Producer of soft drinks and juices
Recently, eReM has realized a project for a huge producer of soft drinks and juices in the retail industry. This producer mixes a large range of syrups according to recipe. The production of syrup is controlled through one central system and is divided in five seperate production lines. After the mixing, the drinks are bottled and packed.
An outdated system
First, the control system of the mixers was located in two control panels. However, the components of this system were no longer available. In the case of a breakdown, replacement would not be possible anymore. Therefore, the outdated system had to be fully replaced.
A new system with a Siemens PLC S7-1500
eReM got the order to build a new control system. In close contact with the customer, all requirements had to be translated into a functional description. Several improvements and extra functions were added, that were not available before. Based on the description, a Siemens S7-1500 PLC was chosen in combination with several Siemens operator control screens and a few remote IO stations.
For this project, eReM has performed the hardware and software engineering, the panel building and the installation. The engineering department has designed the control panel according to specifications. The software needed to be completely rewritten. eReM has given advise about the design and control of the operator screens. During the commissioning activities, the existing wiring was taken over to the new control panel. Several components in the field have been adjusted and multiple sensors and valves were added in order to increase the automation of the process. After passing several tests, the new installation was transferred to the customer.
Advantages of the new system
In the factory of the producer, the control room and the location of the control panels were apart from each other. Therefore, the employees needed to walk towards the panel in order to be able to perform any adjustment activities. The customer asked us to find a practical solution for this problem. With the new system, we have added an extra screen in the control room. From now on, the employees can work more efficiently. Besides, the whole production process can be seen and monitored in one screen.
Also, frequency controllers based on Profinet were installed. The composition of the syrup is measured by a measuring cell with corresponding computer (mPDS 5) of Anton Paar. Based on this measurement, the PLC puts the mixer into the correct proportions by a PID regulation. This way, the production process can be controlled and monitored to the utmost. Adjustments can easily be made and the supply of ingredients can be regulated more precisely. This will result in a production enhancement with less materials and therefore: more efficieny. Next to product quality, the chance of production loss is minimized.
