 . However, as discussed above, opening (e.g., breaking) and closing (e.g., making) the switching devices may discharge electric power in the form of electric arcing, cause current oscillations to be supplied to the load  14 , and/or cause the load  14  to produce torque oscillations. 
     Accordingly, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide techniques for breaking a switching device in coordination with a specific point on an electric power waveform. For example, to reduce magnitude and/or likelihood of arcing, the switching device may open based on a current zero-crossing or any other desired point on of an analog wave signal conducting through the respective switching device. As used herein, a “current zero-crossing” is intended to describe when the current conducted by the switching device is zero. Accordingly, by breaking exactly at a current zero-crossing, the likelihood of generating an arc is minimal since the conducted current is zero. 
     Although some embodiments describe breaking a switching device based on a current zero-crossing or making the switching device based on a predicted current zero-crossing, it should be understood that the switching devices may be controlled to open and close at any desired point on the waveform using the disclosed techniques. To facilitate opening and/or closing at a desired point on the waveform, one or more switching devices may be independently controlled to selectively connect and disconnect a phase of electric power to the load  14 . In some embodiments, the one or more switching devices may be a multi-pole, multi-current carrying path switching device that controls connection of each phase with a separate pole. More specifically, the multi-pole, multi-current carrying path switching device may control each phase of electric power by movement of a common assembly under the influence of a single operator (e.g., an electromagnetic operator). Thus, in some embodiments, to facilitate independent control, each pole may be connected to the common assembly in an offset manner, thereby enabling movement of the common assembly to affect one or more of the poles differently. 
     In other embodiments, the one or more switching devices may include multiple single pole switching devices. As used herein a “single pole switching device” is intended to differentiate from a multi-pole, multi current-carrying path switching device in that each phase is controlled by movement of a separate assembly under influence of a separate operator. In some embodiments, the single pole switching device may be a single pole, multi-current carrying path switching device (e.g., multiple current carrying paths controlled by movement of a single operator) or a single-pole, single current-carrying path switching device, which will be described in more detail below. 
     As described above, controlling the making (e.g., closing) of the one or more switching devices may facilitate reducing magnitude of in-rush current and/or current oscillations, which may strain the load  14 , the power source  12 , and/or other connected components. As such, the one or more switching devices may be controlled such that they make based at least in part on a predicted current zero-crossing (e.g., within a range slightly before to slightly after the predicted current zero crossing). 
     Single-Pole, Single Current-Carrying Path Switching Device 
       FIGS. 4-6  depict a presently contemplated arrangement for providing a single-pole, single current-carrying path switching device. The device may be used in single-phase applications, or very usefully in multi-phase (e.g., three-phase) circuits. It may be used alone or to form modular devices and assemblies such as for specific purposes as described below. Moreover, it may be designed for use in POW power application, and in such applications, synergies may be realized that allow for very compact and efficient designs due, as least in part, to the reduced operator demands, reduced arcing, and improved electromagnetic effects during the application of current through the device. 
     It should be noted that various embodiments of the single-pole switching devices may be used in single current-carrying path applications and also in multi current-carrying path applications. That is, references to single-pole switching devices throughout the disclosure may refer to single-pole, single current carrying path switching devices, single-pole, multiple current carrying path switching devices, or some combination thereof. In some embodiments, a single-pole, multiple current-carrying path switching device may allow for the repurposing of certain devices as modular three-phase circuits. For example, a single-pole, multiple current-carrying path may refer to a switching device with three current-carrying paths that have been interconnected to provide a single phase of power. Additionally, in some embodiments, three single-pole, single current-carrying path switching devices may each be configured to provide a separate phase of power (e.g., three-phase) and can be independently and/or simultaneously controlled in various beneficial configurations, as described in detail below. It should be understood, that the single-pole switching devices may be modularly configured to provide any number of power phases. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a switching device  82  designed for use in certain of the applications described in the present disclosure. In the embodiment illustrated, a switching device is a single-pole, single current-carrying path device in the form of a contactor  84 . The contactor  84  generally includes an operator section  86  and a contact section  88 . As described more fully below, the operator section includes components that enable energization and de-energization of the contactor to complete and interrupt a single current-carrying path through the device. The section  88  includes components that are stationary and other components that are moved by energization and de-energization of the operator section to complete and interrupt the single-carrying path. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper conductive section has an upper housing  90 , while the operator section has a lower housing  92 . The housings fit together to form a single unitary housing body. In the illustrated embodiment flanges  94  extend from the lower housing allowing the device to be mounted in operation. Other mounting arrangements may certainly be envisaged. A line-side conductor  96  extends from the device to enable connection to a source of power. A corresponding load-side conductor  98  extends from an opposite side to enable the device to be coupled to a load. In other embodiments, conductors may exit the housing  90  and  92  in other manners. In this illustrated embodiment the device also includes an upper or top-side auxiliary actuator  100  and a side mount auxiliary actuator  102 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates certain of the mechanical, electrical and operational components of the contactor in an exploded view. As shown, the operator section is mounted in the lower housing  92  and includes an operator designated generally by reference numeral  104  which itself is a collection of components including a magnetic core comprised of a yoke  106  and a central core section  108 . A return spring  110  is mounted through the central core section  108  as described more fully below for biasing movable contacts towards an open position. An operator coil  112  is mounted around the core section  108  and between upturned portions of the yoke  106 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the coil  112  will typically be mounted on a bobbin and is formed of multiple turns of magnet wire, such as copper. The operator includes leads  114 , which in this embodiment extend upwardly to enable connection to the operator when the components are assembled in the device. As will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the core, including the yoke and central core section, along with the coil  112  form an electromagnet which, when energized, attracts one or more parts of the movable contact assembly described below, to shift the device between an open position and a closed position. 
     A movable contact assembly  116  similarly includes a number of components assembled as a sub-assembly over the operator. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the movable assembly includes an armature  118  that is made of a metal or material that can be attracted by flux generated by energization of the operator. The armature is attached to a carrier  120  which typically is made of a non-conductive material, such as plastic or fiberglass, or any other suitable electrically insulating material. A conductor assembly  122  is mounted in the carrier and is moved upwardly and downwardly by movement of the carrier under the influence of electromagnetic flux that draws the armature downwardly, and, when the fluxes are removed, the entire assembly may be moved upwardly under the influence of the return spring  110  mentioned above. 
     The device further includes a stationary contact assembly  124 . In the illustrated embodiment, this contact assembly is formed of multiple hardware components, including a mounting assembly  126  that is fitted between the lower housing  92  and the upper housing  90 . This mounting assembly will typically be made of an electrically non-conductive material, and it includes various features for allowing the mounting of the line and load-side conductors  96  and  98 . 
     In some embodiments, the switching device may include a relay device that is composed of components illustrated in  FIG. 6 , some of which correspond to the components of the switching device  82  described above. As shown in  FIG. 6 , relay device  140  may include an armature  142  that is coupled to a spring  144 . The armature  142  may have a common contact  146  that may be coupled to a part of an electrical circuit. The armature  142  may electrically couple the common contact  146  to a contact  148  or to a contact  150  depending on a state (e.g., energized) of the relay device  140 . For example, when a relay coil  152  of the relay device  140  is not energized or does not receive voltage from a driving circuit, the armature is positioned such that the common contact  146  and the contact  148  are electrically coupled to each other. When the relay coil  152  receives a driving voltage, the relay coil  152  magnetizes and attracts the armature to itself, thereby connecting the contact  150  to the common contact  146 . 
     Relay Coil Drive Circuit Using High Voltage and Constant Current 
     As mentioned above, the movement of the armature  142  causes a change in the inductance of the relay coil  152 , thereby making the change in current within the relay coil  152  to move in a nonlinear fashion. For example,  FIG. 7  depicts a current-time graph  160  that illustrates the change in current  162  within the relay coil  152  when a voltage is applied to the relay coil  152  at time t 0  and after the armature  142  moves to close (e.g., curve  164 ) the relay device  140  at time t 1 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the current through the relay coil  152  increase in a linear fashion at time t 0  but loses its linear property just before the relay device  140  closes at time t 0 . This nonlinear property of the current conducting through the relay coil  152  is attributed to the movement of the armature  142  when the relay coil  152  magnetizes. 
     Since the current follows a nonlinear curve that changes due to the inductance of the relay coil  152 , the time in which various relay coils  152  having different inductances vary as well. For instance,  FIG. 8  illustrates a current-time graph  170  that illustrates the differences in the amounts of times in which the relay coil  152  having different inductances may reach its driving current when provided with a rated voltage. The rated voltage may correspond to a rating associated with the relay coil  152 . That is, the relay coil  152  may be rated for a particular voltage to ensure that the relay coil  152  operates effectively for a period of time and such that insulating features of the relay coil  152  are designed to withstand the rated voltage a number of times before becoming inoperable. 
     Although the relay coil  152  may be rated for a particular voltage or voltage range, in some embodiments, providing the relay coil  152  with a voltage that is higher than the rated voltage may reduce the discrepancies between the amounts of time in which the each of the various relay coils having various inductances reaches its driving current. For example,  FIG. 9  illustrates a current-time graph  180  that illustrates the differences in the amounts of times in which the relay coil  152  having different inductances may reach its driving current when provided with a voltage that is higher than the voltage rated for the relay coil  152 . As mentioned above, by providing a higher voltage to the relay coil  152 , as compared to the rated voltage, the variability of the amount of time in which different relay coils  152  having different inductances may decrease. Indeed, as shown in the current-time graph  180 , by providing a 24V supply to relay coils  152  having different inductances causes the time in which each relay coil  152  reaches its driving current to decrease, as compared to providing the 5V (e.g., relay coil rating) supply to the relay coils  152  depicted in  FIG. 8 . 
     In some embodiments, the voltage provided to the relay coil  152  may be between four and five times the rated voltage of the relay coil  152 . That is, since the relay coil  152  is rated for a particular voltage or voltage range, providing a voltage supply that is higher than the voltage rating of the relay coil  152  may reduce the life of the relay coil  152  due to insulation breakdown and wear. However, by limiting the higher voltage supply to four and five times the rated voltage of the relay coil  152 , the present embodiments may limit the effects of wearing down the relay coil  152 . In any case, although the present embodiments are described herein as using a voltage source that provides four to five times the rated voltage of the relay coil  152  to the relay coil  152 , it should be understood that the embodiments described herein should not be limited to voltage supplies that are four to five times the rated voltage of the relay coil  152 . Instead, any suitable voltage supply may be used with the embodiments described herein. 
     With this in mind, it should be noted that the relatively higher voltage supply provided to the relay coil  152  may be controlled in a manner that limits the exposure of the relay coil  152  to the higher voltage levels for a period of time that allows the relay coil  152  to reach its driving current. In some embodiments, two voltage sources may be used to energize the relay coil  152 , such that the relay coil  152  may receive a relatively higher voltage for a short period of time to allow the relay coil  152  to reach its drive current. After the relay coil  152  is expected to reach its drive current, one of the voltage sources may be disconnected from the relay coil  152 , while the other voltage source remains coupled to the relay coil  152  to provide a voltage that matches the voltage rating of the relay coil  15 . For example,  FIG. 10  illustrates an example circuit  190  that includes a switch  192  that couples a voltage source  194  when initially driving the relay coil  152 . The voltage source  194  may output a voltage that is higher than the rating of the relay coil  152 . After initially driving the relay coil  152 , a switch  195  may be closed and the switch  192  may be opened to connect a voltage source  196  to the relay coil  152 . The voltage source  196  may output a voltage that corresponds to the rating of the relay coil  152 . In some embodiments, the voltage source  194  may provide the relay coil  152  with a voltage that corresponds to four to five times the rated voltage of the relay coil  152 . 
     The switch  192  and the switch  195  may be controlled by a control system, controller, or the like. In some embodiments, the control system may: (1) close the switch  192  and open the switch  195  in response to a signal indicating that the relay coil  152  is being energized; and (2) open the switch  192  and close the switch  195  after the relay coil  152  is expected to reach its driving current. After the relay coil  152  is expected to reach its driving current, the switch  195  may open and the switch  192  may close, thereby allowing the voltage source  194  to keep the relay coil  152  energized. In this way, the relatively high voltage applied to the relay coil  152  may be provided for a limited amount of time to preserve the integrity and operability of the relay coil  152  over time. 
     In addition to coordinating the voltage applied to the relay coil  152 , the circuit  190  may provide a constant current to the relay coil  152 . Using a constant current source to energize the relay coil  152  may provide added benefits to the operation of the respective relay device. For example, providing a constant current to the relay coil  152  may provide for improved consistency in closing times and power efficiency, as compared to connecting a constant voltage source to the relay coil  152 , over a spectrum of relay coils  152  having different inductances, armature positions, and the like. Additional details with regard to employing a constant current source to drive the relay coil  152  will be discussed below. 
     Referring back to the circuit  190  of  FIG. 10 , by way of operation, a control system  198  may provide a gate signal to a switching device  200  (e.g., transistor) to energize the relay coil  152 . By providing the gate signal to the switching device  200 , the switching device  200  may close and a current may be drawn through resistor  202  via the voltage source  196 . In some embodiments, a Zener diode  204  may be coupled between the resistor  202  and the voltage source  196 . The Zener diode  204  may be a semiconductor device that permits current to flow in a forward or reverse direction. In addition, the Zener diode  204  may clamp or limit the voltage provided to the resistor  202 . When engaging the relay coil  152 , the control system  198  may send a signal to the switch  192  to close at the same time (e.g., within microseconds) as a switching device  206  closes based on the gate signal provided via a node  208  between the resistor  202  and the Zener diode  204 . As discussed above, by initially connecting the voltage source  194  and the voltage source  196  to the relay coil  152 , the coil current may reach the drive current value within a faster amount of time, as compared to just connecting the voltage source  196 . In some embodiments, after the amount of time that the relay coil  152  is expected to reach the drive current value, the control system  198  may send a command to the switch  192  causing the switch  192  to open, thereby connecting the relay coil  152  to just the voltage source  196 . As mentioned above, the voltage source  196  may provide a voltage that matches the rated voltage of the relay coil  152 . By disconnecting the additional voltage source  194  from the relay coil  152  after a limited amount of time, the present embodiments may preserve the life of the relay coil  152  while achieving a consistent close time. 
     Referring back to the Zener diode  204  of  FIG. 10 , in some embodiments, the Zener diode  204  may be selected or sized to match or offset temperature characteristics of the switching device  206 . That is, the switching device  206  may have a base-to-emitter temperature coefficient that indicates how the properties (e.g., voltage) of the switching device  206  changes with respect to temperature. To prevent temperature from influencing the operation of the relay coil  152 , the Zener diode  204  may be selected to have temperature properties that offset those of the switching device  206 . For example, the switching device  206  may have a base-to-emitter temperature coefficient that indicates that the base-to-emitter voltage changes −1.3 mV for each degree Celsius. As such, the Zener diode  204  may be selected to have a voltage that changes +1.3 mV for each degree Celsius to offset the effects due to the switching device  206 . 
     It should be noted that the control system  198  may include any suitable computing system, controller, or the like. As such, the control system  198  may include a communication component, a processor, a memory, a storage, input/output (I/O) ports, a display, and the like. The communication component may be a wireless or wired communication component that may facilitate communication between different components within the industrial automation system, the relay device  140 , or the like. 
     The processor may be any type of computer processor or microprocessor capable of executing computer-executable code. The processor may also include multiple processors that may perform the operations described below. The memory and the storage may be any suitable articles of manufacture that can serve as media to store processor-executable code, data, or the like. These articles of manufacture may represent computer-readable media (e.g., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store the processor-executable code used by the processor to perform the presently disclosed techniques. The memory and the storage may represent non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store the processor-executable code used by the processor to perform various techniques described herein. It should be noted that non-transitory merely indicates that the media is tangible and not a signal. 
     The I/O ports may be interfaces that may couple to other peripheral components such as input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse), sensors, input/output (I/O) modules, and the like. The display may operate to depict visualizations associated with software or executable code being processed by the processor. In one embodiment, the display may be a touch display capable of receiving inputs from a user. The display may be any suitable type of display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display, or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, for example. Additionally, in one embodiment, the display may be provided in conjunction with a touch-sensitive mechanism (e.g., a touch screen) that may function as part of a control interface. It should be noted that the components described above with regard to the control system  198  are exemplary components and the control system  198  may include additional or fewer components as shown. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 10 , it should be appreciated that the circuit  190  described above may be employed in a number of ways. That is, in one embodiment, the relay coil  152  may be provided with a constant current using a high voltage source (e.g., voltage source  194  and voltage source  196 ). Alternatively, the relay coil  152  may be provided with a constant current using a voltage source (e.g., voltage source  196 ) that corresponds to the rating of the relay coil  152 . In either case, using a constant current source to drive the relay coil  152  may provide a number of benefits as will be detailed below. 
     For example,  FIG. 11  illustrates a current-time graph  220  that depicts how the current within the relay coil  152  may change over time when the relay coil  152  is driven at time t 0  using a constant voltage (e.g., curve  222 ) and using a constant current (e.g., curve  224 ). As shown in  FIG. 11 , at time t 0 , the current within the relay coil  152  reaches a steady state value within ˜0.5 ms when the relay coil  152  is driven using the constant current (e.g., curve  224 ). Moreover, the current in the relay coil  152  changes in a nonlinear fashion when the relay coil  152  is driven using the constant voltage (e.g., curve  222 ). The nonlinear nature of the current in the relay coil  152  may cause the relay coil  152  to energize at inconsistent times, thereby causing the respective relay device to close inconsistently across a variety of inductances and armature positions. 
     In addition to reaching the driving current within the relay coil  152  according to a linear function, using the constant current source to drive the relay coil  152  may also enable the relay device to have a consistent movement profile for the armature  142  over a variety of coil resistances. For example,  FIG. 12  illustrates a position-time graph  230  that depicts how the position of the armature  142  may change over time when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant current source versus a constant voltage source. Referring to  FIG. 12 , curve  232  corresponds to the movement profile of the armature  142  over time when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant current source for a variety of relay coils  152  having a variety of resistances. That is, the curve  232  represents a number of movement profiles for a number of relay coils  152 . One curve  232  is visible in the position-time graph  230  because the respective movement profile curve for each different relay coil  152  having a different resistance is overlaid on top of each other due to the similarities in the respective movement profiles. In contrast, the curves  232  correspond to movement profiles of the armature  142  over time when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant voltage source for a variety of relay coils  152  having a variety of resistances. As depicted with the curves  234 , the movement profile of the armature  142  varies significantly based on the various resistances of the relay coil  152  when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant voltage source, as compared to a constant current source (e.g., curve  232 ). 
     Driving the relay coil  152  using a constant current source may also enable the armature  142  to close more consistently across various inductances of the relay coil  152  when the relay coil  152  is driven with a similar current value. For instance,  FIG. 13  illustrates an inductance-current graph  240  that indicates the coil current values that cause various relay coils  152  having various inductances to close when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant current source versus a constant voltage source. Referring to  FIG. 13 , curve  242  traces when the relay coil  152  closes when driven with a constant current for a variety of relay coils  152  having a variety of inductance values. As shown in the graph  240 , when the relay coil  152  is driven with the constant current source, the armature  142  closes at approximately the same time (e.g., t 1 ). In contrast, the curve  244  traces the current values in the variety of relay coils  152  when the relay coils  152  close and when the relay coils  152  are driven with a constant voltage source. As made clear in the graph  240 , the current values in the relay coil  152  that correspond to when the armature  142  closes vary greatly with respect to the inductance of the relay coil  152  when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant voltage source, as compared to being driven with a constant current source. 
     The constant current source also enables the relay device to preserve more energy and operate the relay coil  152  more efficiently.  FIG. 14  illustrates a current-time graph  250  that depicts the energy waste in the relay coil  152  when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant current (e.g., curve  252 ) versus a constant voltage (e.g., curves  254 ). As shown in  FIG. 14 , the curve  252  remains consistent for a number of resistances of the relay coil  152 , whereas the curves  254  varies as the resistances of the relay coil  152  varies. In addition, it is clear from the graph  250  that driving the relay coil  152  using the constant voltage source (e.g., curves  254 ) results in the relay coil  152  conducting more current as compared to when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant current source (e.g., curve  252 ). The difference in the current between the two sources of power result in a certain amount of energy waste in the relay coil  152 . 
     Indeed, the constant current source automatically adjusts the voltage of the relay coil  152  over time to maintain a consistent operation of the armature  142 . To illustrate this,  FIG. 15  illustrates a voltage-time graph  260  that depicts the voltage change in the relay coil  152  when the relay coil  152  is driven with a constant voltage source (e.g., curve  266 ) versus a constant current source (e.g., curves  268 ). As shown in  FIG. 15 , the curve  266  remains at a particular voltage level for a number of resistances of the relay coil  152 , whereas the curves  268  detail how the constant current source automatically adjusts the voltage of the relay coil  152  across various resistances of the relay coil  152 . In this way, the voltage of the relay coil  152  maintains consistent operation with the current source. 
     With the foregoing in mind, technical effects of the present embodiments include enabling POW switching to perform more consistently over various types of relay coils having various inductances, resistances, and the like. When switching devices are manufactured, a number of variables may cause the coil of a switching device to differ from other coils manufactured using the same process or in the same facility. To ensure that the switching device opens and closes according to a consistent and expected fashion, the coils may be driven using a constant current source. In some embodiments, the constant current source may be facilitated by a voltage source that outputs a voltage that is higher than the rated voltage of the respective coil. As a result, the switching devices may close at more consistent and predictable time intervals, while preserving energy and operating more efficiently. 
     Controlling Contact Bounce 
     In some embodiments, relay devices and contactor devices operate such that they are normally open or normally closed when the relay coil  152  is not energized. That is, normally open relay devices may include contacts or the armature  142  that is open or not electrically connecting two electrical nodes when relay coil  152  is not energized. In the same manner, normally closed relay devices may include contacts or the armature  142  that is open when the relay coil  152  is not energized. As such, when attempting to close or open during a respective POW close or POW open command, the respective relay device may have a number of variables, such as the magnetic properties in an air gap between the armature  142  and the relay coil  152  or between contacts of the contactor  84 . That is, for example, when energizing a respective coil, a number of magnetic factors begin to affect the operation of the respective relay device or contactor. These magnetic factors may cause the respective device to act inconsistently, thereby reducing the accuracy of the POW switching. In addition, by energizing the respective coil to open or close the respective relay device or contactor under these variable conditions, the amount of times that the contacts close due to bouncing may increase, thereby resulting in a reduced life of the contacts. Indeed, since the coil has energy when the contactor closes or opens, the energy may dissipate across the relay and contacts, thereby increasing the wear on the relay. 
     Keeping this in mind, in some embodiments, POW switching may be employed to minimize the arc energy available across contacts when the respective device opens or closes. For example, if the contact is closed where the corresponding voltage signal is near its peak, the available arc energy may be relatively higher as compared to closing the contact when the voltage signal is near or approaching zero. Since the available arc energy is related to the amount of voltage and current available over time, the close timing can be coordinated to close when the available arc energy is expected to be the lowest. The arc energy is a significant factor is wearing out the contacts. That is, the arc energy is providing the high temperature event that wears down the material of the contact each time the contacts close or bounce against each other. 
     At times, coordinating the timing for a relay device or any other suitable switching device to open and close within a threshold amount of time with respect a zero-voltage crossing may not be practical. For instance, upon detection of a fault, a relay device may immediately open or close with regard to the voltage waveform present on the respective contacts. As a result, when the armature  142  moves and one contact moves to physically couple with another contact, the amount of available arc energy may not be minimized because the point on the voltage waveform in which the armature  142  moves may not be near the zero-crossing. In addition, depending on the number times that the contacts bounce against each other, additional opportunities for electrical arcing are present. Moreover, the number of bounces between the contacts under the various arcing conditions may be directly related to the wear on the contacts, and thus the relay device. Accordingly, to increase the life of the contacts and the relay device, the number of contact bounces between the contacts should be minimized. 
     Keeping this in mind, to reduce the number of contact bounces, in some embodiments, the speed in which the armature  142  of the relay device  140  (e.g.,  FIG. 6 ) moves may control the number of bounces that the contacts may occur during a close or open operation. That is, referring briefly again to  FIG. 6 , the speed in which the armature  142  moves from position A to position B may directly affect the number of times that contact  262  may bounce against contact  264 . Since the contact  262  is electrically charged with some voltage, the bounces between the contact  262  and the contact  264  may result in electrical arcing that may wear down the conductive material (e.g., copper) that makes up the contact  262  and the contact  264 . 
     Since the armature  142  controls the position of the contact  262  and the contact  264 , it may be useful to reduce a speed of the armature  142  when it moves between positions A and B. That is, by reducing the speed in which the armature  142  moves between positions A and B, the kinetic energy dissipated through the bounces of the contacts  262  and  264  may be reduced, thereby reducing the total number of bounces that occur between the contacts  262  and  264 . 
       FIG. 16  illustrates an example position-time graph  270  that depicts a position of the armature  142  over time when the armature  142  closes with a first velocity (e.g., curve  272 ), as compared to when the armature  142  closes with a second velocity slower than the first velocity (e.g., curve  274 ). The high velocity movement of the armature  142  characterized by the curve  272  causes a relatively high impact energy since kinetic energy (KE) is defined as a function of velocity (v) and mass (m), as shown in Equation 2 below.
 
KE=½ mv   2   (2)
 
     In contrast the impact energy available to the armature  142  that moves according to the curve  272 , the armature  142  that moves in accordance to the curve  274  may have a smaller velocity and thus less impact energy available to contributed to contact bounce. To enable the armature  142  to reduce its speed during some operation (e.g., close), a control circuit may introduce or electrically couple an external inductance to the relay coil  152  at a time that is within some threshold period of time before the armature  142  moves between positions A and B. In some embodiments, the external inductance may be approximately one order of magnitude larger than the inductance of the relay coil  152  to overcome the momentum of the movement of the armature  142 , such that the speed in which the armature  142  reduces within a threshold amount of time before the contacts  262  and  264  physically touch each other. 
       FIG. 17  illustrates an example circuit  280  that may be employed to add external inductance to the relay coil  152  in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Referring to  FIG. 17 , the circuit  280  may be similar the circuit  190  described above with respect to  FIG. 10 . The circuit  280  includes additional circuitry  282  that inserts an additional inductor  284  in series with the relay coil  152  when the relay device  140  is opening or closing. The additional inductance may cause the armature  142  to reduce in speed, thereby reducing the amount of impact energy available to the contacts  262  and  264 , such that the number of bounces between the contacts  262  and  264  are minimal. 
     By way of operation, the control system  198  may send a gate signal to a switching device  286  while the relay device  140  is in its normal operating condition (e.g., normally open, normally closed). That is, when the relay coil  152  is not energized, for example, the control system  198  may send a gate signal to the switching device  286  to cause the switching device  286  to close and couple the relay coil  152  to ground. After detecting that the relay coil  152  will be energized (e.g., in response to a signal/fault), the control system  198  may remove the gate signal provided to the switching device  286 , thereby causing the switching device  286  to open. As such, the additional inductor  284  may be connected in series with the relay coil  152  to increase the effective inductance of the relay device  140  after the relay coil  152  is energized. As a result, the added inductance sharply decreases the coil current of the relay coil  152  when switched in, and then creates a second total inductance that should be re-energized. The sharp decrease in coil current momentarily decreases the armature force, as well as slows the rise time of the armature force, allowing for a soft close. In other words, the movement of the armature  142  decreases due to sharp decrease in the coil current, thereby causing the armature  142  to reduce its speed as shown in the curve  274  of  FIG. 16 . 
     With this in mind, depending on the size of the relay coil  152 , it may be challenging to incorporate the additional inductor  284  into the relay device  140 . That is, the additional inductor  284  may cause magnetic interference with other circuit components or the relay device  140  may not be large enough to physically include the additional inductor  284 . As such, in some embodiments, the control system  198  may pulse a current to the relay coil  152  to achieve an optimal armature position profile that may reduce the speed of the movement of the armature  142 . The pulsing current may enable the relay device  140  to reduce the speed in which the armature  142  operates without including the additional inductor  284  in the circuit  280 . That is, an initial coil current that causes the armature  142  to move may be provided to the relay coil  152 . In some embodiments, before the relay device  140  is expected to close, the control system  198  may remove the current provided to the relay coil  152 , and the momentum of the armature  142  may decrease due to the loss of current to the relay coil  152 . After the armature  142  moves to couple two contacts (e.g., contacts  262  and  264 ), the control system  198  may again provide the current to the relay coil  152 . 
       FIG. 18  illustrates a current-time graph  300  that depicts an embodiment in which a pulsed coil current is provided to the relay coil  152 . As shown in  FIG. 18 , the current is provided to the relay coil  152  for a first duration of time (e.g., T(ON 1 ), the current is removed for a second duration of time (e.g., T(OFF)), and the current is returned for a third duration of time (e.g., T(ON 2 )). The third duration of time may correspond to keeping the relay coil  152  energized.  FIG. 19  illustrates a pulsed coil current graph  310  that includes a coil curve  312  that represents a pulsed current provided to the relay coil  152 . The pulsed coil current graph  310  also includes an armature position curve  314  that illustrates a movement profile of the armature  142  over time. As shown in  FIG. 19 , the slope of the armature position curve  314  is altered when the current is removed from the relay coil  152  at time T 0 . At time T 1 , the current is provided again to the relay coil  152 , thereby causing the slope of the armature position curve  314  to increase again. However, since the slope of the armature position curve  314  decreased between times T 0  and T 1 , the armature  142  slowly changes positions (e.g., from position A to B) until time T 2 . That is, the armature  142  is still moving slightly between times T 0  and T 1 . The contacts change state after the armature position curve  314  crosses the horizontal line depicted in  FIG. 19 . As such, the armature  142  begins to slow down before the contacts change state until time T 2  when the armature  142  is fully closed. In this way, the contacts close before the armature  142  closes (e.g., over travel). However, the kinetic energy associated with the movement of the armature  142  decreases between T 0  and T 1  to decrease impact energy when the contacts change state. As such, the speed of the armature  142  decreases before changing positions, thereby reducing the impact energy provided by the armature  142  when the contacts  262  and  264  physically touch each other. 
     Although the embodiments described above are detailed in accordance with an open loop system based on expected behavior or properties for various variables (e.g., armature speed), it should be noted that the operation of the various techniques described herein could be implemented in a closed-loop system with position measurement on the armature  142 , current/voltage data (e.g., via sensors) to glean additional information, or the like. That is, different types of technology can be used to determine the positions of the armature  142 , the contacts  262 / 264 , or the like. In addition, the measured inductance of the relay coil  152  may be used to detect how fast the current changes with respect to voltage to determine characteristics of the position of the armature  142 . The inductance of the relay coil  152  may also be used to provide some self-monitoring operations to detect a failure (e.g., a welded contact). In this way, the measurement would be made based on a voltage applied to the relay coil  152  and a measurement of the current on the relay coil  152  to determine the inductance, which may then be used to determine whether the contacts  262 / 264  or relay device  140  is operating correctly. If an error is detected, the control system  198  may annunciate an alarm, disable the relay device  140 , or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the properties (e.g., speed, close time) of the armature  142  changes over time. To maintain the movement profile of the armature  142  to minimize the impact energy between the contacts  262  and  264 , the control system  198  may monitor certain properties associated with the movement of the armature  142  as feedback to adjust the time in which a current pulse is applied, the additional inductor  284  is added to the relay coil  152 , or the like. For example, the control system  198  may monitor the position of the armature  142  over time for each close operation, the voltage applied to the relay coil  152 , the current applied to the relay coil  152 , and other variables may be monitored via sensors (e.g., current sensor, voltage sensor) or other suitable monitoring equipment. Although the closed loop system is described herein is provided in the context of controlling a bounce of a contact, it should be noted that the closed loop system may be employed in any suitable aspect of opening and closing (e.g., timing, speed) of the POW switch. 
     As mentioned above, a constant current pulse may minimize or reduce the number of bounces between the contacts  262  and  264 . It should also be noted that operating the relay device  140  using the current pulse described above does not change the bounce characteristics of the contacts  262  and  264  over different temperature ranges. As such, the pulsed coil embodiment may be agnostic to temperature changes within the relay device  140 . It should again be noted that the various embodiments described herein may also be applied to contactors. That is, as more contactors use direct current (DC) coils, the systems and methods described herein may better manage the power consumption of the contactors and reduce the use of interposing relays in contactors. 
     Technical effects of the embodiments described herein controlling the velocity of the armature using constant current pulses and/or an additional external inductor. In some embodiments, the current pulses may be applied according a desired point on a voltage waveform present on a contactor of the armature. The desired point on wave should be near the zero crossing to minimize the area underneath the voltage waveform, thereby reducing the available arc energy. However, it should be noted that, in some embodiments, the relay device can switch at any point of the AC waveform with minimal arc energy (i.e., not just the zero cross of voltage). 
     De-Energize Relays for Point-on-Wave (POW) Close and Open Operations 
     Normally open relays include a contactor or a switch that is open when the coil of the relay is not energized. In the same manner, normally closed relays include contacts or a contactor or switch that is open when the coil of the relay is not energized. As such, when attempting to close or open during a respective POW close or POW open command, the respective relay is influenced by a number of variables, such as the magnetic properties between the contacts of the contactor within the air gap. Thus, when energizing the coil, a number of magnetic factors begin to affect the operation of the respective relay. These magnetic factors may cause the relay to act inconsistently, thereby reducing the accuracy of the POW switching. In addition, by energizing the relay&#39;s coil to open or close the respective switch, contact bounce may increase, resulting in a reduced life of the contacts. Indeed, since the coil has energy when the contactor closes or opens, the energy may dissipate across the relay and contacts, thereby increasing the wear on the relay. 
     With this in mind, the contacts and the relays may benefit from operating in a manner such that the POW close or open operation occurs by de-energizing a relay.  FIG. 20  illustrates a process  330  implemented on specialized circuitry  332 , which may be employed to control POW close and open operations by de-energizing operations, in accordance with an embodiment. For simplicity, the process  330  and the associated states ( 334 A,  334 B,  334 C,  334 D, and  334 E) of the specialized circuitry  332  will be discussed together. 
     As illustrated, the specialized circuitry  332  includes a normally open contact  336  connected in series with a normally closed contact  338 . State  334 A illustrates the normal state of the specialized circuitry  332 , where neither the normally open contact  336  nor the normally closed contact  338  are energized. In state  334 A, the normally open contact  336  breaks the connection. 
     Next, process  330  begins to enable de-energized triggering of POW open and POW close operations. As mentioned above, triggering POW open and POW close operations via de-energizing triggers rather than energizing triggers may help to reduce variations that cause inconsistent POW open and/or POW close operations. For example, by performing the POW open and close operations in this de-energizing fashion, the rate of magnetic field collapse may be the primary variable of control as opposed to an energizing operation to perform the POW open and close operations, which may introduce inconsistent operations that are affected by the magnetic properties that are present within the air gap between the contacts, the energy stored in the coil, and the like. 
     The process  330  begins with initialization (block  340 ) of the specialized circuitry  332  into an energized state. In particular, the initialization (block  340 ) includes energizing the normally closed contact  338  (block  342 ). As illustrated by dashed line  344  in state  334 B, the normally closed contact  338  is energized, causing the normally closed contact  338  to open. 
     Next, the initialization (block  340 ) continues with energizing the normally open contact (block  346 ). As illustrated by dashed line  348  in state  334 C, the normally open contact  336  is energized, causing the normally pen contact to close. As may be appreciated, because the normally closed contact  338  was energized before the normally open contact  336 , the circuit is still broken by the normally closed contact  338 , despite closing of the normally open contact  336 . 
     Upon energizing of both the normally open contact  336  and the normally closed contact  338 , the initialization (block  340 ) is complete. Thus, a reliable POW open operation and/or POW close operation may be facilitated via de-energizing one or more of the contacts of the specialized circuitry. 
     For example, to perform a POW close operation  350 , the normally closed contact may be de-energized (block  352 ). As illustrated by the block  352  in state  334 D, the normally closed contact  338  is de-energized, causing it to close and completing the circuit. Thus, the POW close operation is implemented by de-energizing a contact, which may improve consistency of the POW close operation, by reducing variables that may cause timing variations in closing the circuit. 
     Conversely, when a POW open operation  354  is to be performed, the normally open contact  336  may be de-energized (block  356 ). As illustrated by the cross box  358  in state  334 E, the normally open contact  336  is de-energized, causing the normally open contact  336  to open and also causing implementation of the POW open operation  354  (e.g., by causing the closed circuit to break). As with the de-energizing triggering of the POW open operation, the de-energizing triggering of the POW close operation may provide similar benefits of reducing variables that may cause timing variations in implementation of the POW open operation. 
     As mentioned herein, arcing can sometimes occur between contacts. This may result in inconsistent POW open and POW close operations and can also damage the contacts. Accordingly, it may be desirable to implement additional arcing mitigation circuitry.  FIG. 21  illustrates an example circuit  360  that implements arcing mitigation circuitry  362 , in accordance with an embodiment. 
     As illustrated, a triode for alternating current (TRIAC) device  364  may be connected in parallel with contacts  366  of a relay on one or more phases of the circuit  360 . Here, the TRIAC device  364  is implemented on a phase (e.g., Phase C  368 ) that will be the last phase to connect to the load and, thus, the most likely to experience contact arcing. As may be appreciated, the TRIAC device  364  can conduct current in either direction when triggered. Here, the TRIAC device  364  is used to absorb arcing energy that is provided to the contacts  366 , by redirecting a portion of the current applied current away from the contacts  366 . This absorption of arcing energy acts to protect the contacts  366  from arcing. In addition, the arrangement of the parallel TRIAC with the POW contact can be used as a cost-effective or simple starting torque controller (STC) or soft starter. Starting Torque Controllers help reduce mechanical and electrical stress on motor circuits and systems by limiting the torque surge at start-up. Starting torque controllers are ideal for adding on to existing across the line starters. They allow for adjustable initial torque and ramp time. 
     The other phases (Phase A  370  and Phase B  372 ) may or may not include a similar TRIAC device  364 , depending on arcing mitigation needs for the circuit  360 . In the current example, these phases do not include a TRIAC device  364 , which may help reduce costs but may not provide the same level of arcing mitigation as embodiments that implement TRIAC devices  364  on one or more of these phases. 
     Phase A  370  may be provided via a normally open contact  374 . Phase B  372  may be provided via a normally open contact or, as illustrated here, a normally open contact  376  in series with a normally closed contact  378 . By way of operation, the contact in Phase A  370  may close to avoid any potential arcing because the current is not yet present on the phase. A coordinated close operation may be performed on Phase B  372  using POW switching (e.g., as discussed above in reference to  FIG. 20 ). Phase C  368  may be connected through the TRIAC device  364 , as discussed above. In some embodiments, the normally open contact  366  may be a multi-pole device shared between Phase A  370  and Phase C  368 , while the TRIAC device  364  is closed. 
     In some embodiments, double-pole single-throw relays can be used to minimize the amount of times that a particular contact is used when making a circuit connection. This may help in load balancing of operations on contacts, which may extend the life of the contacts. Further, these techniques may provide added connection redundancy, which may further enhance the circuitry.  FIGS. 22 and 23  illustrate such example circuitry, in accordance with an embodiment. 
     In the circuitry  390  of  FIG. 22  and the circuitry  390 ′ of  FIG. 23 , Phase C may be alternatingly connected to the load via different relays (e.g., relay  394  and relay  396 ). For example, Phase C may be alternatingly connected to the load via relays  394  and  396  when the contacts  398  and  400  are alternatingly closed. This effectively reduces the number of operations sustained by contacts  398  and  400  by half. Thus, the contacts  398  and  400  may wear less quickly. Further, this configuration provides additional functional safety by providing redundant connections to the load (e.g., via contact  398  and contact  400 ). In some embodiments, as depicted in  FIG. 22 , an additional relay  402  may be provided to connect Phase A and Phase C to the load. Alternatively, as depicted in  FIG. 23 , other embodiments may not include the additional relay  402 . By employing the two-relay circuity  390 ′ configuration of  FIG. 23  as opposed to the three-relay circuitry  390 ′ configuration of  FIG. 22 , the final product may include less driver components and physical components, thereby reducing the cost and complexity of the device. 
     Contact Relay Reduction 
     In some instances, it may be desirable to reduce a number of contact elements provided in a relay. This may reduce manufacturing costs and provide a simpler relay design.  FIG. 24  illustrates an example three-phase relay circuit  410  which uses POW techniques to provide reliable operation with a reduced number of contacts, in accordance with an embodiment. In the three-phase relay circuit  410 , three poles, P 1   412 , P 2   414 , and P 3   416  are connected to load  418 . Contact relays/breaks  420 A-F may be used to implement the POW techniques described herein. In a standard implementation, six contact relays/breaks  420 A-F may be provided to implement these POW techniques. However, as mentioned herein, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to reduce and/or minimize the number of contact relay/breaks  420 . 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 24 , the number of contact relays/breaks  420 A-F may be reduced from 6 to 4 (e.g., contact relays/breaks  420 A-D), as illustrated by dashed line contact relays/breaks  420 E and  420 F. It may be possible to reduce the number of contact relays/breaks  420 A-F from 6 to 3 (e.g., contact relays/breaks  420 A,  420 B,  420 D) with  420 C becoming a dashed line connection similar to  420 E/ 420 F. Despite this reduction in contact relays/breaks  420 , arcing mitigation can still be performed by adjusting opening/closing timings of the relays/breaks  420  between the different poles P 1   412 , P 2   414 , and P 3   416 , as will be described in more detail below. 
     In some embodiments, the relay/break  420  that is opened can be toggled between contact relays/breaks  420  that are likely to experience a fault or arc. Different opening patterns may be employed for each fault operation, which may help mitigate arcing effects. In other words, subsequent open operations can utilize different relay/breaks  420  to initiate toe open operation. This will be discussed in more detail below with regard to  FIGS. 25 and 26 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 24 , the three-phase relay circuit  410  has one fully equipped pole (e.g., pole with two contact relay/breaks  420  (e.g.,  420 B and  420 C)), P 2   414 . The other two poles, P 1   412  and P 2   416  each include a reduced number of contact relay/breaks  420 . For example, pole P 1   412  has been reduced to not include contact relay/break  420 E and pole P 3  has been reduced to not include contact relay/break  420 F. 
     As may be appreciated, reducing the number of contact relay/breaks  420  on a pole may remove some re-strike mitigation, by relying on a single contact relay/break  420 . Accordingly, it may be desirable to lead opening/breaking with the fully equipped pole (e.g. pole P 2   414 ). By leading opening/breaking via fully equipped poles (e.g., pole P 2   414 ), restrike mitigation may still be maintained for the contact relay/breaks  420  that are most likely to arc/re-strike (e.g., contact relay/breaks  420 B and  420 C) on the first-broken pole P 2   414 ). After breaking the fully equipped poles, the other poles (e.g. poles P 1   412  and P 3   416 ) may be opened. 
     In other words, for opening operations/breaking a connection to a load, poles with an increased number of contact relay/breaks  420  may be opened prior to opening poles with a reduced number of contact relay/breaks  420 . Thus, in the current embodiment, pole P 2   414  may be opened prior to poles P 1   412  and  43   416  during opening operations. This may be done by opening contact relay/breaks  420 B and/or  420 C. 
     Conversely, when connecting to a load, the poles with the reduced number of contact relay/breaks  420  may be closed first, followed by the poles having the increased number of contact relay/breaks  420 . Thus, in the current embodiment, to make connection to the load  418 , poles P 1   412  and P 3   416  may be closed first (e.g., by switching contact relay/breaks  420 A and  420 D, respectively). Then, after these poles are connected, the poles with the increased number of contact relay/breaks  420  may be connected. Thus, in the current embodiment, P 2   414  may be closed (e.g., by switching contact relay/breaks  420 B and  420 C). 
     This delayed opening/closing time technique can be performed for POW as well as non-POW devices. For non-POW devices, the timing delay between the early break of the contact relay/breaks  420  on the pole(s) with the increased number of contact relay/breaks  420  and the later break of the contact relay/breaks  420  on the pole(s) with the reduced number of contact relay/breaks  420  should be at least a half cycle delay. For POW the time delay can be reduced to a quarter cycle, as more precise opening/closing may be possible. 
     Breaking capacity may be primarily dependent on contact gap in the moment of current zero cross for a switching device without any additional arc quenching. As mentioned above, coil control may be used to provide ideal contact gap and therefore best arc cooling conditions in the moment of current zero crossing. As described above, this could be done through pulsed coil control. This may increase an energy storage requirement, but some of this may be mitigated by enabling this feature only on the early break poles of a POW device. 
     As discussed above, arcing may occur with the contact relay/breaks  420  that initially break or make connections to a load. To further mitigate contact erosion, the order of opening and/or closing the contact relay/breaks  420  and/or poles may be alternated. 
     For making connections to the load  418 , the poles with the increased number of contact relay/breaks  420  is closed after the poles with the fewer number of contact relay/breaks  420 . The order of closing the poles with the fewer contact relay/breaks  420  may alternate. Thus, in the current embodiment, switching the contact relay/breaks  420 A and  420 D may interchangeably initiate the connection. The initial contact relay/break will not be prone to arcing. The other of the contact relay/breaks  420 A and  420 D may then be switched, which may have some possibility of arcing. By alternating the order of switching of  420 A and  420 D, the possibly arcing contact relay/break  420  may be shared, reducing contact erosion. After that, the pole with the increased number of contact relay/breaks  420  (e.g., P 2   414 ) may be closed by, switching contact relay/breaks  420 B and  420 C alternatingly. This may cause distribution of the potentially arcing contact relay/break  420  (e.g., the last contact relay/break  420  to connect to the load  418 ). 
     For breaking a connection to the load  418 , the poles with the increased number of contact relay/breaks  420  will be opened first, as this pole may be better equipped to handle arcing/re-strikes. The order in which the contact relay/breaks  420  on these poles are opened can be alternated to alleviate arcing on a particular one of the contact relay/breaks  420 . Thus, in the current embodiment, for break sequences, contact relay/breaks  420 B and  420 C of pole P 2   414  may alternatingly initiate the breaking procedure. From there, the other of relay/breaks  420 B and  420 C may be opened. 
     Next, the remaining poles may be opened in an alternating order. Thus, in the current embodiment poles P 1   412  and P 3   416  may be open in an alternating order, by alternating the order of opening contact relay/breaks  420 A and  420 D. This may help mitigate arcing caused by one of these contact relay/breaks  420 A and  420  breaking the current. 
     In some embodiments, there may be an equal number of contact relay/breaks  420  on all poles and each of these may be coordinated to start and stop operations on a connected load, such that the load is distributed across each pole.  FIGS. 25 and 26  illustrate processes and associated circuitry states for such embodiments. 
       FIG. 25  illustrates a process  440  for a first close operation to connect to a load. As illustrated, states of a three-pole circuitry  442  is provided. In a first state  442 A, all relays are open, as a stopped state is present (block  444 ). 
     Next, a start command is provided (block  446 ). As illustrated in state  442 B, in response to the start command, Relay A is closed first, resulting in zero current/arcless switching (block  448 ). 
     As may be appreciated, the switching of the additional relays may cause arcing. Accordingly, these relays may be switched via the POW and anti-arcing techniques described herein. A zero cross analysis is performed (block  450 ), to pinpoint a time to switch the next of the remaining relays. Based upon the zero cross analysis, Relay B is closed using the POW/anti-arcing techniques provided herein (block  452 ). This is illustrated in state  442 C. 
     Next, Relay C is closed using the POW/anti-arcing techniques described herein (block  454 ). This is illustrated in state  442 D. By performing the second and third closings in this manner, arcing may be mitigated. 
     For subsequent iterations, the process  440  may remain the same, except that the order of relay closings may change. For example, relay B may be the first relay closed, followed by relay C and the relay A or followed by relay A and then relay C. In another subsequent iteration, relay C may be the first relay closed, followed by relay B and then relay A or followed by relay A and then relay B. By alternating ordering, contact damage due to arcing may be mitigated, as each of the contacts share in the burden of the closings that may cause a potential arc. These closings, as discussed above, may result in contact erosion over time. By sharing the responsibility for these loads across multiple contacts, the overall life of the relay may be extended. Additionally, one relay in each sequence is closed under zero current/arcless switching which may also extend the life of the switching device. 
       FIG. 26  illustrates a process  470  for a first open operation to disconnect from a load. As illustrated, states of a three-pole circuitry  472  are provided. In a first state  422 A, all relays are closed, as a running state is present (block  474 ). 
     Next, a stop command is provided (block  476 ). Because the open command can cause arcing, the POW/anti-arcing techniques described herein may be implemented to break the initial relay connections. To do this, a zero cross analysis is performed (block  476 ). Based upon the zero cross analysis, an initial relay is opened. As illustrated in state  472 B, in response to the start command, Relay C is opened first, using POW/anti-arcing techniques (block  480 ). 
     As may be appreciated, the switching of an additional relay may continue to cause arcing. Accordingly, the next relay may also be switched via the POW and anti-arcing techniques described herein. As illustrated in state  4723 B, Relay B is opened using the POW/anti-arcing techniques provided herein (block  480 ). This is illustrated in state  442 C. 
     Next, Relay A is opened under zero current/arcless switching (block  484 ). This is illustrated in state  472 D. By performing the openings in this manner, arcing may be mitigated. 
     For subsequent iterations, the process  470  may remain the same, except that the order of relay openings may change. For example, relay B may be the first relay opened, followed by relay C and the relay A or followed by relay A and then relay C. In another subsequent iteration, relay A may be the first relay opened, followed by relay B and then relay C or followed by relay C and then relay B. By alternating ordering, contact damage due to arcing may be mitigated, as each of the contacts share in the burden of the openings that may cause a potential arc. These openings, as discussed above, may result in contact erosion over time. By sharing the responsibility for these loads across multiple contacts, the overall life of the relay may be extended. Additionally, one relay in each sequence is opened under zero current/arcless switching which may also extend the life of the switching device. 
     Minimizing Energy Available During a Fault Condition 
     In addition to the various schemes described above related to coordinating the operations of relay devices  140  that provide power to multi-phase system, the present embodiments may also involve coordinating the operations of the contacts based on potential fault conditions (e.g., overcurrent, overvoltage) that may be present within the connected system. In one embodiment, the POW switching may be employed to coordinate the opening and closing of contacts within the relay device  140  in response to detecting that a fault condition is present. 
     By way of example, the control system  198  may receive data from sensors disposed on each phase of a multi-phase system, from other control systems that are part of the industrial automation system, or any other suitable data source that may provide data indicative of the presence of any fault condition. Each phase may provide power to a multi-phase load, such as a motor, via a multi-phase relay device with independently controllable contacts, via multiple single relay devices  140 , or the like. In one embodiment, the control system  198  may detect or determine that a particular phase that may have a fault condition based on the received data. After detecting the particular phase that may have a fault, the control system  198  may start opening the contacts of the relay device  140  phase associated with the next phase that may have a voltage or current waveform reaching its respective zero crossing first. In this way, the control system  198  may minimize the energy available from the fault condition on the contacts of the respective relay device  140 . With this in mind,  FIG. 27  illustrates a flow chart of a method  500  for opening a contact associated with a particular phase based on the presence of a fault. 
     Although the method  500  is described as being performed by the control system  198 , it should be noted that any suitable control circuit or system may perform the method  500 . Referring now to  FIG. 27 , at block  502 , the control system  198  may receive an indication that a fault condition is present on a part of a system connected to a respective relay device  140 . The fault condition may be any type of fault such as an overload condition, an overvoltage condition, overcurrent condition, a temperature condition, or the like. The control system  198  may receive the indication by way of data acquired from sensors, a signal transmitted from another control system (e.g., controller, monitoring system), or any suitable signal generating device. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may receive data that represents a change in current (e.g., di/dt) for a respective phase may be above some threshold. As such, the control system  198  may determine that the current is rapidly rising to a potential fault condition (e.g., overcurrent). In this way, the control system  198  may anticipate that a fault condition is likely to occur and proceed to block  504 . 
     At block  504 , the control system  198  may identify a particular phase that will have an electrical waveform that is approaching zero next. That is, in a multi-phase system, after receiving the indication that a fault is present at block  502 , the control system  198  may identify the next phase in the multi-phase system that will conduct a voltage waveform or current waveform that crosses zero. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may monitor the voltage and current waveforms on each phase of the multi-phase system using voltage sensors and current sensors, respectively. In other embodiments, the control system  198  may use an internal clock to track the expected waveforms being conducted through each phase of the multi-phase system. To ensure that the expected waveforms match the actual waveforms, the control system  198  may calibrate the internal clock periodically with sensor data. By using the expected waveforms, the control system  198  may identify the next phase crossing zero more efficiently without receiving data from other sensors. 
     After identifying the next phase crossing zero, the control system  198  may, at block  506 , send a signal (e.g., or remove a signal) to the relay device  140  associated with the next phase crossing zero. The signal may cause the contacts  262  and  264  to open. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may coordinate the opening (e.g., energizing/deenergizing relay coil  152 ) of the contacts  262  and  264 , such that the contacts  262  and  264  open at the zero crossing of the voltage or current waveform. 
     In certain situations, after detecting a fault in an industrial system, upstream or downstream circuit protection devices (e.g., breakers) may open after a number of cycles of an electrical waveform conducts through each phase of the multi-phase system. To reduce the energy available for arcing or other undesirable condition, the control system  198  may open the contacts associated with the next phase to cross zero. In this way, the devices connected upstream and downstream in the multi-phase system may be powered down while the energy available due to the fault condition is minimized. 
     In addition to coordinating the operations of the relay device  140  based on fault conditions, the present embodiments may include detecting shock or external events that may cause contacts to unintentionally change states (e.g., closed to open). For example, certain external forces (e.g., magnetic, electric) may cause the contacts to open or close when they are expected remain closed or open, respectively. The external forces may be vibrational or mechanical forces that may cause the contacts to physically move. In this situation, the control system  198  may detect the external event and adjust power provided to the relay device  140  to ensure that the contacts remain in a desired or expected state. 
     With this in mind,  FIG. 28  illustrates a method  510  for controlling power provided to the relay device  140  in response to detecting an external event. Like the method  500 , the method  510  may be performed by the control system  198  or any suitable controller or control device. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 28 , at block  512 , the control system  198  may receive an indication of an external event from a sensor, another control system, or the like. As mentioned above, the external event may be any event that may potentially cause the contacts  262  and  264  to change states. The presence of the external event may also be inferred based on related data. For instance, in some embodiments, an accelerometer may be coupled to the contacts  262  or  264 , to the housing of the relay device  140 , or to another part of a component that may be physically coupled to the contacts  262  or  264 . The accelerometer may measure acceleration properties associated with a connected component. The acceleration properties, when above some threshold, may indicate that the connected component is moving rapidly. Since the components of relay device  140  are expected to be stationary unless power to the relay coil  152  is altered, the detection of movement within the relay device  140  or on a component connected to the accelerometer may be indicative of a potential external event (e.g., shock events). 
     At block  514 , the control system  198  may determine the position of the contacts  262  and  264  before the external event. That is, the control system  198  may determine the expected state of the contacts  262  and  264  during normal operation of the respective relay device  140 . Based on the determined position and the occurrence of the external event, at block  516 , the control system  198  may adjust the power (e.g., current or voltage) provided to the relay coil  152 . In some embodiments, the control system  198  may increase the coil current provided to the relay coil  152  to ensure that the relay device  140  operates as desired and is not influenced by external forces (e.g., magnetic, electric). That is, the additional current provided to the relay coil  152  may cause the relay coil  152  to produce a stronger magnetic field to ensure that the contacts  262  and  264  are securely positioned in the same position as it was prior to the external event. 
     In some embodiments, the amount of power adjustment provided to the relay coil  152  may be determined based on mechanical force data associated with the external event. For instance, the accelerometer may provide mechanical force data indicative of the force that is being applied to the contacts  262  and  264 , and thus the power provided to the relay coil  152  should induce a magnetic force strong enough to overcome the mechanical force created by the external event. 
     With the foregoing in mind, in some embodiments, the control system  198  may determine a minimum amount of current that may be used to maintain a desired position or arrangement of the contacts within the relay device  140 . That is, the control system  198  may incrementally increase the current used to drive the relay coil  153  until the armature  142  moves to couple the contacts  262  and  264  together. After determining the minimum amount of current for driving the relay coil  152 , the control system  198  may provide the same amount of current each time the relay coil  152  is to be energized. In this way, the relay device  140  may use power (e.g., current) more efficiently as compared to the rated current for the relay coil  152 . Although the minimum amount of current provided to the relay coil  152  may be sufficient to maintain contact closure, an external event may cause the contacts  262  and  264  to inadvertently change states. As such, by employing the method  510  described above, the control system  198  may increase the current provided to the relay coil  152  to ensure that the contacts remain in the desired state. 
     In addition to conserving energy while driving relay coil  152 , by driving the relay coil  152  with the minimum current, the contacts may also change states more quickly when a fault or other condition is present that causes the relay device  140  to change states. As such, a fault current present on one phase of a three-phase system may be isolated from the three-phase system more quickly, thereby reducing the impact of the fault current on the three-phase load. 
     Although each of the preceding operations are described as a way to minimize the potential for arc energy to be present during an open or close operation of the relay device  140 , it may still be difficult to implement one of the embodiments described herein to coordinate the timing for opening the contacts relative to current flow or voltage potential present on the contacts. In addition, other forces (i.e., electromagnetic and gas pressure forces) generated due to a fault being present may cause the contacts will open at an arbitrary instant in time. As such, arc energy may still be present when contacts of the relay device  140  change states. The armature may cause the contacts to couple together again after they opened. In this case, the contacts may weld together there because the arc energy creates a liquid metal (e.g., silver) that may cause the contacts to stick together. 
     Keeping this in mind, to prevent this type of welding between the contacts, an actuator may be employed to push contacts open from a particular position. (e.g., position A or B). That is, an actuator may be coupled to the armature  142  and controlled by the control system  198  to change states of the contacts based on the presence of certain conditions. For example,  FIG. 29  illustrates a method  520  for controlling an actuator in accordance with embodiments described herein. As discussed above, although the method  520  is described as being performed by the control system  198 , any suitable controller or control system may perform the method  520 . 
     At block  522 , the control system  198  may receive a change in current (e.g., di/dt) measurement from a sensor. The change in current measurement may assist the control system  198  to anticipate when a current (e.g., through the contact or through another conductor) will exceed a threshold. At block  524 , the control system  198  may determine whether the change in current measurement exceeds some threshold. The determination of the threshold may be based on a relationship between change in current and a condition in which the contacts may change states and may result in a weld between the contacts. 
     At block  526 , the control system  198  may send a command to an actuator to change or maintain the position of the contacts at the desired state. That is, if the contacts are positioned in an unexpected manner (e.g., welded together), the actuator may be used to push the contacts apart to the desired position. In addition, the actuator may be used to secure the contacts in the desired position, to prevent re-closure (e.g., after contact lift-off with arc) of the contacts with molten contact material. 
     It should be noted that the control system  198  may control the operation of the actuator based on the presence of a number of conditions (e.g., detected fault, overcurrent detection). In some embodiments, the actuator may be activated or deactivated by actively switching off of a switching element or an opening of the magnet system through opening force data related to the movement of the contact. 
     In addition, the control system  198  may activate the actuator based on determining that the contacts are welded together. For example, the inductance of a closed and an open actuator is different. The inductance of the actuator&#39;s magnet system in an open and closed position changes due to an air gap in the magnet system. A constant current may be applied to the magnet system and a change in voltage may be measured. Alternatively, a constant voltage may be applied to the magnet system and a change in current may be measured. Based on the change in voltage or current, the control system  198  may determine the position of the contacts and control the actuator accordingly. It should be noted that the contact status determination may be made via measurement of actuator inductance during fault conditions and during the normal operation of the respective system. 
     Controlling Open and Close Operations of Contacts 
     Although the actuator, as described above, may be used to ensure that the position of contacts is correct or in an expected configuration, in some embodiments, the actuator may be used to position the armature  142  to enable the contacts to open and/or close in an efficient (e.g., power efficient) manner. That is, prior to the relay device  140  opening or closing, the position of the armature  142  or the connected contacts may be controlled in a manner to be placed at a particular angle or within a desired distance from another contact. By controlling the position of the armature  142 , and thus the contacts connected thereto, the actuator may ensure that the contacts (e.g.,  262 ,  264 ) have a certain gap distance between each other that may enable the armature to open or close more efficiently. 
     Keeping this in mind, it should be noted that the speed in which a contact assembly opens influences the capacity in which the contacts can open or break. In addition, the distance or gap between the two contacts in the moment the current flow (e.g., through the contacts) reaches its zero crossing should be at some threshold distance from each other to ensure that the contacts do not restrike after opening. That is, if the distance between the contacts after opening is larger than the threshold distance, the amount of arc energy (e.g., ions, thermal time constant of air column) that may be present between the contacts after the open operation is completed may cause the temperature of the air gap between the contacts to rise and create a suitable condition for restrike. In other words, if the open operation causes the contacts to open to a gap that is larger than some threshold, the air gap between the contacts may receive more heat (e.g., within the volumetric area) due to the arc energy present from the voltage waveform. 
     In the same manner, after the contacts are opened, it may be beneficial to position the contacts such that the two contacts are greater than the first threshold distance and less than a second threshold distance. By ensuring that the gap distance between the two contacts are between the first and second threshold distances, the present embodiments place the contacts in an optimal position to reduce the likelihood for restrike to occur. As such, the open operation should be coordinated such that the contacts open to a desired distance or optimal gap between each other that is greater than a first threshold distance (e.g., to prevent restrike) between the contacts and less than the second threshold distance (e.g., to prevent contact bounce) between the contacts. 
     With this in mind,  FIG. 30  illustrates a relay device  540  that is similar to the relay device  140  of  FIG. 6 . However, the relay device  540  includes an actuator  542  that may be coupled to the armature  142 . As shown in  FIG. 30 , a distance or gap between contacts  544  and  546  may extend between range  548  and range  550  based on a position of an arm  552  of the actuator  542 . In some embodiments, the actuator  542  may be any suitable a motor or other positioning device (e.g., stepper motor) that may be used to position the armature  142  by way of the arm  552 . That is, the actuator  542  may extend or retract the arm  552 , which may be coupled to the armature  142 . As such, the armature  142  may be moved to position the contact  544  within a certain distance from the contact  546 . In some embodiments, an armature may include the arm  552 , which may be a threaded shaft or any other suitable component that may push and/or pull the armature  142 . 
     In some embodiments, the optimal gap may be determined for each contact assembly based on properties of the contact assembly. For example, the material of the contacts, the size or surface area of the contacts, the resistance of the spring  144 , the inductance of the relay coil  152 , the expected voltage and current conditions for the contacts, and other relevant factors may be associated with determining the desired distance between contacts. 
     To control the position of the contacts with respect to the gap therebetween, the control system  198  may send signals to the actuator  542  to cause the actuator  542  to move the arm  552 . The actuator  542  may include any suitable deterministic positioning device in which the position of the arm  552  may be moved in a controlled and known (e.g., distance) manner. As mentioned above, the actuator  542  may include a stepper motor that may have predefined increments in which the arm  552  moves. As such, based on the incremental position of the stepper motor, the control system  198  may interpolate or determine the distance between the contacts  544  and  546 . In another embodiment, the inductance of the relay coil  152  or the actuator  542  may be used to determine or verify the position of the armature  142  and thus the air gap between the contacts  544  and  546 . 
     Keeping the foregoing in mind,  FIG. 31  illustrates a method  570  for controlling the open operation of the relay device  540 . As discussed above, although the method  570  is detailed as being performed by the control system  198 , the method  570  may be performed by any suitable controller or control system. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 31 , at block  572 , the control system  198  may receive an indication that the relay device  540  is open. The indication may be received via a signal from the relay device  540 , any suitable sensor, or some other control system. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may infer that the relay device  540  is open based on other factors, such as voltage being absent from a device connected downstream from the relay device  540  or the like. In addition, data obtained from sensors disposed within the system may indicate that the relay device  540  includes open contacts. 
     The indication received at block  572  may be representative of the relay device  540  opening or breaking the connection between the contacts  544  and  546 . The contacts  544  and  546  may open in response to a fault condition being present or the like. As such, to prevent the contacts  544  and  546  from re-striking, the control system  198  may ensure that the contacts  544  and  546  are opened to a desired or optimal gap that reduces the probability for restrike. 
     As such, at block  574 , the control system  198  may determine a desired distance or gap between the contacts  544  and  546 . As discussed above, the desired gap may be determined for each contact assembly based on properties of the contact assembly, such as the material of the contacts, the size or surface area of the contacts, the resistance of the spring  144 , the inductance of the relay coil  152 , the expected voltage and current conditions for the contacts, and other relevant factors may be associated with determining the desired distance between contacts. By way of example, the gap between contacts may be determined based on analyzing a likelihood of restrike occurring for certain current values with respect to various gap distances. That is, for a number of current values that may exceed a current rating for the contacts, an analysis may be performed to determine a probability that restrike conditions (e.g., charge between contacts, ions in the air gap) for a number of distances for the gap. Based on the results of this analysis, the desired gap distance between the contact may be determined, such that the gap distance corresponds to the lowest probability for restrike associated with the highest expected current (e.g., fault current) for the contacts. 
     In some embodiments, the analysis for determining the desired gap distance between the contacts  544  and  546  may be determined prior to performing the method  570 . That is, the desired gap distance between the contacts  544  and  546  may be determined during manufacturing or testing of the relay device  540 . Alternatively, the desired gap distance may be determined dynamically based on the current conditions (e.g., current, voltage, fault current) present on the contacts  544  and  546 . The current conditions may be simulated based on machine learning algorithms that determine an expected current and/or voltage present on the contacts  544  and  546  based on sensor data obtained from downstream devices, upstream devices, or the like. 
     Referring back to the method  570 , at block  576 , the control system  198  may send a command or signal to the actuator  542  to adjust the position of the arm  552 . The signal may cause the actuator  542  to move the arm  552  to cause the armature  142  to move the position of the contact  544  and achieve the desired gap between contacts  544  and  546 . In some embodiments, the signal may include a number of steps for a stepper motor to move to achieve the desired distance. In addition, the distance between the contacts  544  and  546  may be verified based on the resistance of the spring  144 , the inductance of the relay coil  152 , an indication provided by the actuator  542 , or the like. 
     In addition to controlling the open operations, the actuator  542  may control the gap between the contacts  544  and  546 , such that they are positioned in an optimal position to minimize contact bounce for a close operation. That is, when a close operation begins, the magnetic field provided by the coil may cause the contact to close. By controlling the actuator  542  to position the contacts  544  and  546  closer to each other, as compared to a traditional relay device  140 , the control system  198  may reduce the bounce properties associated with the contacts  544  and  546  by reducing the distance is traveled by the armature  142  to perform the close operation. Moreover, after the close operation is performed, the actuator  542  move back to a desired open position and wait for the magnetic field to collapse during an open operation to quickly have the armature  142  positioned for the optimal open position as described above. As a result, the present embodiments described herein may independently be used to reduce torque transients and contact erosion experienced by the contacts of the relay device. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG. 32  illustrates a method  590  for positioning the gap between the contacts  544  and  546  in preparation for a close operation. As mentioned above, although the method  590  is described as being performed by the control system  198 , it should be understood that any suitable controller or control system may perform the method  590  described herein. 
     At block  592 , the control system  198  may receive an indication that the relay device  540  has open contacts  544  and  546  using similar techniques as described above with respect to block  572  of  FIG. 44 . In some embodiments, the indication may be received while the relay device  540  is in an initialized state. That is, the relay device  540  may receive a coil current at the relay coil  152 , such that the contacts  544  and  546  (e.g., normally closed) open after the relay coil  152  is energized. As such, it should be noted that the embodiments described below with respect to the method  590  may be performed on any suitable relay device that includes normally open contacts or normally closed contacts. In any case, the indication that the contacts  544  and  546  are open may also include an indication that the contacts  544  and  546  are to remain open until a close operation is performed. As such, the method  590  may be performed using a normally closed contact arrangement where the contacts  544  and  546  open after the relay coil  152  is energized. However, it should be understood that the method  490  may also be performed in conjunction with the method  570  described above to ensure that the contacts  544  and  546  are positioned to balance between a gap that prevents restrike and reduces the bounce properties between the contacts  544  and  546  during a close operation. 
     In any case, at block  594 , the control system  198  may determine a desired gap distance between the contacts  544  and  546  for performing a closing operation. Like the block  574  of  FIG. 31 , the desired gap distance may be determined based on testing that may occur during manufacturing or dynamically during the operation of the relay device  540 . That is, the gap between contacts may be determined based on determining a minimum distance for the contacts  544  and  546  to travel to reduce the likelihood of contact bounce occurring for certain current values with respect to various gap distances. That is, for a number of gap distances between the contacts, an analysis may be performed to determine the bounce properties associated with a number of distances for the gap. Based on the results of this analysis, the desired gap distance between the contacts may be determined, such that the gap distance corresponds to the lowest number of expected bounces between the contacts after a close operation is performed. 
     At block  596 , the control system  198  may send a command to the actuator  542  to cause the actuator  542  to move the arm  552  to achieve the desired gap distance. As a result, the contacts  544  and  546  are positioned in an optimal fashion to perform the close operation. 
     Automatically Configuring POW Settings 
     Although the embodiments described above detail various systems and methods for increasing contact life or decreasing contact erosion, in some embodiments, POW switching may be configured to minimize a torque ripple that may occur when a three-phase power source is connected to a load (e.g., rotating load, motor, generator). That is, as discussed above, the timing related to making or connecting a load to a power source through relay devices that employ POW switching (e.g., closing operation) is generally optimized to increase contact life. However, by controlling the points on waves in which each phase of a multi-phase power supply connects to a rotating load, the control system  198  may coordinate the closing of relay devices (e.g., closing of contacts) to synchronize with the electrical waveforms present on the rotating load to minimize a torque ripple that may occur when the rotating load first starts rotating or when the rotating load is disconnected from the power source and is reconnected to the power source. 
     In any case, depending on the operation of the connected equipment, it may be beneficial to allow a user to select whether the relay devices are to be optimized with regard to increase contact life or decrease torque ripples. For example, a small motor may turn on and off frequently, and, as such, a user may prefer that the contact life is optimized to preserve the ability of the small motor to continue to operate for a longer period of time. In another example, a 10-horsepower motor may actuate a mechanism that is susceptible to stress and shortened life due to torque spikes that occur at startup. In this situation, a user may wish to minimize start torque ripple. 
     With these scenarios in mind, in certain embodiments, the relay devices described herein may be configurable to operate in a manner that will preserve or extend contact life or reduce the presence of torque ripples. That is, by controlling the point on the respective electrical wave (e.g., POW switching profiles) in which the respective relay devices close to connect to a load, the control system  198  may adjust the points on the respective electrical waveforms that the relay devices connect the loads to the power source. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may receive an indication related to operating the relay devices to preserve contact life or reducing torque ripples the using a switch disposed on the relay device, a jumper on a printed circuit board (PCB) that hosts the relay device, or any other suitable physical component (e.g., hardware) that may be set by the user. In some embodiments, the relay device may include a physical dial that may be moved to enable the user to select whether the relay should optimize for contact life, torque ripple, or some balance between the two. That is, the dial may include a range of operation parameters that correspond to preserving a maximum life of the contact to about a 10% torque ripple reduction in starting current provided to the load. 
     In addition to a physical dial, the control system  198  may receive a user input via a visualization representative of a dial that may be displayed on an electronic display. As such, the user may specify to the control system  198  a manner in which it may control the open and close operations of the relay device based on the preference of the user. 
     In some cases, the open and close operations of a relay device is controlled based on a POW switching profile used by the control system  198  to control the respective relay devices. However, the POW switching profile used to control the respective relay device may change dynamically based on a history of use of the load equipment (e.g., motor) being controlled by the relay device. That is, for example, the control system  198  may monitor and record the operations of the respective load device over a period of time and dynamically adjust the manner in which the respective relay devices operate to maximize contact life or minimize torque ripple based on the operation of the load device. In this way, during certain periods of operation, the relay device may operate in a particular mode that may be beneficial to the overall system performance. For instance, the control system  198  may determine an operating frequency of a load device, a frequency of start and stop operations performed during a period of time, load conditions (e.g., constant load, variable load, capacitive load) of the device, and other parameters to determine whether it may be more beneficial to maximize contact life or minimize torque ripples for the overall performance of the industrial system. 
     With the forgoing in mind,  FIG. 33  illustrates a method  560  for adjusting the POW switching profile based on the load device connected to the respective relay device. As mentioned above, although the method  560  is described as being performed by the control system  198 , it should be understood that any suitable control system or controller may perform the method  560 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 33 , at block  562 , the control system  198  may determine a type of load connected to the relay device. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may receive data from the respective load device. The data may be indicative of nameplate data that corresponds to the type of device, a rating for the device, and the like. For instance, the nameplate data for a connected device may be provided to the control system  198 . The nameplate data may be used to determine a set of operating parameters for the relay device based on the specific device controlled by the relay device, based on the load present on the relay device, and the like. In addition to the nameplate data, metadata or data that is related to the specific device or load may be provided to the control system  198 . 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may ping or send a signal to the load device to determine the type of load that may be connected to the device. That is, the control system  198  may send an electrical signal to the load device via the respective relay device and determine the type of the load device based on detected back EMF signals or the like. In other embodiments, the control system  198  may receive data from other control systems that may have access to information related to the load device connected to the relay device controlled by the control system  198 . Alternatively, the control system  198  may receive input data from a user that identifies the type of load device. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may determine whether the load device corresponds to an inductive or capacitive load. That is, by evaluating a load type (e.g., inductive/capacitive) connected to the relay device, the control system  198  may determine how the relay device should balance between the operating for optimizing between contact life and minimizing torque ripple. For instance, since the ideal angle for capacitive loads and the ideal angle for inductive loads are opposites of each other, the control system  198  may set a default setting for the relay device at a firing angle (e.g., 45°) that is between the ideal capacitive and ideal inductive loads. The control system  198  may then monitor whether the voltage waveform of the load device leads of lags the current waveform to determine whether the load device is capacitive or inductive. In this way, the control system  198  may determine a POW switching profile for the relay device that may protect load devices from potential damage. For instance, if the control system  198  used a POW switching profile that corresponds to an ideal angle for inductive load for a load that was actually capacitive, the load device may receive a relatively high inrush current that could damage the load device. By employing the technique described above, the control system  198  may minimize the amount of damage that the load device may experience. 
     After determining the type of load device connected to the respective relay device, the control system  198  may, at block  564 , determine a POW switching profile to use for the respective relay device. That is, depending on the normal operating parameters of the load device, the expected frequency in which the load device operates, the number of times that the load device is cycled on and off, the amount of power used by the load device, another other suitable factors, the control system  198  may configure the POW settings for open and close operations of its relay device to preserve contact life or minimize torque ripples. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may access a lookup table or other data that may provide an indication as to what POW switching profile to use for the respective load type. In addition, the control system  198  may determine the POW switching profile to use based on historical analysis of various types of loads connected to the relay device. That is, the control system  198  may track the various types of load devices connected to the respective relay devices over a period of time. 
     After determining the POW switching profile to use, the control system  198  may begin controlling the open and close operations according to the identified POW switching profile. That is, if the control system  198  determines that the load device switches on and off more than a threshold amount of times within some amount of time, the control system  198  may use a POW switching profile that preserves contact life by performing opening and closing operations at the zero crossing or using any of the other techniques described herein. Alternatively, if the control system  198  determines that the load device is susceptible to damage due to torque ripples, the control system  198  may select the POW switching profile that reduces the likelihood of torque ripples being present but may not allow the relay device to perform open and close operations at the zero crossing of various electrical signals. 
     After the relay device operates according to the determined POW switching profile, the control system  198  may, at block  566 , monitor the use of the load device and/or the opening and closing operations of the relay device for a period of time. As such, the control system  198  may monitor whether the POW switching profile selected for the load device suits the performance of the load device or the relay device. In this way, at block  568 , the control system  198  may adjust the POW switching profile based on the monitored use of the respective device. 
     In some embodiments, the method  560  may be performed continuously to dynamically adjust the POW switching profile used to control the relay device throughout the life of the relay device. As such, if the performance or use of the load device changes, the control system  198  may automatically adjust the POW switching profile without user interaction to ensure that the relay device and/or load device is protected. Moreover, by using the method  560 , the control system  198  may automatically assess how to control the relay device without receiving user input or guidance, thereby protecting the various devices from human error or from the lack of knowledgeable human operators being present to initialize the operation of the load device or the relay device. 
     In addition to determining POW switching profile based on the load type and the monitored data, the control system  198  may coordinate the selected POW switching profile with other protection circuitry that may be in the system. That is, a protection component (e.g., circuit breaker) connected to the relay device may provide information (e.g., current detected through current transformer of circuit breaker) related to the operation of the relay device, the connected load device, or the like. For example, if the relay device uses a POW switching profile that optimizes contact life, the current ripple and inrush current for the respective device being controlled by the relay device may increase. This increased current amount may cause the protection component to inadvertently trip or actuate (e.g., during startup in rush current), thereby providing data related to the trip window or sensitivity of the protection component. 
     Keeping this in mind,  FIG. 34  illustrates a flow chart of a method  570  for adjusting the POW switching profile for a relay device based on connected protection equipment data. As shown in  FIG. 34 , at block  572 , the control system  198  may receive data related to protection equipment. The data may be received from protection equipment (e.g., circuit breakers, switchgear), from other control systems, or the like. 
     The data may be indicative of times and conditions in which the protection equipment activated. That is, the data may include electrical properties (e.g., voltage, current) that correspond to causing the protection equipment to trip. In some embodiments, the data may include information indicating that the protection equipment should not have tripped. The information may be received as input to the control system  198  to designate certain trips by the protection equipment as true or false trips. 
     In addition, the data may include sensitivity data regarding the protection equipment. The sensitivity data may include a range of voltage levels that the protection equipment received within a period time that may have caused the protection equipment to inadvertently trip. In some embodiments, the data may be received from a database containing manufacturing datasheets regarding the protection equipment. The data may detail the current ripples or voltage spikes that may cause the protection equipment to falsely trip. 
     After receiving the data related to the protection equipment, at block  574 , the control system  198  may adjust a POW switching profile for the relay device based on the data. The control system  198  may adjust the POW switching profile for the relay device to prevent the inadvertent tripping of the protection component. As such, the control system  198  may reduce the likelihood of nuisance tripping by the protection equipment. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may employ an angle auto-tuning process that identifies the limits of connected protection components and adjusts the POW switching to avoid reaching these limits. That is, during an initialization phase, the control system  198  may continuously adjust the POW switching profile for the relay device to identify the situations that cause the connected protection equipment to inadvertently trip. The control system  198  may adjust the firing angle in which the contacts of the relay device change states to detect whether the protection equipment may inadvertently trip due to current rippled, voltage spikes, or the like. Based on the conditions in which the protection equipment inadvertently trips, the control system  198  may determine the POW switching profile to use to control the switching of the contacts within the relay device. 
     In addition, the control system  198  may automatically tune the operation of the relay device based on a machine learning algorithm and data available to the control system. For example, the control system  198  may monitor the operation of the relay device for an initial period (e.g., 100 hours) and determine a best operation mode for the relay device during the various operation cycles of the load device. In another embodiment, load or device data that may be specific to the device being controlled by the relay device may be provided to the control system  198  associated with operating the relay device to determine a POW switching profile that suits longevity of the relay device. 
     Along with tuning the operation of an individual device, the control system  198  may coordinate the sequencing or the operation of a number of load devices using different POW switching profiles for multiple relay devices that operate multiple load devices. That is, in certain coordinated or parallel system, it may be useful to power on load devices according to a particular sequence to ramp up the inrush current or to reduce the peak inrush current being provided to downstream devices. 
     With this in mind,  FIG. 35  illustrates a flow chart of a method  580  for coordinating the activation of multiple load devices using various POW switching profiles. In some embodiments, the control system may, at block  582 , receive data related to the operations of various load devices and certain load conditions for the load devices. The data may be received from the load devices, sensors disposed downstream from the relay device, other control systems or the like. 
     At block  584 , the control system  198  may determine the POW switching profiles for the multiple relay devices used to provide power to the multiple load devices. The control system  198  may account for the load conditions present on the load devices when determining the appropriate POW switching profile to use for the respective relay device. That is, the control system  198  may delay switching or closing certain relay devices by adjusting the respective POW switching profiles to accommodate for the various monitored parameters. For example, if one of the load devices causes an inrush current greater than a threshold to be generated when powered on, the control system  198  may delay turning on or connecting power to another load device that may be in a parallel system (e.g., electrically parallel) to avoid the inrush current from being provided to other devices. Alternatively, the control system  198  may detect or anticipate the inrush current and adjust the POW switching profile for other relay devices to close at zero current crossing to avoid potential arcing events. In addition, the control system  198  may coordinate the turning on of various devices via respective relay devices to ensure that no two devices are powered on at the same time to ensure that the inrush current or other electrical specifications are maintained. 
     At block  586 , the control system  198  may coordinate the activation and/or deactivation of the load devices using the POW switching profiles determined at block  584 . As such, the control system  198  may control open and close operations of the armature in the relay device based on the updated POW switching profile. In addition, the control system  198  may coordinate the open and closing operations of various relay devices such that load devices are activated and/or deactivated in a controlled fashion to ensure that each load device operates within expected electrical parameters for the respective load device. That is, the control system  198  may coordinate the activation and/or deactivation of each load device to ensure that current ripples, voltage spikes, inrush current, and other electrical parameters do not cause damage to any of the load devices connected in parallel or in series with each other. 
     It should be noted that the process for sequentially turning-on multiple relays to reduce torque/current ripple will assist in reducing overall system torque ripple, just as adjusting and optimizing an alpha angle that the relay devices are closed or opened. In addition, this process may be used in conjunction with an alpha angle optimization process that may involve a staged/staggered turn-on of multiple motors. 
     Controlling Firing Delay in Multi-Phase Relay Devices 
     A multi-phase relay device may include multiple armatures that control positions of respective sets of contacts. With this in mind, an alpha angle of three phase POW controlled relay device corresponds to a time at which two phases of the three phases are energized. The alpha angle is followed by a beta event when the third phase is energized. In some embodiments, the beta delay may be controlled to cancel or reduce harmonics that may be present on the overall system. By employing the embodiments described herein, the control system  198  may adjust the POW switching profiles for multi-phase relay devices to reduce harmonics, provide a soft start option for the load, and the like. 
     With this in mind,  FIG. 36  illustrates a flow chart of a method  590  for adjusting the beta delay to energize a load device. As discussed throughout this disclosure, although the method  690  is described as being performed by the control system  198 , any suitable control system or controller may perform the methods described herein. Referring now to  FIG. 36 , at block  592 , the control system  198  may receive current data related to current being received by a load device (e.g., motor). The current data may be received via a current sensor or other suitable sensor capable of measuring current waveforms received at the load device. The current data may provide information related to the resonance frequency of the load device. 
     At block  594 , the control system  198  may use the resonance frequency data to determine whether harmonics are present on the load or expected to be present on the load. At block  596 , the control system  198  may use the expected harmonics that may be present when starting the load device to adjust the beta delay associated with energizing a particular phase of the input power to reduce or minimize the presence of the harmonics on the load. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may cycle power to the load device and receive the current data from sensors to detect whether harmonics are present on the load side. In addition, the control system  198  may incrementally adjust the beta delay after each cycle to identify the beta delay that enables the load device to operate with the lowest amount of harmonics. 
     In some devices, a three-phase power source connected to a load via a three-phase relay device to magnetize a core of a motor. Keeping this in mind,  FIG. 37  illustrates a flow chart of a method  600  for adjusting the beta delay based on whether the load includes a magnetic core. At block  602 , the control system  198  may receive an indication that a magnetic core is present in the load device. In one embodiment, the control system  198  may receive a user input indicative of the load including the magnetic core. In another embodiment, a control system that operates the load device may send an indication that the load device includes a magnetic core to the control system  198 . In yet another embodiment, the control system  198  may receive nameplate data from a database or other suitable storage that provides information regarding the load device. 
     At block  604 , the control system  198  may adjust the beta delay based on the presence or lack of presence of the magnetic core in the load device. The beta delay may be used to provide additional time for the core to magnetize before proceeding with the operation of the motor. In some embodiments, the beta delay may vary directly to the size of the magnetic core. That is, as for magnetic cores that are larger than others, the control system  198  may extend the beta delays further, as compared to the load devices with smaller magnetic cores. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  198  may cycle power to the load device and receive the data from sensors to detect whether a magnetic core is present on the load device. In addition, the control system  198  may incrementally adjust the beta delay after each cycle to identify the beta delay that enables the load device to have a sufficient amount of time to energize its magnetic core. 
     In yet another embodiment, the control system  198  may use a number of POW open and close operations (e.g., on and off signals) with various beta delays to provide a soft starter feature for a respective load. For example, the control system  198  may use a POW close operation to provide power to a load device. The POW close operation may be provided in cycles along with open operations to provide a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal to the downstream devices. The first POW close operation may be provided with a first beta delay at, for example, a half-cycle delay, while the second POW close operation may be provided with a beta delay at a full cycle. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG. 38  illustrates a flow chart of a method for coordinating the POW switching profile of relay devices for soft start operations. At block  612 , the control system  198  may receive a request to implement a soft start. The request may be received via user input to the control system  198 . After receiving the request, the control system  198  may, at block  614 , coordinate the POW switching profiles of the relay device to perform a soft start operation as described above. 
     The controlled cycling on and off of the respective device may also be coordinated by the control system  198 , such that different relays are used to control each respective phase. That is, each phase may be cycled on and off at different intervals or according to a different sequence using POW switching profiles. In this way, different phases are being used to energize the respective device instead of using the beta delay to continuously connect one particular phase of power to the respective device. For instance, the phases that are connected to the respective device may be coordinated using the POW switching according to a round robin sequence, such that phases A and C are connected to the respective device with the alpha angle, phases A and B are connected to the respective device with the alpha angle during a subsequent cycle, and so forth. In this way, instead of repeatedly using one particular phase to energize the connected device, the contact of the respective relay may be preserved to operate for longer life cycles. 
     POW Switching to Synchronize with Rotating Load 
     In addition to controlling the beta delay for various situations, the control system  198  may use different POW switching profiles to resynchronize a power source (e.g., a starter) with a rotating load (e.g., motor). That is, the control system  198  may monitor the power properties of the rotating load to understand the frequency properties of the power provided to the rotating load and remake the power connection to the rotating load (e.g., high inertia load) at an optimized point on wave. For instance, a rotating load may continue to rotate while power has been removed from the power source. If power is to be reconnected, the control system  198  may optimize the synchronization of providing power back to the rotating load without introducing any additional torque than necessary to maintain the desired frequency. 
     With this in mind,  FIG. 39  illustrates a flow chart of a method  620  for resynchronizing a power connection to a rotating load. As such, the method  620  may be performed after receiving an indication that the rotating load is no longer connected to a power source or that at least one phase of the rotating load is no longer connected to the rotating load. After at least one phase of power is removed from the rotating load, the rotating load device may reduce the speed in which it rotates. As such, the electrical waveforms conducting on the windings and internal circuitry of the rotating load device may also be changing in light of the reduced speed. 
     To reconnect the power to the rotating load device, the control system  198  may connect power to the rotating load device using a particular point-on-wave (POW) switching profile that ensures that the rotating load device resumes its rotation while minimizing the introduction of additional torque to maintain a desired frequency. As shown in  FIG. 39 , at block  622 , the control system  198  may receive power properties associated with a rotating load. The power properties may include an electrical frequency of the voltage signal and/or current signal being provided to each phase of a rotating load. The power properties may be received via voltage sensors, current sensors, or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the power properties may be determined by the control system  198  based on a speed in which a shaft of the rotating load device rotates and data indicative of power properties provided to each phase of the rotating load device. Using the speed of the shaft and the data indicative of power properties provided to each phase of the rotating load device, the control system  198  may determine a frequency (e.g., voltage waveform frequency) that the rotating load device is rotating. In addition, the control system  198  may determine a rate of deceleration of the rotating load device, such that the control system  198  may anticipate the frequency of the rotating load device at a certain time. 
     At block  624 , the control system  198  may determine frequency properties of the power present on the rotating load device based on the data received at block  622 . The frequency properties may include an amplitude of voltage and current provided to each phase of rotating load device, a period or frequency of the voltage or current waveform provided to each phase of the rotating load, and the like. 
     At block  626 , the control system  198  may reconnect the power to the rotating load device based on the frequency properties of the power present on the rotating load device. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may determine the expected frequency properties present on the rotating load device at a particular time in the future and perform a close operation for a particular phase of power connected to the rotating load device using a POW switching profile that matches a frequency and amplitude of the detected frequency properties. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may control the open and closing operations of the relay device to provide the power at the desired frequency properties. 
     By connecting the power to the rotating load device in this fashion, the control system  198  may synchronize the power provided to the rotating load device, such that the rotating load device is optimized to resolve a residual voltage difference between the power source and the rotating load device to zero after the POW switching remakes the connection between the power source and rotating load. To optimize the synchronization, as mentioned above, the control system  198  may use the determined the amplitude of the voltage waveform and the frequency of the voltage waveform to coordinate the POW switching for one or more sets of contacts to perform close operations that will be coordinated to connect the power source to the load at the determined amplitude and time. 
     In some embodiments, the back EMF signal may be used to determine the electrical properties of the rotating load. In this case, the back EMF signal may be determined by the control system  198  or received via a sensor. The back EMF signal may be used to determine the frequency properties of the power present on the rotating device. However, if the back EMF signal collapses, the control system  198  may connect one phase of a three-phase power source (e.g., pulsing a single-phase power) to the rotating load to determine the power characteristics of the rotating load and remake the connection between the power source and the rotating load at a time or point on a voltage waveform that may reduce harmonics, minimize additional torque being provided on the rotating load device, or the like. In some embodiments, if the control system determines that the rotating load is rotating in an opposite or reverse direction, the control system may adjust its optimization process accordingly. 
     With this in mind,  FIG. 40  illustrates a flow chart of a method  630  for reconnecting power to a rotating load device after detecting that the back EMF signal has collapsed. Referring to  FIG. 40 , at block  632 , the control system  198  may receive an indication that the back EMF signal from a rotating load device has collapsed or decreased to zero. In some embodiments, the control system  198  may monitor the back EMF signal that corresponds to feedback from the rotating load device via a sensor or other suitable measurement circuitry. 
     The indication that the back EMF signal has collapsed may alert the control system  198  that the rotating load device may be offline. As such, the control system  198  may attempt to remake a power connection to the rotating load device when the upstream power becomes available. At block  634 , the control system  198  may send one or more voltage or current pulses to a single phase of the rotating load device via a respective contact of a respective relay device. The electrical pulses may be used to provide energy to the rotating load device, such that the rotating load device may begin or resume rotating. 
     At block  636 , the control system  198  may determine power properties associated with the rotating load based on the back EMF signal received after the electrical pulses are sent to the rotating load device at block  634 . The power properties determined based on the subsequent back EMF signal may represent the voltage or current waveform that is presently on the rotating load device. In this way, at block  638 , the control system  198  may reconnect power to the rotating load device via a respective set of contacts based on the power properties determined at block  634 . That is, the control system  198  may reconnect power to the rotating load device using a POW switching profile that may be determined using the procedure described above in block  626 , using a delayed beta angle, or any suitable methodology that may enable the rotating load device to resume its rotation at a rate or desired frequency. 
     Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Implementations 
     Multiple motors associated with a machine or a process may be controlled using a control system and motor starters. However, routing wires between each motor controller and various motors may pose various manufacturing and assembly challenges. For example, each wire to be routed between each motor starter and a respective motor is typically labeled to ensure that the wire is connected to an appropriate terminal to effectively control the respective motor. However, this process is time and work intensive. Accordingly, certain embodiments of the present application relate to implementing multiple motor controllers (e.g., motor starters) on a printed circuit board (PCB) to automatically operate and control a respective number of motors coupled to the PCB. For example, after a number of motor starters are integrated with certain terminals of the PCB, control circuitry of the PCB may automatically adjust circuit connections on the PCB to properly route wires used to control each motor to the appropriate motor starter. That is, in one embodiment, the control circuitry may send a signal to each load-side terminal of the PCB in a controlled fashion to measure the back electromotive force (EMF) properties of each motor to determine how the respective wires connected to each load-side terminal are connected to each respective motor starter. Based on the back EMF properties of each motor, the control circuitry may adjust the circuit connections on the PCB to properly route the wires between each motor to the appropriate motor starter. As such, embodiments of the present application provide an initialization process of motor starters coupled to the PCB that automatically configures the motor starters to operate and control respective motors coupled to the PCB, thereby reducing the time to assemble and manufacture motor control systems and minimizes the probability of incorrectly wiring such motor control systems. 
     After performing the initialization process described above, the control circuitry of the PCB may also monitor and control the operation of one or more relays of each motor controller coupled to the PCB. For example, the control circuitry may detect the number of relays present on the PCB and determine the number of motors the PCB is capable of controlling. As described above, the control circuitry of the PCB may perform the initialization process of the motor starters coupled to the PCB to measure the back EMF properties of each motor connected to the PCB and adjust the circuit connections on the PCB to properly route the wires that control each motor to the appropriate motor starter. The PCB may then determine the number of motors currently coupled to the PCB and disable any relays that are not electrically connected to such motors through the PCB. In this way, the control circuitry may increase the power efficiency of the motor control system by disabling any relays that are not currently utilized. 
     In yet another embodiment, the control circuitry of the PCB may automatically configure a collection of relays on the PCB to operate according to different current ratings of the types of motors coupled to the PCB and/or the number of motors coupled to the PCB. For example, the control circuitry of the PCB may configure one or more relays of the PCB to support two lower amp-rated motors or one higher amp-rated motor via the initialization process described above. By measuring the back EMF properties of each motor coupled to the PCB and adjusting the circuit connections on the PCB to electrically couple the relays with the motors coupled to the PCB based on the back EMF properties, the control circuitry of the PCB may automatically configure the relays to support different types of motors and/or different numbers of motors. Additionally, the control circuitry may provide a recommendation to add one or more jumpers to the PCB to make appropriately rated relay connections based on the number of motors and/or the type of motors coupled to the PCB. Accordingly, the control circuitry may increase the flexibility of a single PCB to be utilized in various applications associated with motor control systems, thereby reducing the number of PCBs needed to implement such applications. 
     With the foregoing in mind,  FIG. 41  illustrates an exemplary PCB implementing a motor controller  700  (e.g., a motor starter). The motor controller  700  is electrically coupled to a PCB  702  that supports various components of the motor controller  700  and facilitates routing of power signals, data signals, and control signals during operation. In certain embodiments, the motor controller  700  may be packaged in a manner that conforms to industry standards for three-phase automation devices,  208 ,  230 , or  560  VAC motor controllers, or other motor starter applications. In the illustrated embodiment, the PCB  702  and the mounted components to the PCB  702  are supported on a base  704  and are covered by a housing or an enclosure  706  that couples to the base  704 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 41 , three relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  of the motor controller  700  are mounted to the PCB  702  and are electrically coupled to other circuit components through the PCB  702 . The relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  may be mounted to the PCB  702 , for example, through pins or tabs  724  extending from the packaging of the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712 . Each pin or tab  724  may be electrically coupled to a respective hole  726  in the PCB  702  (e.g., by soldering). The relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  have control connections that facilitate the automatic opening and closing of the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  (i.e., automatically changing the respective conductive state of each relay) by applying control signals through the control connections to the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712 . Additionally, the motor controller  700  is coupled to a three-phase power source  716  via line-side terminals  714 . The relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  may receive three-phase power from the line-side terminals  714  through the PCB  702  and output the three-phase power through respective load-side terminals  722  to a motor  728 . It should be noted that the three-phase implementation described herein is not intended to be limiting. More specifically, certain aspects of the disclosed techniques may be employed on single-phase circuitry. 
     A power supply  718  is also coupled to the PCB  702 . The power supply  718  may provide power to control circuitry  720  through the PCB  702 . More specifically, the power supply  718  receives power from one or more of the phases of power from the line-side terminals  714  and converts the power to regulated power (e.g., direct current (DC) power). The control circuitry  720  receives the regulated power from the power supply  718  and utilizes the regulated power for monitoring, computing, and control functions, as described herein. 
     In certain embodiments, to facilitate operation of a machine or a process, the motor  728  may include an electric motor that converts electric power to provide mechanical power. To help illustrate, the electric motor may provide mechanical power to various devices, as described herein. For example, the electric motor may provide mechanical power to a fan, a conveyer belt, a pump, a chiller system, and various other types of loads that may benefit from the advances proposed. Additionally, the machine or the process may include various actuators (e.g., motors  728 ) and sensors. The motor controller  700  may control a motor  728  of the machine or the process. For example, the motor controller  700  may control the velocity (e.g., linear and/or rotational), torque, and/or position of the motor  728 . Accordingly, as used herein, the motor controller  700  may include a motor starter (e.g., a wye-delta starter), a soft starter, a motor drive (e.g., a frequency converter), or any other desired motor powering device. 
       FIG. 42  illustrates a schematic representation  730  of the motor controller  700 . As illustrated in  FIG. 42 , the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  are electrically coupled to the control circuitry  720  and the power supply  718  via the control circuitry  720 . The relays  708 ,  710 , and  712  may operate according to any of the techniques described above. Conductive traces  732  in or on the PCB  702  and between the line-side terminals  714  and the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  may facilitate provision of the three-phase power from the power supply  718  to the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712 . Similarly, conductive traces  734  in or on the PCB between the load-side terminals  722  and the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  may facilitate provision of the three-phase power from the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  to the motor  728  via the load-side terminals  722 . In some embodiments, the conductive traces  732 ,  734  may be made by conventional PCB manufacturing techniques (e.g., plating, etching, layering, drilling, etc.). 
     Each relay  708 ,  710 ,  712  may be an electromechanical device that completes a single current carrying path (or interrupts the current carrying path) under the control of an electromagnetic coil structure as discussed above. As illustrated in  FIG. 42 , the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  include a contact section  736  and a direct current (DC) operator  738 . The contact section  736  typically has at least one movable contact and at least one stationary contact. The movable contact is displaced under the influence of a magnetic field created by energization of a coil of the DC operator  738  via control signals provided by the control circuitry  720 . Each relay  708 ,  710 ,  712  also has a current sensor  740  that allows for detection of currents of incoming and/or outgoing power. In some embodiments, the current sensor  740  may be a separate component that is associated with the conductive traces  732 ,  734  that facilitate provision of the three-phase power from the line-side terminals  714  to the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  or facilitate provision of the three-phase power from the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712  to the load-side terminals  722 . 
     Additionally, conductive traces  742  in or on the PCB  702  electrically couple the DC operator  738  of each relay  708 ,  710 ,  712  to the control circuitry  720 . Further, conductive traces  744  in or on the PCB may facilitate provision of the three-phase power between the power supply  718  and the control circuitry  720 . In some embodiments, additional monitoring, programming, data communication, feedback, and the like, may be performed by the components of the motor controller  700 . In such embodiments, the signals may be provided and exchanged by additional conductive traces in or on the PCB  702 . 
       FIG. 43  illustrates a block diagram  746  of various components of the control circuitry  720 . As illustrated in  FIG. 43 , the control circuitry  720  has one or more processors  748  and memory circuitry  750 . More specifically, the memory circuitry  750  may include a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium that stores instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors  748  perform various processes described herein. It should be noted that “non-transitory” merely indicates that the media is tangible and not a signal. Although described as being part of the PCB  702 , the control circuitry  720  may be separate from the PCB  702  and communicate with components on the PCB  702 . It should also be noted that the control circuitry may also include elements described above as part of the control system  198 . 
     In some embodiments, operation of the motor controller  700  (e.g., opening or closing of the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712 ) may be controlled by the control circuitry  720 . The control circuitry  720  may also have one or more interfaces  752  to exchange signals between the control circuitry  720  and sensors, external components and circuits, relay coils, and the like. The control circuitry  720  also has conductors  754 ,  756 ,  758  or pinouts for communicating with various devices via conductive traces of the PCB  702 . For example, conductors  754  may receive sensor data from various sensors  770  associated with the power supply  718 , the motor controller  700 , the motor  728 , and the like. More specifically, the sensors  770  may monitor (e.g., measure) characteristics (e.g., voltage or current) of the power. Accordingly, the sensors  770  may include voltage sensors and current sensors. The sensors  770  may alternatively be modeled or calculated values determined based on other measurements (e.g., virtual sensors). Many other sensors and input devices may be used depending upon the parameters available and the application. Additionally, conductors  756  may exchange data with a programming or communications interface  772 , and conductors  758  may provide control signals to the relays  708 ,  710 ,  712 . 
     Although the PCB  702  described in  FIGS. 60 and 61  is implemented with a single motor controller  700 , other PCB configurations may be implemented with multiple motor controllers in order to control respective motors. In some embodiments, for example, a PCB may be implemented with more than five motor controllers, more than ten motor controllers, or any other suitable amount of motor controllers to control respective motors of a particular machine or process. With the foregoing in mind,  FIG. 44  illustrates a block diagram  774  of an exemplary PCB  776  implemented with a number of motor controllers (e.g., MC N ) configured to control a respective number of motors (e.g., M N ) of a particular machine or process. Each motor controller (e.g., MC 1 , MC 2 , MC 3 , MC 4 , . . . MC N ) may have three relays mounted to the PCB  776  associated therewith. For example, motor controller MC 1  may be associated with relays  778 ,  780 ,  782 , motor controller MC 2  may be associated with relays  784 ,  786 ,  788 , motor controller MC 3  may be associated with relays  790 ,  792 ,  794 , motor controller MC 4  may be associated with relays  796 ,  798 ,  800 , and motor controller MC N  may be associated with relays  802 ,  804 ,  806 . The relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  associated with each motor controller MC N  are electrically coupled to other circuit components through the PCB  776 . In particular, the relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  have control connections that facilitate the automatic opening and closing of the relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  (i.e., automatically changing the respective conductive state of each relay) by applying control signals through the control connections to the relays  802 ,  804 ,  806 . Each motor controller MC N  is coupled to a three-phase power source  808  via a set of line-side terminals  810 . The relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  of each motor controller MC N  receive three-phase power from the set of line-side terminals  810  through the PCB  776  and output the three-phase power through respective load-side terminals  812  to a respective motor M 1 , M 2 , M 3 , M 4 , . . . M N . As described above, it should be noted that the three-phase implementation described herein is not intended to be limiting. More specifically, certain aspects of the disclosed techniques may be employed on single-phase circuitry. 
     Additionally, a power supply  814  is coupled to the PCB  776 . The power supply  814  provides power to control circuitry  816  through the PCB  776 . More specifically, the power supply  814  receives power from one or more of the phases of power from the set of line-side terminals  810  and converts the power to regulated power (e.g., direct current (DC) power). The control circuitry  816  receives the regulated power from the power supply  814  and utilizes the regulated power for monitoring, computing, and control functions, as described herein. It should be noted that the power supply  814  and the control circuitry  816  may have similar respective features and functions as the power supply  718  and the control circuitry  720  described herein. 
     As mentioned above, after a number of motor controllers MC N  (e.g., motor starters) have been electrically coupled to the PCB  776 , the control circuitry  816  of the PCB  776  may perform an initialization process to automatically adjust circuit connections on the PCB to properly route wires used to control each motor M N  to the appropriate motor controller MC N . With this in mind,  FIG. 64  illustrates a flow chart of a method  818  for the initialization process performed by the control circuitry  816 . In block  820 , the control circuitry  816  may send a signal to each load-side terminal  812  of the PCB  776  in a controlled fashion to measure the back EMF properties of each motor M N  electrically coupled to the PCB  776  to determine how the respective wires connected to each load-side terminal  812  are connected to each motor controller MC N . In some embodiments, the control circuitry  816  may receive back EMF data (e.g., voltage data) associated with each motor M N  electrically coupled to the PCB  776  and determine the back EMF of each motor M N  based on the received data. In block  822 , based on the back EMF properties of each motor M N , the control circuity  816  may determine the identity of each motor controller MC N  that correctly corresponds to a particular motor M N . 
     In block  824 , the control circuitry  816  may then adjust the circuit connections on the PCB  776  to properly route the wires that control each motor M N  to the appropriate motor controller MC N . For example, the control circuitry  816  may determine that the motor controller MC 1  corresponds to the motor M 4  and the motor controller MC 4  corresponds to the motor M 3 . That is, the motor M 4  may be electrically coupled to the PCB  776  through load-side terminals  812  not ordinarily used to couple a motor corresponding to the motor controller MC 1  (e.g., not directly in line with or underneath the relays  778 ,  780 ,  782  of motor controller MC 1  on the PCB  776 ), and the motor M 3  may be electrically coupled to the PCB  776  through load-side terminals  812  not ordinarily used to couple a motor corresponding to the motor controller MC 4  (e.g., not directly in line with or underneath the relays  796 ,  798 ,  800  of the motor controller MC 4  on the PCB  776 ). The control circuitry  816  may then automatically adjust the circuit connections on the PCB  776  to route the wiring that controls the motor M 4  to the motor controller MC 1  and the wiring that controls motor M 3  to the motor controller MC 4 . That is, the PCB  776  may include a switching network  811  that may be composed of a network of switches that interconnect the outputs of the relays  778 - 806  to different load-side terminals  812 . 
     By way of example, the switching network  811  may include a subset of switches for each set of relays (e.g.,  778 ,  780 ,  782 ) connected to a subset of the load-side terminals  812  associated with a particular motor. The subset of switches may enable each individual relay of the set of relays (e.g.,  778 ,  780 ,  782 ) to connect to any one of the subset of load-side terminals  812 , such that a wire mistakenly placed in one load-side terminal  812  may be internally routed via the switching network  811  to the correct relay (e.g.,  778 ,  780 ,  782 ). 
     In addition, the switching network  811  may facilitate changing the routing between any individual relay disposed on the PCB  776  to any individual load-side terminal  812 . In this way, if the control circuitry  816  detects that the load-side terminals  812  are incorrectly wired to connect one output of a relay to a motor that is not associated with the relay, the switching network  811  may automatically reroute the incorrectly wired load-side terminal  812  to the correct relay output. 
     By automatically adjusting the circuit connections on the PCB  776  to route the wiring that controls a particular motor M N  to the appropriate motor controller MC N , the time associated with the initialization process of the motor controllers MC N  coupled to the PCB  776  may be reduced, thereby reducing the time for assembling and manufacturing motor control systems. That is, motor controllers MC N  may be coupled to the PCB  776  without regard to how each motor controller MC N  is physically positioned on the PCB  776 . Instead, the switching network  811  may connect the appropriate load-side terminals  812  for a corresponding motor M N  to the corresponding relay of the PCB  776 . Additionally, the initialization process may also minimize the probability of incorrectly wiring such motor control systems during assembly and manufacturing because the control circuity  816  automatically determines and connects each motor controller MC N  with the appropriate motor M N  through the PCB  776 . 
     After the control circuitry  816  of the PCB  776  has performed the initialization process described above, the control circuitry  816  may monitor and control the operation of one or more relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  of each motor controller MC N  on the PCB  776 . For example, the control circuitry  816  may detect the number of relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  and determine the number of motors M N  the PCB  776  is capable of controlling. The control circuitry  816  of the PCB  776  may then determine the number of motors M N  currently coupled to the PCB  776  and disable any relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  that are not currently connected to such motors M N . For instance, the control circuitry  816  may detect that twelve relays are present on the PCB  776  and that the PCB  776  is capable of controlling four motors. However, after performing the initialization process described above, the control circuitry  816  may determine that two motors M 1 , M 3  are currently connected to the PCB  776 . The control circuitry  816  may disable the relays  784 ,  786 ,  788 ,  796 ,  798 ,  800  of the motor controllers (e.g., MC 2  and MC 4 ) that are not currently in use to control a corresponding motor. In this way, the control circuitry  816  may increase the power efficiency of the motor control system by disabling any relays that are not currently in use. 
     Additionally, the control circuitry  816  of the PCB  776  may automatically configure a collection of relays (e.g., the relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  of each motor controller MC N ) on the PCB  776  to operate according to different current ratings based on the type of motors M N  coupled to the PCB  776  and/or the number of motors M N  coupled to the PCB  776 . For example, the control circuitry  816  may configure one or more relays  802 ,  804 ,  806  (e.g., a 16-amp relay) to support two lower amp-rated motors or one higher amp-rated motor via the initialization process described above. Additionally, the control circuitry  816  may provide a recommendation to add one or more jumpers to the PCB  776  to make appropriately rated relay connections based on the number and/or the type of motors M N  currently coupled to the PCB  776 . Accordingly, the PCB  776  may provide motor control systems with an increase in flexibility between various applications, thereby reducing the number of PCBs needed to implement such applications. 
     In some embodiments, the control circuitry  816  of the PCB  776  may monitor the temperature of the line-side terminals  810  or the load-side terminals  812 . Temperature sensors, such as thermocouples and the like, may measure the temperature of the line-side terminals  810  and/or the load-side terminals  812  and relay the temperature data to the control circuitry  816  of the PCB  776 . Upon determining that the temperature of a particular line-side terminal  810  and/or a particular load-side terminal  812  has exceeded a given threshold, the control circuitry  816  may provide a visual indication or an audible indication. For example, the indication may represent a recommendation for retightening of the wires connected to the particular line-side terminal  810  and/or the particular load-side terminal  812 . In some embodiments, the indication may be provided on a visualization depicted in a display, or the like. 
     Technical effects of the embodiments described herein include reducing the time of assembling and manufacturing motor control systems by allowing motor controllers to be coupled to a PCB without regard to how each motor controller is connected to a corresponding motor through the PCB (e.g., as compared to individually labeling wires to be routed between motor controllers and a control system). Additionally, the probability of incorrectly wiring such motor control systems during assembly and manufacturing may be minimized. Further, by monitoring and controlling one or more relays on the PCB (e.g., disabling or activating the relays) during operation based on motors currently being controlled by the PCB, the power efficiency of the motor control system may increase by disabling any relays that are not currently in use. 
     It should be noted that although certain embodiments described herein are described in the context or contacts that are part of a relay device, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein may also be implemented in suitable contactors and other switching components. Moreover, it should be noted that each of the embodiments described in various subsections herein, may be implemented independently or in conjunction with various other embodiments detailed in different subsections to achieve more efficient (e.g., power, time) and predictable devices that may have a longer lifecycle. It should also be noted that while some embodiments described herein are detailed with reference to a particular relay device or contactor described in the specification, it should be understood that these descriptions are provided for the benefit of understanding how certain techniques are implemented. Indeed, the systems and methods described herein are not limited to the specific devices employed in the descriptions above. 
     While only certain features of the disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure.