Die Brains Brewery – eine gelungene Migrationslösung mit ProSoft Technology

Die Brains Brewery nutzt die gestaffelte Migrationslösung von ProSoft Technology. Mit der ProSoft Technology-Lösung war die Brains Brewery in der Lage, die Projektkosten durch die Installation eines CompactLogix™ PAC-Systems zu reduzieren. 

Ob Fußball in den Vereinigten Staaten oder Rugby in Großbritannien, diese beiden völlig verschiedenen Sportarten haben eines gemeinsam - viele ihrer Zuschauer trinken gerne Bier. Eines der beliebtesten Biere in Großbritannien ist SA, welches in der Brains Brewery gebraut wird. SA feierte vor kurzem seinen 50. Geburtstag.  Sein Slogan oder Motto lautet „Es wäre nicht Wales, ohne SA.“

Die walisische Brains Brewery wurde 1882 gegründet und hat ein Bier für jeden Geschmack: von denen, die einzigartige Sorten bevorzugen, wie Calypso und Bragging Rights, bis zu denjenigen, die eher traditionellen Biere, wie SA, mögen. Brains hat eine vielfältige Bierauswahl. Unter den traditionellen Biersorten sind Brains Bitter, Brains Dark, und Brains Black, sowie viele andere. Brains ist auch für seine zahlreichen Pubs bekannt.

Aufgrund der ständig zunehmenden Sortenvielfalt hat die im walisischen Cardiff ansässige Brains Brewery beschlossen, dass die Zeit reif für ein Upgrade des Steuersystems für die Hefezufuhr war, und sich für ein Rockwell Automation CompactLogix™-System entschieden. Da wir alle wissen wie wichtig Hefe für Bier ist, hat Brains das Upgrade erst nach den Weihnachtsfeiertagen vorgenommen, um Ausfallzeiten zu vermeiden. Es ist wichtig zu betonen, dass Ausfallzeiten, wie sie oft bei Automatisierungssystemen vorkommen, keine Option waren. 

Mike Cooper von IAC Engineering schlug die Nutzung des AN-X2-AB-DHRIO-Gateway von ProSoft Technology vor, um es dem CompactLogix®-System zu ermöglichen, mit sechs Racks mit 1771 Remote E/As über Ethernet zu kommunizieren. Auf einer Veranstaltung von Rockwell Automation in Birmingham kam er mit dem Regional Sales Manager von ProSoft Technology, Myles Heinekey, in Kontakt. „Das Hauptziel des Projekts bestand darin, zwei 27 Jahre alte PLC2-Controller zu aktualisieren. Da der Ausfallzeitraum der Anlage nur kurz (3 Tage) sein durfte, wurden die alten 1771-E/A-Racks beibehalten, aber zwei veraltete PLC2-Controller durch die CompactLogix ersetzt.“

Durch die Lösung von ProSoft Technology war die Brains Brewery in der Lage, die Projektkosten durch den Einbau eines CompactLogix PLC System zu verringern. Ohne den Gateway von ProSoft Technology wäre das Unternehmen auf ein kostspieligeres System mit einer Remote-E/A-Karte angewiesen gewesen. Die Lösung von ProSoft Technology verringerte die Projektkosten um 40 Prozent gegenüber der anderen Lösung. Ein weiterer, bedeutender Vorteil dieser Lösung besteht darin, dass das System weiterhin die PLC5 Remote-E/A-Karten mit dem CompactLogix Prozessor nutzt. Das bedeutet, dass keine neuen E/A-Karten geordert werden müssen.

Zu guter Letzt erlaubte die Lösung von ProSoft Technology der Brains Brewery eine flexible Nutzung des Automatisierungssystems. „Der Remote E/A-to-Ethernet-Gateway ermöglichte einen hohen Flexibilitätsgrad, wodurch die verschiedenen E/A-Racks auf ein von einem anderen PLC kontrolliertem Netzwerk verschoben werden können, falls erforderlich.“ fügte Mike Cooper hinzu „Der ProSoft-Gateway ermöglicht auch die schnelle Ethernet-Übertragung der E/A-Daten, wodurch man überall in der Anlage auf diese zugreifen kann.“

Weitere Informationen über Migrationslösungen von ProSoft Technology finden Sie auf http://de.prosoft-technology.com/Landing-Pages/Migration-Solutions

Für Details über die Brains Brewery besuchen Sie www.sabrain.com.

By Lauren Robeson

ProSoft Technology’s AN-X2-AB-DHRIO Migration Gateway is something of a superstar. We’re not just saying that: The gateway serves many functions in helping users opt for a Phased Migration approach when updating the extensive installed base of legacy Allen-Bradley® control systems, from PLCs, PanelViews and Drives to FLEX™ I/O adapters.

But even we hear about new uses for it from time to time. An India-based manufacturer needed a new way to monitor the manufacturing process of its communication cables, and sought help on finding a solution from Concord Technologies of India.

The company wanted to create a data visualization, analysis, and reporting portal, but it needed to gather process data from 16 PLC-5® controllers spread across 3 areas to a ControlLogix® PLC to do so. The ControlLogix controller used the EtherNet/IP™ protocol, creating a communications issue with the legacy PLC-5 systems, which utilized DH+™.

That’s where ProSoft Technology’s Migration Gateway came into the picture. The Migration Gateway has been enhanced a few times with new capabilities since its initial arrival on the market, and a few months before this project, support for the DH+ protocol was added to the gateway. This meant that the gateway could be used to connect the PLC-5 and ControlLogix controllers.

Due to the distributed nature of the PLC-5 controllers, three gateways were used to connect each DH+ network to the EtherNet/IP network. This setup helped the company meet its needs: scrap reduction, quality improvement, proactive decision-making, and a reduction in manual activities. The information passed through the gateways into the ControlLogix helped the customer realize benefits from the Industrial Internet of Things: By connecting the components involved in the production of the fiber optic cables, they were able to identify and troubleshoot inefficiencies and redundancies in the process, optimizing their resources and improving the overall production process.

Beyond extending the company’s Connected Enterprise, the gateways met more technical requirements as well.

“This solution has helped gather data at the required speed, without much change in the existing PLC hardware and software,” said Concord Technologies Manager Sameer Ambegaonkar, who also praised the gateways’ quick installation.

For more information about ProSoft Technology’s Migration Gateway, go to http://psft.com/BQU.

By Lauren Robeson

The Durgapur Steel Plant in Durgapur, India, has long been a major institution in the city. The plant – run since the 1950s by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the country’s largest steel company – has brought many jobs to the residents of Durgapur over the decades and has undergone multiple modernization updates. The plant features state-of-the-art technology, ensuring quality steel-making. And the plant’s updated units have led to improvements in the plant’s productivity, energy conservation, and product quality.

A couple of years ago, the plant’s communications infrastructure in the raw material handling plant was in need of a major overhaul.

Back then, wired control cables were used in all four stacker reclaimers for communications between operator cabins and PLC control rooms. In this setup, it was difficult to diagnose breakdown or trouble areas, and there was no communication facility available between the stacker reclaimers, the central control room, and dispatchers throughout the plant. That meant that breakdowns were reported via walkie-talkies, after which maintenance personnel would have to physically go to the area where the breakdown had occurred.

It was clear that a change was needed. But because of the layout of the plant – machines are mobile and widely distributed – a conventional wire-based network could not be used. This meant that no online diagnostic facility was available in the control room, and led to slower maintenance and elimination of faults, delaying operations. That chain of events for any breakdowns proved to be time-consuming and costly. Other issues included breakage in hard-wired control cables, and an outdated alarm display that did not clearly help personnel diagnose the type and location of problems.

The plant’s four stacker reclaimers each featured a Siemens® S7-300 controller, with an S7-400 in the control room. A plan was put in place by Sheetal Wireless, a radio distributor, to use ProSoft Technology’s 802.11g High Power Industrial Hotspot radios: one in each of the stacker reclaimers, one in the control room, and two as repeaters to achieve line of sight. At each stacker reclaimer, the PLC is connected to the radio over Ethernet and an armored Cat5 cable. In the control room, the radio is connected to the SCADA system through an Ethernet switch with an armored Cat5 cable. Digital and analog I/O signals are exchanged between the stacker reclaimers and the control room. The Ethernet switch in the control room ensures that data can be updated across the operation’s PLCs, making it easier for everyone to see status updates. The radios have basically created a Wi-Fi zone through which the PLCs’ program uploads and downloads can be done with a laptop, as can online diagnostics, making it that much easier to troubleshoot the PLCs from anywhere in the plant. The data transfers are done within milliseconds.

The plant opted for ProSoft’s radios in part because of their high reliability, high Ethernet bandwidth, and the capability to configure one radio as a master, repeater, and client.

“This communications network has allowed us to minimize frequent downtime,” said Mr. Partha Das of the Durgapur Steel Plant. “Now we are able to diagnose remote issues wirelessly, and we have also seen an increase in machine availability.”

Other benefits, Mr. Das notes, include reduced CAD drawing for cable routing/laying; reduced installation time; increased access to HMIs by company personnel throughout the plant; and an increase in productivity throughout the facility.

“The developed technology has immense potential of horizontal transfer in any moving machines including stacker reclaimers,” said Anup Prasad, Assistant General Manager at the Research and Development Centre for Iron and Steel at the Steel Authority of India in Ranchi. “The new system has significantly reduced the stacker reclaimers’ electrical downtime, thus enhancing these machines’ availability for processing various raw material handling plant operations."

The commissioned system has plant operators considering future applications: The architecture can be used for communication among distributed control systems that face similar traditional communication issues; similar setups may be used in the Steel Authority of India’s other plants; and the possibilities opened up by using the system for centralized control and monitoring, such as blast furnaces and ovens in steel plants to cut down the risk of undetected gas leaks. With the advances that this new setup and technology bring, Durgapur Steel Plant is looking forward to another highly successful, well-connected sixty years of steel production.  

For more information about ProSoft Technology’s Industrial Wireless Solutions, go to http://psft.com/BQ5.