1st Quarter 2015Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Variations in the weight of filled sugar bags can be a big headache for a sugar mill. When bags are not filled to within a given tolerance, they are rejected; a high number of rejected bags lead to increased costs and lower productivity. Automation specialist, Festo worked with an Illovo sugar mill in KwaZulu-Natal to resolve this problem and reduce the number of rejected bags using the compact smart controller, CECC.
Filled sugar bags at Illovo are weighed for errors before being selected, depending on the weight error margin. Changes in product density are not uncommon, and these directly affect the filled masses from the volumetric filler. The machine operator would then have to adjust the filling machine manually.
The control system at Illovo needed an upgrade which Festo had already implemented using a CECC compact-PLC. “We then identified that the operator was still manually adjusting and compensating for errors,” says Festo Systems engineer, Nicolas Fleuriot. “We offered to use the same CECC together with better instruments to automate the error correction process, freeing the operator to do other tasks and increasing reliability. The CoDeSys PLC was combined with a load cell amplifier with communications via an I/O link. The result was a decreased number of rejects and increased productivity.
“Illovo is very pleased with the new system as there is now a significant decrease in rejected bags,” says Fleuriot. “This efficiency and increased productivity has led to the purchase of three more upgrades at the plant.”
Read more...PC-based control for additive machine tools Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
IRPD is a specialist in additive machine tools. Development is heavily focused on high system throughput and consistently high process quality. This goal was achieved with the help of PC- and EtherCAT-based control and drive technology from Beckhoff.
Read more...Major software release for Parker PSD servo drives Parker Hannifin - Sales Company South Africa
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Parker Hannifin has released its PSD servo drive family delivering new control modes, advanced synchronisation functions and performance optimisations designed to improve throughput, accuracy and system efficiency in demanding industrial applications.
Read more...Beckhoff expands economy drive system Beckhoff Automation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Beckhoff’s new AM1000 servomotor joins the company’s economy drive system. The compact, powerful motor and the AX1000 servo drive provide users with a perfectly coordinated, cost-optimised drive system.
Read more...Moving next-generation monopiles
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Wind turbine sizes are increasing at an unprecedented rate. The bigger the turbine, the more power it can generate and the fewer are needed per wind farm. Mammoet has been ahead of the curve in coming up with ways to make the movement of even XXL monopiles faster and more cost-effectively.
Read more...PC-based control for flat wire motors for electric vehicles Beckhoff Automation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Special machine manufacturer, ruhlamat Huarui Automation Technologies has unveiled the second generation of its mass production line for flexible stators with bar winding (pins). This enables an extremely short production cycle and line changeover times, supported by PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology from Beckhoff.
Read more...New generation surface drill rig
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Epiroc South Africa is launching a new and improved PowerROC T45. This new generation surface drill rig offers increased fuel efficiency and high availability, and is a welcome addition to the PowerROC family.
Read more...Rip-and-ship solution speeds up nuclear decommissioning project
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
When removing steam generators from decommissioned nuclear reactor buildings, the most economical method is to remove them in one piece. Mammoet was commissioned by Framatome to support with the removal of four steam generators from PreussenElektra’s Nuclear Power Plant Unterweser in Germany.
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