Industrial Automation Mechanism

The use of control system or computers to control industrial process and industrial machinery is called industrial automation or numerical automation. In the mechanism the human labor is replaced by sophisticated computers. It is different from mechanization. In mechanization human operators run the machinery as per the requirements of the work. But in numerical automation most of the works are facilitated by the highly improved computers. The whole system and the processes of the industry are automated under the automated system. Industrial automation requires several automation tools. There are several automation tools that make industrial possible. These tools include Distributed control system, human machine interface, laboratory information management system, manufacturing executive system. In addition to it in manufacturing units some other tools applied are programmable logic controller, programmable automation controller, supervisory control and data acquisition, and simulation and field bus.

Industrial automation has got wide application in the today's economic world order. the automation engineers are playing a very important role in the maximizing the efficiency of industries. They create a complex system of human computer interface to facilitate a wide range of application. But industrial automation is not flawless. First, it makes the industry over dependent on the automation system which sometimes backfires. There is always a probability of affecting computers with a number of viruses turning the whole system in fiasco. The potential danger always looms large over the industries.

Social issues involved in the industrial automation have also wide ramifications. It raises many social issues which are very much relevant for the populous countries. Industrial automation affects employment to a great extent. It is a sheer myth that it leads to higher employment. The truth is that it affects unskilled labors most. There is no space for those who are unskilled. This is because automated industries require only skilled labors. But this unleashes a cathartic effect on the labor society. It forces more and more people to take up skilled jobs or makes them try for it. Nowadays the automation is very much advanced. It has replaced even many skilled jobs also. It is advancing rapidly throughout the world. In future it may hamper more and more skilled jobs.

In spite of all these repercussions there is a greater emphasis on the industrial automation. Primarily its main purpose was to maximize the production of the industry. Now the focus has been shifted to enhance the quality of the products which is the need of the hour in the present scenario. Industrial automation has made workforce more flexible and now it is quite feasible to switch over from one product to the other product in an automated system.

Advanced Automation Associates, one of the leading automation control service provider in USA. It provides HMI design and industrial automation.

All About Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition

Many of you might be like me and when they first heard about a supervisory control and data acquisition or otherwise known as SCADA, you might not even know what that does or is. Those of you who work within factories probably know all about this, but for those who aren't as up to date on factory jobs, they might not know what this is all about. I know that I was clueless. For all you clueless people out there, let me help you learn about this thing that many are unfamiliar with.

Now, those who are familiar with a factory know that there have to be different systems that collect data. They call these a control system. What a supervisory control and data acquisition is just an industrial control system. There are many parts to these. When they work together, they are all there to collect data on how things are run. It is also normally run by a computer system.

There are three main types of SCADA. The first are industrial processes. Another one is infrastructure processes. Last, there are facility processes. They are a different control system for different parts of factories. Typically, a SCADA has main components. These also help to collect data. They call these subsystems and include:

• human-machine interface
• supervisory system
• remote terminal units
• programmable logic controller
• A communication infrastructure.

With these control systems, factories are run more economically efficiently. They don't have to hire as many people. The SCADA allows fewer people to monitor the productions at the factories. Most things that go wrong in the factories can now be taken care of by the computer technicians that these places hire. This way they are paying one person rather than a number of individuals. This is done through newer networking technology that almost all factories are going to. These systems are very up to date and very in depth as to what they do and how they work. This just gives those of you who don't exactly know about it a brief interdiction to this concept. So, if you are interested in how this works, there has been much written about it.

Sturat enjoys writing articles on topics like SCADA and what is SCADA.

How to Troubleshoot PLC Hardware

The programmable logic controller, more commonly known as the PLC, plays a role in almost every automated manufacturing process. The PLC is an electronically programmable device capable of almost infinite combinations of relays, contacts, and timing circuits used to control industrial machinery of all types and sizes. It is essentially a computer designed to withstand a harsh manufacturing environment. It was designed to replace complex system of relays, cam switches, and other electromechanical circuits. The first PLC's were introduced in the late 1970's and they continued to grow in popularity since the day of their release.

PLC's are produced today by numerous major manufacturers including Siemens, Allen Bradley, Koyo, Fuji, Telemecanique, and Mitsubishi as well as a host of others. The programming of the PLC is performed through proprietary software produced by the specific manufacturer. Software among PLC's is not compatible and the logic programming, although it is very similar, has many subtle differences across the different brands. The program stored in the PLC is called the ladder logic program. Problems in the ladder program can become quite involved and that is an entirely different subject altogether. Hardware problems however, are fairly similar and can be easy to diagnose if you know a little about the particular model and it's input and output configuration.

Hardware failure of the brain, or main processor, is rare. It can be easily diagnosed visually most often by an illuminated fault indicator on the face of the PLC. An internal power supply failure would be a possibility if the PLC screen or power indicator were not lit and the technician verified that the correct voltage is applied to the power terminals. Some PLC's are equipped with an internal fuse which can also fail. These problems are not quite as common as a failure of an input or output terminal.

Inputs and outputs are available in multiple configurations and voltages. Both AC and DC are available separately and sometimes in the same unit. These input/outputs can be both digital and analog and can be configured as a transistor output or as a dry relay contact. On both the input and output side it is critical to determine the specifications of the PLC first. Having the appropriate PLC software available at the time of troubleshooting is also necessary.

The first recommendation would be to compare the illuminated inputs and outputs against the software in real time. An illuminated input not displaying properly as an energized input in the software is an indication of a failed or open input terminal. On the output side, an illuminated terminal not conducting the proper output voltage can mean one of two things, the output has failed in an open position, or an improper voltage is being applied to the common output terminal. The only way to verify this would be through the use of a multimeter set on the proper voltage scale.

Overall, PLC hardware troubleshooting is not complex, yet it needs to be approached in an orderly fashion because both hardware and software are required to work in harmony for a PLC to perform its intended tasks.

Chet is an longtime associate of the Obsolete Industrial Parts, an informative site dedicated to locating obsolete industrial parts including obsolete plc hardware, servo motors, prox switches, and a host of other parts. Their official website obsoleteindustrial.com is owned and operated by Val Marketing of Carbondale, Pennsylvania.

Material Handling - Warehouse Control Systems For Food and Beverage Sector

According to Jerry List, vice-president of QC Software (qcsoftware.com), "First we have to understand the core competence of the Warehouse Control System (WCS). WCS evolved from the Warehouse Management System (WMS), due to the fact that the WMS was just trying to do too much and technology just could not keep. Routing, sorting and processing cartons through a transport system are very different from tracking inventory and orders . In the food and beverage arena is indispensable (a central quality control) for goods to be picked, packed and shipped in an expeditious manner, due to the corruption factor. In the CMC should be able to process packaging Cardboard efficiently avoiding recirculation in the process of processing thousands of cartons an hour. "

Manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler contributed to the current issue of the International Food Security Network and Quality (IFSQN), the feature titled, "WCS Expands to Food and Beverage" details the decision-making process often carried out by food and beverage distributors and manufacturers.

According to Cutler, "There is a significant shift between (Warehouse Management Systems) WMS and WCS (Warehouse Control Systems) in the area of merging local data warehouses into an enterprise data storage. There are suites software products that provide the tools necessary to efficiently and economically operate a warehouse or distribution center. "

Traditionally, a Warehouse Control System (WCS) executes instructions provided by an upper level host system, such as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system or a WMS. True Tier 1 WCS software provides advanced management capabilities including inventory control, scheduling and resource management orders. The best of the breed WCS systems are modular in nature, easily configurable, platform independent, with a scalable architecture to meet the needs of any size warehouse.

Unlike a typical WMS software solution, WCS directs real-time data management and interface responsibilities of the system for material handling, as well as provides common user interface screens for monitoring, control and diagnosis.

The focal point for the management of the operational aspects of material handling system, WCS provides the vital link between the batch-time data reception and real-time programmable logic controller (PLC) system for material handling.

The PLC coordinates the various real-time control devices to achieve the daily work. At each decision point in the distribution process, the WCS "determines" the most efficient routing of the product and transmits directives to the equipment controllers to achieve the desired result. The decision-making process is often controlled by two utilities, the type and the Administrator of the Route Director.

WMS systems are designed to manage information, are planning systems versus systems implementation, however, it is fair to say that the CMC is the market economy to the warehouse because it directs the tasks.

The solutions provided by QC Software enables companies to streamline their warehouse operations with the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry increased corporate profitability.

For more information about conveyors visit @ http://www.conveyorblog.net

Programming Logical Control

Introduction

This article provides a brief introduction into documenting software programs for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). Its aim is to provide clear guidance in the program documentation for PLC's.

This article is based on the Ladder Logic format of PLC Programming, but many of the points also related to Instruction List (IL) and Function Block Diagram (FBD).

PLC Programs should be written and documented so that they can be easily maintained and modified by others than those who originally wrote the program. All PLC Programming Editors have increased documentation capabilities including Siemens, Modicon, Allen Bradley and Mitsubishi.

Documenting PLC Software

Early Programmable Logic Controllers had little or no capacity for the documentation of programs. For technicians to understand the logic the program had to be followed from inputs to outputs. This made fault finding or modifications to programs difficult.

As PLC's have developed the programming packages have also improved, allowing for the software to be clearly annotated.

The programming tools available for most PLC's allow for the following documentation.

Rung Title

Rung Comments

Symbols and Symbol Comments.

This article provides a practical guide to using these documentation techniques.

Symbols and Symbol Comments

The purpose of symbolic addressing is to allow the PLC programmer to write the software using meaningful symbols rather than having to remember addresses.

General rules for Input and Output symbols should be to use the tags from Process and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID) or electrical drawing references. Where these are not available use of a simple description should be used.

For the above the following could be used.

Symbol Address Description

VAC01_STPB I 0.0 Vacuum Pump Start Pushbutton

VAC01_SPPB I 0.1 Vacuum Pump Stop Pushbutton

VAC01 Q 0.0 Vacuum Pump Run

VAC01_TRAL M 1.1 Vacuum Pump Trip Alarm (Latched)

VAC01_AL M 1.1 Vacuum Pump Alarm Latch (Failed to Start/Stop)

Although many program editors can allow for more characters within the symbols it is recommended to keep the symbol short and use the comments to provide further details. Our recommendation is to build the symbols from the blocks of two characters to represent the the meaning and to keep the length less than 10.

The numbers tell a tale of programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) firm entrenchment in control applications. For instance, hardware sales figures for 2001 show $80 million spent for open control (PCbased control), with $1.1 billion being spent on programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) solutions. Even as the trend is for both figures to grow by 2004, programmable logic controllers ( PLCs ) still have a sizable advantage over PCs.

Engineers these days are calling for networking capabilities. A programmable logic controllers ( PLCs ) are now low-cost dedicated controllers. They offer more processing power and have added networking capabilities with other programmable logic controllers ( PLCs ) through serial connections. A micro programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) has an Ethernet connection with optional DeviceNet or Profibus modules. So the total system is not just a stand-alone controller, but one that can network to bigger programmable logic controllers ( PLCs ). Also, increased processing speeds allow for any given programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) to do more. Because of these changes, the programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) remains a viable control option.

One trend is towards a so-called hybrid programmable logic controller ( PLCs ). These more common hybrid applications are challenging the capabilities of each control approach. Their number is growing because fewer applications are pure discrete or pure process installations. One example is a programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) on a board with sequence logic-controller functions. It plugs into a PC ISA slot and has the same programming and instruction set as a stand-alone programmable logic controller ( PLCs ). So if you already have a PC on the factory floor, you don't need to buy a programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) in a box, just the board that plugs into the PC. It has a separate power supply so that if the PC crashes, the programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) keeps running. The board also has its own I/O connectors.

Another type of programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) is an industrially hardened gateway device. It comes with a number of ports and can be loaded with a soft programmable logic controller ( PLCs ). It has Ethernet, DeviceNet, and serial communications and serves as a bridge between protocols on the factory floor between legacy systems and current systems. For instance, data from serial devices such as bar code scanners can be connected to the gateway and through the soft programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) program.

After more than a decade of articles touting the benefits of PC-based control over a programmable logic controller and predictions of the PLC's demise, this much is clear: both PCs and programmable logic controllers ( PLCs ) have their place in contemporary control systems. In many cases, they will work as a team.

In lower-end process industries such as food plants where the programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) is strongly entrenched, there is little interest in switching to PC-based control. The reason is the programmable logic controller's ( PLCs ) suitability. Sequential logic control provided by a programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) is best suited for round-the-clock operations common in those industries. In particular, a programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) can offer repeatable, reliable control conducive to high-speed, repetitive processes. Dedicated performance and a high level of security are also benefits of a programmable logic controller (PLCs ). The packaging side of a food plant lends itself well to sequential logic control which makes a programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) the best choice for conveying and sorting applications.

Five years ago, the prediction was that PCs were going to take traditional programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) applications by storm. The reason they didn't is that the programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) has continued to be a good, low-cost control option. For instance, a programmable logic controller ( PLCs ) with highspeed counter inputs, loop controls, analog points, and basic math calculations are available in the $200 to $400 range with 100 or more I/O and with options for expansion. On the other hand, even buying an inexpensive PC requires loading software, setting it up, and making sure it's robust enough to not crash.

However, PC-based control has its merits. Specifically, it has greater number-crunching capability, more communication options, and is geared more toward data logging and trending, plant monitoring, report generation, and documentation. The key reasons to switch to PC-based control include networking the control system to higher-level applications such as ERP, handling complex mathematical applications such as vision inspection systems, and connecting to bar-code scanners, in-motion weigh scales, and other devices. In short, most users believe that when data must be transferred from the controller into a database for analysis, the transfer goes more smoothly when the data is already on a PC-based system.

Lucky

Industrial Automation Mechanism

The use of control system or computers to control industrial process and industrial machinery is called industrial automation or numerical automation. In the mechanism the human labor is replaced by sophisticated computers. It is different from mechanization. In mechanization human operators run the machinery as per the requirements of the work. But in numerical automation most of the works are facilitated by the highly improved computers. The whole system and the processes of the industry are automated under the automated system. Industrial automation requires several automation tools. There are several automation tools that make industrial possible. These tools include Distributed control system, human machine interface, laboratory information management system, manufacturing executive system. In addition to it in manufacturing units some other tools applied are programmable logic controller, programmable automation controller, supervisory control and data acquisition, and simulation and field bus.

Industrial automation has got wide application in the today's economic world order. the automation engineers are playing a very important role in the maximizing the efficiency of industries. They create a complex system of human computer interface to facilitate a wide range of application. But industrial automation is not flawless. First, it makes the industry over dependent on the automation system which sometimes backfires. There is always a probability of affecting computers with a number of viruses turning the whole system in fiasco. The potential danger always looms large over the industries.

Social issues involved in the industrial automation have also wide ramifications. It raises many social issues which are very much relevant for the populous countries. Industrial automation affects employment to a great extent. It is a sheer myth that it leads to higher employment. The truth is that it affects unskilled labors most. There is no space for those who are unskilled. This is because automated industries require only skilled labors. But this unleashes a cathartic effect on the labor society. It forces more and more people to take up skilled jobs or makes them try for it. Nowadays the automation is very much advanced. It has replaced even many skilled jobs also. It is advancing rapidly throughout the world. In future it may hamper more and more skilled jobs.

In spite of all these repercussions there is a greater emphasis on the industrial automation. Primarily its main purpose was to maximize the production of the industry. Now the focus has been shifted to enhance the quality of the products which is the need of the hour in the present scenario. Industrial automation has made workforce more flexible and now it is quite feasible to switch over from one product to the other product in an automated system.

Advanced Automation Associates, one of the leading automation control service provider in USA. It provides HMI design and industrial automation.