Challenge
Acting as the brain behind industrial operations, PLCs are designed to perform logical decision making for control applications. But, what should be done when a PLC system reaches the end of its life cycle? This case study explores how E Tech Group supported the PLC upgrade for a carbon fiber manufacturer. The customer faced the challenge of modernizing their outdated control system which included control panels operating with an Allen-Bradley PLC-5 controller and other legacy hardware. This system was used to control their traction drive process which included VFD controls for multiple motors. The customer wanted to improve their process by upgrading their control, visualization, and machine safety systems, and sought E Tech Group’s expertise to navigate the complexities of this upgrade and seamlessly transform their outdated system with a modern solution.
Solution
E Tech Group designed a plan that fulfilled the customer’s specific requirements and adhered to a tight completion timeline. The customer needed upgraded control panels with new PLC, HMI, and VFD components, alongside a modernization of their existing machine safety system to align with the latest industry standards. The project team carefully assessed each system slated for enhancement, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s existing system and their other production lines. This supported the factory acceptance testing phase, ensuring the components and controls worked properly according to the functionality of the equipment.
With proof of functionality, quality and integrity in place, the project team swiftly deployed the required upgrades which included build-to-print control panels, an Allen-Bradley PLC-5 to Rockwell Automation Compact GuardLogix controller migration, POINT Guard safety-rated I/O module configuration, Panel View Plus programming, and PowerFlex AC Drives to improve the system’s flexibility and performance.
Results
The project was successfully completed in less than 90 days, with two months dedicated to development and two weeks allocated for commissioning. E Tech Group utilized the expertise of multiple control engineering experts for this project, and effectively leveraged their experience to meet the customer’s tight completion timeline. As a result of the upgraded system, the customer experienced substantial enhancements in productivity, increased reliability, simplified system maintenance, and a user-friendly interface. The project not only met the customer’s requirements but also delivered tangible benefits to improve overall operations.
E Tech Group Director of Operations, Cassy Gardner, is featured as a part of the following article, which originally appeared in Food Engineering Magazine. The better you know what you already have in place, the easier it is to plan for a successful future. Unless you operate a brand-new state-of-the-art plant, you probably have a facility with a mish-mash of aging processing and packaging equipment with various vintages of network and application software support—maybe several areas still requiring manual labor. As technology continues to move forward, piecemeal, aging automation systems reach a bottleneck, hampering further growth and competitiveness for the company. For older facilities, knowing where and what to automate—what your priorities should be—is important to helping you stay competitive now and in the future. For those with new plants, it’s never too late to plan your future goals – today’s turnkey automated factory is tomorrow’s control system retrofit. In this article, we consider how to know when, where and what to automate in an older facility. Of course, the answers to these questions won’t be the same for every plant, but we can see a framework essential to all automation projects come through regardless. Automation Solving Labor Shortage Problems The primary motivations driving food processors to automate their operations include labor reduction, increased production efficiency and enhanced product quality, says Ryan Beesley, CAP, Regional Engineering Manager at Kennewick, Concept Systems, Inc., a Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Certified Member. But the labor aspect has especially been an acute problem for the last couple of years as manufacturers realize the labor shortage is not a short-term problem. Other Advantages of Process Automation Getting Started in the Planning Process No two automation solutions will be the same—each one is unique. “Custom automation solutions typically begin with a feasibility and concept phase … Continued
When you look at supporting industrial utility systems like ammonia refrigeration, you may wonder how often you might actually encounter them. They appear far more in your daily life than you realize. Look at the rooftop of an industrial facility and see if you notice orange pipes or windsocks. It is likely that this facility has an ammonia refrigeration system. Now, when it comes to the maintenance of these systems, there are a few pain points that tend to plague facilities more than others. Aging Systems: These systems are decades old in most cases, many around 20–30 years old, and tend to require human labor occasionally. By comparison, the average industrial boiler system in the United States is around 30-40 years old, and many of these systems require large amounts of human interaction more often. The thing both these systems share is a lower level of automation, utilizing control panels dependent on relays and contactors to implement control schemes. Incorrect Sequencing Causing Inefficiency: Not only primitive automation, but the inability to adapt to changes in demand or load can present a challenging issue. This can often result in incorrect sequencing equipment due to simple control implementations, leading to lower overall system efficiency. A common instance of incorrect sequencing is having the largest piece of equipment either always running or brought online when demand is lower, which can be less efficient in its operation and energy consumption. Keeping in mind these systems can also be slow to start or restart if personnel are not quickly notified when a fault or issue occurs. Lack of Integration into Larger Control Systems: Even if a modern system has been implemented, it is less likely that it is part of a BMS (Building Management System) or DCS (Distributed Control System) which could better control … Continued
Laurie Cavanaugh, VP of Business Development from E Tech Group, and Nick Hobbs, Senior Regional Sales Manager from Apera AI, recently held a webinar covering the benefits of integrating Apera AI’s 4D vision system into your automation project. There were some great follow-up questions asked by our attendees and we wanted to make sure we shared the As to your Qs! How long does it take for the AI to go through a million learning cycles? Nick: At this time, once all required information is submitted, you’ll receive your vision program back within a week to two weeks. How many different objects can the system handle at one time? What if they have a mix of different finishes? Nick: So right now, the PC alone can handle learning up to 30 different parts. However, other users that have their own internal network, which I know E Tech Group can help you to set up, have hundreds of parts and it takes a mere 20 seconds to simultaneously learn if they’re not part of those original 30. Now as far as different finishes, I have been working with foundries and casting plants where they have metal billets. We can pick clean or corroded, as they have varying finishes. We don’t care. We really don’t mind picking different colors, things of that nature. However, we’re not looking for color at that point, so you just need to let us know what we need and don’t need to look for. But in that sense, it won’t affect us. Laurie: There are some things too that we take into consideration. We do have our own internal industrial IT group that has helped numerous companies’ IT groups set up the proper OT network. Between the hardware and software, servers, and systems, we can help ensure that those … Continued
