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Integration of automatic corn dosing control system

Situation

In the process area of ​​a food industry plant where the dosage of raw materials is controlled, there were manual systems that resulted in many human and quality errors.

Problems and Needs

At all times, the final product was under control that depended exclusively on the human factor, keeping the reports on paper and being subject to editing. For this reason, an automatic digital solution was offered that, combined with the operator, did not allow the manipulation of information.

As a consequence of this event, it depended at all times on the human factor. Having a wide variety of services and infrastructure, certifications and qualified personnel, they trusted us and we offered a solution to implement an automatic system for dosing corn.

Reasons

Due to the high demand, the power plants work 365 days a year and the only implementation times are very short and for maintenance stops, so designing a work plan that would not interrupt the operation was the great challenge. Given our experience, a schedule of tasks to be implemented in stages (installation and programming) was established in an efficient and orderly manner. Based on this, the following points were established:

  • Installation of level gauges for silos.
  • Installation of pipes and wiring.
  • Development engineering for the integration of retainer speed control and level gauges.
  • Development engineering for the creation of display screens to control the system.
  • Implementation of a solution that facilitates automatic control of corn dosage and that helps plant personnel to carry out rapid changes in the operation of the processes.

A satisfactory solution

A solution was chosen in collaboration with our engineering team, building a state-of-the-art robust system and taking production, operation and maintenance demands as a reference.

  • For the main control system, a CompactLogix PLC was used, which represented the brain of the entire control and operation system.
  • The network architecture was placed in Ethernet/IP following current regulations.
  • For the HMI, a PanelView was installed and developed under a FactoryTalk View Machine Edition (FTViewME) license. It houses a screen that allows the operator to monitor and make changes in the dosage of corn.
  • Mimicry level application design was developed as standard on the 3D model allowing the operator to be familiar with current processes.

Results

The plant obtained the following benefits as a final result of the adopted solution:

  • Modernization with cutting-edge technology in control equipment, computing and licenses.
  • The implementation of the Ethernet network has managed to improve the performance of the response times between devices and the quick navigation in the HMI, thus allowing the development of production times.
  • Thanks to the visualization system, there are improvements in corn dosage monitoring and control issues.
  • Programming of the logics of operation under standard that allows a better understanding of the different sequences of operation of the system.
  • Scalability: The introduction of new modifications and the implementation within the system can be done without problem.
  • Training of operation and maintenance personnel for the use and control of our platform.
  • The specialized technical support has highly qualified personnel to attend to this system either remotely or in person.

At the end of the project, the client was asked about his satisfaction in working with us and these were his answers:

How would you rate the results obtained in relation to time and cost of the problem in question?

The results were excellent, we advanced in technology and improved the control of our corn dosing process because we no longer depend exclusively on the human factor and we can remotely incorporate rapid changes from the control room.

Find out how to integrate an automatic system for dosing corn

Start integrating this type of solutions in your business through a technical visit to your facilities. Contact one of our specialists to arrange a visit and start implementing a product fill level monitoring system.

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