Pension off that plant!
29 November 2017
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“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – often good advice but not when it’s applied to a production plant with decades of service. Yes, it may still be working (for now), but technology moves on and by holding on to old plant machinery rather than investing in new equipment, you’re missing out on productivity gains and cost savings that could give you the competitive advantage. Mark Hiley, Sales Director at Stelram Engineering explains when you can consider pensioning off that plant equipment.
What’s changed in automated production plant over the last ten – or even five – years? The answer is quite a lot. For example, the programmable controllers (PLCs) on which most automation systems are based have become faster and more versatile, whilst distributed input/output systems have grown in popularity.
In addition, today’s user interfaces are vastly more informative and intuitive in operation than their predecessors. And these are not the only changes. Robots are now more affordable than ever, as are vision systems that combine outstanding performance with exceptional ease of use.
But why does any of this matter? If your production plant is still doing more or less what it did when it was first installed a decade or more ago, why should you even consider making a sizeable investment in a new plant that incorporates these advances? Let’s take a look.
It’s easy to believe faster, more capable PLCs won’t make much difference but the truth is that they open the way for adding valuable extra features. Modern PLCs and PACs (process automation controllers) have, for example, built-in data acquisition, data logging and data analysis functionality, something that was not possible a few years ago, as PLCs lacked the required processing power and data-storage capability. This ability to perform many data acquisition tasks within the controller saves money and provides an overall simpler system.
Demand for data and the need for real-time process information has increased dramatically in recent years and continues to grow rapidly in nearly every industry. Plant managers require intelligence about their processes, machines, and manufacturing operations. They need to know about system alarms and events, about process variables, and about production amounts. They need this information to make better manufacturing and business decisions in real time.
In addition, the data acquired via PLCs and PACs nowadays serves as a base for turning any plant into an Industry 4.0 hub. It may also be possible to build-in automatic plant monitoring and diagnostics – and even automatic correction of minor faults. All of these align with Industry 4.0 aims and objectives.
While systems are getting larger and processes are becoming more complex, the need to provide centralised control for all aspects of the plant is by and large unchanged. In the past, this would have been done with expensive PLCs with a high channel count, long cable runs and in some cases, a compromised location. Today, using a system with distributed I/O, the disadvantages of high channel counts and expensive controllers can be overcome and additional benefits can be achieved.
The main benefits of distributed I/O systems are that they are modular, versatile and, since the modules can be mounted close to the devices they serve, they greatly reduce the amount of field wiring needed compared with the traditional approach of hard wiring all of the devices directly back to the PLC. Distributed I/O reduces installation costs and also makes the plant easier to maintain as distributed I/O systems usually have built-in diagnostic capabilities.
Another added benefit is that modifications and improvements to the plant are easier because extra I/O units can be added close to where they’re needed. It’s also easy – and relatively inexpensive - to make provisions for connecting additional sensors to collect data that will be useful when implementing Industry 4.0.
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User interfaces have progressed just as much as control controllers and I/O systems, and the latest types are vastly more capable and convenient than their older counterparts. Gone are the days of pushbuttons and indicator lamps, gone are limited text displays with confusingly abbreviated messages.
Instead we’ve got colour graphic touch screens that show the process clearly and display readily understood full text messages. The new user interfaces can also provide context-sensitive displays, eliminating elements that are not relevant at a particular part of the machine or plant cycle. They can be used to drill down to plant data, like schematic diagrams and layout drawings. They can even display photographs and videos showing the operator what to do if the machine or plant requires attention.
Moving on to consider the technology used as the basis for the plant or machine, it’s true to say that custom-built systems still definitely have their place. Often they can result in the most compact solution – an important issue when space is limited. They may also have the lowest first costs, but now there’s an interesting alternative – robots. Don’t be tempted to dismiss this option out of hand.
These days the price of automation and robotics arms has vastly decreased and now robots can do things that could previously only be done manually. Robots offer incredible flexibility – a robotic plant can usually be modified or even repurposed much more easily and at much lower cost than a custom-built plant. And don’t forget that, unlike most custom-built equipment, robots have residual value. This means that when they’re no longer needed in the task they were bought for; they can be sold or re-programmed for a new task.
We mentioned that robots can do things that previously had to be done manually – the same applies to vision systems. Complex inspection processes had to be done by humans in the past. Now vision systems – which are far less costly than they once were and much easier to use – can handle almost any inspection requirement.
Vision systems also give excellent plant management information, including traceability. For instance, if a fault were found on the product, instead of the big circle of marker pen a QA manager would make, the vision system can print out an image of the product and highlight the affected area, providing a permanent record that can be used as an aid to eliminating future problems.
And, unlike human operators, vision systems never get tired or bored and are much less prone to errors. They can collect valuable data that can be used for performance monitoring and, dare I say it again, as part of Industry 4.0 implementations.
Intelligent robots are helping manufacturers in sectors as diverse as automobile production and food preparation to increase productivity while reducing wastage and errors. However, most of the versatility and efficiency offered by robots comes from the true heroes of the plant – complex vision systems that see everything - even things beyond the scope of human vision – and tirelessly guide the robots in their work.
If the foregoing has convinced you that it’s time to pension off your superannuated old plant and look again at your automation requirements, there’s one more thing you’re going to need – a system integrator that can make all these things happen for you. In short, an independent specialist like Stelram. Under the guidance of such an automation expert you’ll be able to make informed decisions and see your productivity rise and your profits grow!
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