Manufacturers in the life sciences, food, and automotive sectors continue to replace legacy pieces of their operations with automated solutions, as seen in the case studies below.
Maintaining a World Market for Drugs
A major Japanese pharmaceutical manufacturer turned to Toyo Engineering Corp (TEC), when it built a new weighing room, updated its weighing system, and decided to implement MES for all future processes. TEC based its proposal on Rockwell Automation''s Propack Data PMX MES solution, which handles dispensing, basic data collection and analysis, and container management.
The pharma company wanted to localize the application, which meant adapting the software to display information and control parameters in double-byte characters, accounting for cultural differences. And, although the MES was to be implemented in Japan, development was being conducted in Germany. Therefore, it was necessary to provide testing conditions that took into consideration the time difference between the two countries. Once the system was ready for installation, it was important to carefully plan the transition from the legacy system to the new process. Despite these development challenges, TEC completed the whole process in one year.
The MES standardized operations in the weighing system, aligned R & D and production, integrated supply chain management, and resulted in a 30% increase in operator productivity. Compliance with FDA Part 11, GMP, and CSV regulations allows the manufacturer to export products globally. (For more, click here.)
Make Mine Chocolate
A Schneider Electric control system has added new performance capabilities and reduced control costs for ice cream equipment manufacturer WCB Ice Cream, enabling that company''s feeder to more precisely add a wide range of dry and semisolid ingredients to ice cream at the custard stage. The system automatically calibrates ingredient feeds, allowing ice cream makers to better control the accuracy of recipes and ingredient costs. The feeder line can adjust to a customer''s freezer capacity.
The Magelis industrial PC-based system includes Telemecanique''s Altivar 31 ac drive, Advantys distributed I/O and touchscreen computer panel, and a weighing module developed by Schneider Electric''s Industrial Automation Team, which also assembled the control system. Ethernet connects the PC to the Advantys I/O and the weighing module through Modbus TCP/IP, while the drives are connected to the I/O with a CANopen network.
"The growth of premium ice creams packed with multiple ingredients was the driving factor for designing the new ingredient feeder," says Henry Talma, WCB Ice Cream product line manager. "We took the best features from our family of ingredient feeders and feedback from our valued customers to produce a new machine with greater capacity and the ability to handle a wider range of ingredients, from the jam-like consistency of fruits to nuts to whole cookies. It has a wider speed range and runs more efficiently, so it helps our customers more precisely control their operations."
Talma says the new ingredient feeder is also opening new markets for the company beyond ice cream manufacturing. "Local bakeries are using it to put cookies into their cream pie mix. A Houston bakery adds candies to cake batter. Other customers feed pickles into meat products or make peanut butter crunchy," he says. "It''s a very versatile machine." (For more, click here.)
Improving Communication
Mechanical press manufacturer Schuler Pressen GmbH & Co decided to use standardized control and automation systems from Siemens in its suction transfer molding equipment for Audi and VW. Nine Simatic S7-400 control systems were linked to a high-speed industrial Ethernet network, on which the visualization of the system using Simatic WinCC runs. Using a Profibus DP network, they communicate with a master controller, around 400 distributed ET200 peripherals, 60 Profibus absolute value sensors, and nine DP/AS interface links.
At the heart of the system is a central WinCC server. The redundantly designed PC has external mirror hard disks, and the 10 connected WinCC clients on site or in the control room can access identical, updated data. Some 3,000 pictures describe every detail of the system and guide operators.
This comprehensive access simplifies fault location. For maintenance and servicing, access is possible from any point in the system with a single programming device, thanks to Simatic routing functions. WinCC allows the display to be switched to any of the language versions installed without restarting. Schuler service engineers can use the German user interface for remote maintenance, while the operators on site -- at VW do Brasil, for example -- can see exactly the same content in the Portuguese version. (For more, click here.)
Accentuating Asset Performance
Automation isn''t just about equipment. Forest products company Tembec needed a system to effectively manage its equipment, facilities, and labor at multiple sites, and address multinational issues. It chose Indus, a provider of Service Delivery Management (SDM) solutions, to help improve labor productivity, reduce working capital expenses, streamline the company''s supply chain, and enhance the visibility and performance of the company''s assets throughout its mills.
Using Indus'' Asset Suite, Tembec has reduced duplicate work orders by 80%, while asset reliability has improved with more proactive planning. And Indus partner Inventory Management Analysis Ltd standardized Tembec''s spare parts inventory and created a central catalog system. This has decreased inventory levels, significantly reduced carrying costs, and freed up working capital. (For more, click here.)