Real-time Performance Management (RPM), fieldbus devices, and COTS are being increasingly implemented as a part of automation solutions. RPM brings critical system data to key decision-makers, "whether it be an embedded, automated controller or a senior executive, in real-time," notes Greg Wempe, product manager of industrial automation and control software at National Instruments.
In an environment conducive to JIT, "the ability to have a real-time dashboard of the current process is not a nicety, it''s a requirement," Wempe believes. Because of the "distributed nature of most process automation systems," effective implementation of effective systems "for machine-to-machine communication is difficult." (PACs such as National Instruments'' Compact FieldPoint and CompactRio, pictured here, plug into Ethernet.)
According to Graham Harris, president of Beckhoff Automation, "By using rugged industrial PCs as controllers with Microsoft OS''s, Intel microprocessors, and standard ATX motherboards with PCI slots, customers gain constant innovation and performance, plus easy integration with 3rd party products." COTS Ethernet cards and components are usually "drastically less costly than proprietary fieldbus products and have more interoperability."
Omron Electronics LLC also "sees it as a customer advantage to offer a packaged custom solution," adds Joseph A. Rubino, Omron marketing manager/automotive, since COTS "has re-use within a specific industry, for generic problems it addresses within that industry."
Meanwhile, Larry O''Brien, research director for process industries at ARC Advisory Group, notes a "surge in fieldbus implementation. Many process industry users have fieldbus as part of their vendor requirements . . . the number of devices installed is rapidly approaching a million."
Going From A to A+ in Efficiency
The Playtex Streetsboro Diaper Genie facility operates in a JIT, Lean environment, with a small amount of finished goods produced and raw material resources consumed, no current inventory control issues, high inventory turnover rates, and customer order fulfillment rates at 100%. Several inventory transactions were manually entered and tracked through a paper system and by a data entry clerk into the Playtex ERP system.
In partnership with Solzon Corp, Playtex implemented a WLAN, mobile data collection and bar coding system allowing the plant to increase the speed and accuracy of data entry; provide real-time visibility of materials and production across the supply chain; and increase tracking and reporting capabilities. Symbol Spectrum24 High Rate APs were deployed to create a WLAN for end-to-end wireless mobile computing. Symbol SPT 1846s provided real-time data collection. And Symbol PDT 6846s provided long-range scanning. Wireless bar code printers allowed mobile operation. (For more, click here.)
Simplifying a 10-Plant Complex
With Emerson Process Management as Main Instrument Vendor, Shanghai SECCO built a 10-plant ethylene cracker complex in 27 months, selecting Foundation fieldbus as the heart of its automation approach. Emerson''s PlantWeb digital architecture is used throughout the complex. Over 10,000 of the 20,000 devices are networked with fieldbus technology to deliver digital process, control, and device diagnostics information.
The 10 automation systems include over 48,000 loops, with about 166,000 I/O tags. Around 25,000 points are hardwired to the automation system. The digital architecture integrates 10 DeltaV systems with a single global historian and remote operations functions.
Unplugging a Network Bottleneck
German hydraulic press manufacturer Schuler Hydrap uses Ethernet to communicate between its PC-based control system and the distributed I/O in its Profiline presses. The new line runs on a network that is up to 500% faster using open technologies such as Beckhoff''s EtherCAT and TwinCAT PC-based control. (Switching to a PC-based solution from Beckhoff Automation, as shown here, has allowed Schuler to integrate hydraulic control into logic that it can modify.)
The bus system interface in the process was seen as a bottleneck. Clement Peters, corporate manager of controls and drives design at Schuler, explains that "by using NC Tasks in TwinCAT, we are able to model transfer applications with high quality motion control, utilizing 1 to 2 ms cycle time."
The network bottleneck challenge was greatly improved by Beckhoff''s Ethernet-based EtherCAT system. "The speed of EtherCAT and its small overhead gives us significant advantages in process velocity," says Sohr. (For more, click here.)