Ceramics Business Unit
Nutec Bickley
Heat Treat Today brings you an article from Jose Pablo Sanchez at Nutec Bickley on what to expect when giving a kiln or furnace an upgrade.
How much time does it take to replace or upgrade your heat treat kiln or furnace? What are the best questions to ask when preparing to upgrade a control system on your furnace or kiln? What about the availability of replacement parts? How can you be sure that your upgrade will deliver the overall best experience once it is said and done? Read on to consider the case study of one client’s experience when remodeling a kiln control system.
About the Client
One of the most renowned sanitaryware manufacturers in the world wanted to update the control system on one of their older tunnel kilns. The 30–40 year-old equipment had an outdated control system which ended up leading to a lengthy installation process
Since the kiln’s control system was obsolete, the client could not access the controller’s program, making any required modification impossible. Additionally, the kiln did not have a HMI screen, only a board with LEDs. The SCADA system was DOS based, very unfriendly and difficult to operate. This made sourcing any necessary replacement parts extremely difficult in the event of failure.
The Challenge
The client had been forced to search for spare parts on eBay and other online sites as they had been discontinued by the part manufacturer. But even with these searches, it had become impossible to find replacement parts.
Tunnel kilns handle a substantial throughput and are generally only idle when they are closed down for a week at the end of the year for maintenance.
So, the challenge that the client and our engineers faced was to uninstall the current system, install the new one, and get everything ready, all before the plant resumed operations.
To this end, we worked 24 hours a day continuously, conducting tests during the final week of the year with our team of programmers and commissioning engineers.
Equipment Supplied and Technology Employed
1.- Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® PLC
- A high-performing PLC
- Improved processing power
2.- New SCADA from FactoryTalk®
- Replaced the obsolete system the client was using
- More programming versatility on screens
The Solution
In updating the system, we proposed replacing the old controller with an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® PLC and installed a new FactoryTalk® SCADA for screen control. These updates took time both prior to installation and during the installation itself.
First, the existing program could not be accessed, so multiple visits to the client’s factory were necessary to study the kiln’s operation philosophy. Second, since the control panel wiring had no labels, we took time to label every component and ensure that the wirings corresponded to the correct signals. Additionally, we brought in a commissioning engineer who checked the functionality of the instrumentation before any intervention.
When it came to installation, a systematic process was essential. Every time a component was connected it was tested immediately. We had up to 5 automation engineers at a time for quick troubleshooting.
Results Obtained
A key part of the process was the client’s cooperation. They always had someone there with us to help us with anything we needed. With our engineers, the facility was able to obtain:
- The latest hardware and software systems
- Technical support and easy refurbishment capabilities
- The ability to add more cards in the future to improve monitoring
- Increased flexibility to customize systems
- Better monitoring and data analysis of kiln performance results
- Remote access from the Nutec Bickley plant for testing and troubleshooting purposes
This proves that the client’s cooperation is always key for a successful project.
Images provided by Nutec Bickley.
About the Author: José P. Sanchez is part of the Ceramics Business Unit in Nutec Bickley, in charge of sales in LATAM for kilns and major retrofits in the ceramic industry. He has been an active participant of multiple projects involving kilns and ovens in numerous industrial sectors, mostly refractories for the steel & aluminum industry.
