Sep 6
Ecoclean and the IIoT Approach with Remote Monitoring
Posted September 6, 2019
by Nelly Ayllon
The IoT concepts are inspiring new business models. Manufacturers are asking equipment makers to help them improve machine reliability and production uptime. Ecoclean innovative approach is breaking new grounds with remote monitoring and diagnostics services for PROFINET networks.
Sep 4
Modern Controls and Communication: Big Energy Savings for National Food Distributor
Posted September 4, 2019
by Nelly Ayllon
Global Controls Solutions deployed a PROFINET industrial Ethernet network and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for a food supplier looking to expand its facility. The integrator used the Ethernet network to improve communications and optimize operational efficiency for $125,000 in annual energy savings.
Mar 8
Efficient Engineering delivers a Smart Control System for Otto Bock
Posted March 8, 2019
by Michael Bowne
Otto Bock deploys a control system devised by Process Automation Solutions with 18 smart drives. It’s based on a state of the art Profinet network for the fast-paced automotive industry.
Aug 29
Compact Profinet I/O Modules Measure Short Distances
Posted August 29, 2016
by Carl Henning
Printing industry supplier Beil GmbH uses TBEN-S compact Profinet I/O modules directly on 40 millimeter aluminum profiles in a punch bender for print shops. Data is now implemented using Industrial Ethernet, which has proved to be considerably easier and more economical to set up than conventional fieldbuses.
Jun 9
A Sweet, Simple Solution for Greater Manufacturing Efficiency
Posted June 9, 2016
by Carl Henning
By leveraging a single process controller and the latest SCADA solution from Siemens, a confections manufacturer realized new levels of process efficiency and plant-wide data transparency to support strong, ongoing growth.
Specifically, the S7-319 provides all necessary communications interfaces right on board the CPU. This was important for the manufacturer’s desired application. Of the three on-board communications interfaces, two handle serial-based protocols for PROFIBUS networks and distributed I/O applications and drives. Further, the controller also has an on-board Ethernet interface that handles PROFINET protocol for distributed I/O.
Apr 22
PROFIBUS Network audit on one of the longest networks in the Netherlands
Posted April 22, 2016
by Carl Henning
A tunnel is actually a large cabinet you build around an installation. That is certainly true of the extension of the A4 motorway between Delft and Schiedam; the route has been there for years and the tunnel was built over it.
Last December I worked as a support employee in the PROCENTEC test team carrying out the network audit on this very special network. The stretch of motorway is actually 7 km long: 1 km at ground level, 2.6 km half-sunken, 1.4 km sunken and a land tunnel extending for 2 km. This resulted in an incredibly long PROFIBUS network where we had no less than 190 segments to check.
Mar 7
Steel Coils, Cranes, Wireless, and PROFINET
Posted March 7, 2016
by Carl Henning
Automakers are buying huge volumes of high-strength steel as they attempt to build solid, lightweight cars. Annealing and galvanizing plants throughout the Midwest process these thin steel sheets, creating steel coils that weigh up to 40 tons. Hoisting and moving these huge coils through the plant is no simple task, it requires large bridge cranes…
Dec 16
Quarry Carves Out Twice the Production
Posted December 16, 2015
by Carl Henning
Faced with completing one of the largest projects in its history, Canyon Rock, a Northern California quarry, used a system integrator and universal programming software to meet deadlines, save programming time through reusability of code, simplify training, and enable diagnostics to determine failures anywhere on any device. The company knew success depended on making major changes to its operations—and making them quickly—using automation and software that could replicate success in subsequent phases of the project. It would have to double production to meet the specifications of the bid it had just won.
The success of the phased approach turned largely on the implementation of Profinet, the newly applied communications architecture. "Before this project, the plant had no network," Schulz pointed out. "Once we rolled out a backbone for the entire plant, and put all components on a common network, the PLCs could talk to the HMIs which could talk to the VFDs and the motor monitoring devices."
Oct 1
Automation Drives Asphalt Innovations
Posted October 1, 2015
by Carl Henning
Astec, widely recognized as the largest U.S. producer of asphalt manufacturing plants, is increasingly turning to automation technologies to optimize plant energy use, reduce waste, and speed its assembly process.
“Our control systems use Profibus or Profinet for networking because of its ease of troubleshooting and fast connections,” said Mark Chambers, who added that Astec is increasingly moving toward standard use of Profinet because of its greater bandwidth capabilities and speed.
Jun 24
Railroad Axle Manufacturing Retrofit Using PROFINET
Posted June 24, 2015
by Carl Henning
Remanufacturing and updating a three-stage lathe was more beneficial than purchasing a new modern machine. Everything was already in place; it just needed updated drives and hydraulic systems.