Automation of equipment and production processes

Process automation

Automation of equipment and production processes

Automation of production and individual processes significantly increases productivity, simplifies maintenance and repair, and reduces production and administrative costs. It also avoids human errors, which in most cases are very expensive to produce. Automation also requires appropriate equipment or it needs to be upgraded in such a way that it is possible to receive the necessary signals from it, process them and control individual equipment or technological lines as a whole.

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Sugar beet processing Molasses processing Raw sugar processing Production of sub-products Process automation Packing and filling

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Introduction Practical solutions Economic justification

Introduction to automation

Industrial automation is the control of industry equipment and processes used in various industries by autonomous systems through the use of equipment who are equipped like precision mechanics, various measurement sensors, separate PLC or network of PLC and specialized PC software. Industries implement automation to increase productivity and reduce costs related to employees, their benefits and other associated expenses, while increasing precision and flexibility. With the industrial revolution came mechanization, which brought cheaper and more plentiful goods. Generally, the mechanical processes in industries were faster and produced greater quantities of goods but still required skilled workers. Not only did machines require operators but when errors occurred, they would waste materials, cause production issues and even damage equipment. With the arrival of automation, control loops were added to machine operation. These can be open control loops that allow for human input or closed loops which are fully automated. Industrial automation systems (IAS) allow for monitoring and control locally and remotely. With these increasingly advanced control mechanisms, industries can operate 24 hours a day. This also affects all sugar factories that operate in a continuous cycle. Productivity has increased, errors are reduced and quality of production is improved. However, automation does have some negative impact, including high initial costs and reduced worker employment. Recent advancements in automation in industrial production are focused on flexibility and quality. Manufacturing flexibility not only allows for more production, but also lets to offer for market more customized products.

Factory process automation is the act of replacing humans with special machines when executing a sequence of activities. The term is commonly used in a business level to describe business process automation, where equipment and PLC programs execute a set of activities within the modern, digital enterprise. The scope of process automation can be broad. Many companies start by automating simple support or departmental processes, such as data capture and expense approval (example: export data into accountant software). Others automate more complex, cross-functional activities, using advanced technologies to handle event-driven, mission-critical, core business processes. You can use process automation programs, specialized PC software and robots to automate aspects of your business in various ways.

Is it complicated?

All process automation projects have unique challenges, which make them more difficult to execute than other types of projects. Why is that? Here are some key reasons:

Specifics- the process automation industry is highly fragmented with numerous global suppliers each controlling a small portion of the market. With the typical automation project containing literally thousands of individual components, every automation system ends up as a mixture of parts from multiple suppliers. Because these suppliers have limited expertise outside of their immediate product family, the project team is left to integrate all these parts. Considerable engineering and coordination is required to ensure this plethora of equipment comes together to form an integrated, high-performing control system. The resulting designs are highly engineered and customized for each application.

Scope evolution of automation in sugar industry- unlike most other directions of food industry. Here automation scope evolves throughout the life cycle of the project - even on commissioning and startup, and also after it. Expecting to completely define the scope up front with little or no change is an direct way to frustration.

Schedule constraints- the automation scope has numerous dependencies on other separate special works involved in the project.

The human element- the automation system is the primary interface between the collection of various equipment that makes up a sugar plant technology line and the operators they are meant to control it. To achieve successful operation, it is critical for operators to get an accurate and complete view of how the production process is carried out. If the automation system is contributing to process upsets or not clearly communicating an accurate picture of process operation, the financial losses can be very large. All this requires highly qualified personnel.

Unequivocal answer- process automation projects are difficult to manage. The inherent complexity, evolving scope, schedule constraints, and human interaction all contribute unique challenges. Utilizing a project manager and a team with experience managing these situations and the ability to maintain proper execution discipline are critical to achieving success.

What is the economic effect?

The essence - automation enables factories to produce goods for lower costs. Automation leads to significant economies of scale – important in industries which require high capital investment. Automation enables factories to reduce number of workers, and this reduces the possibility of human errors. Automation in the sugar factories provides the advantages of improving productivity and quality while reducing errors and waste, increasing safety, and adding flexibility to the manufacturing process. In the end, industrial automation yields increased safety, reliability, and profitability. It's can be direct called - 3 in 1. This can reduce direct annual production costs by up to 35% and increase productivity by 18-25%.

The WESTTEX company always evaluates technical possibilities and offers only the most practical technical solutions.

Practical solutions

A sugar factory is a complex production due to the participation of different types of equipment, which greatly affects the possibility of automating both individual processes and the entire production as a whole. The variety of equipment involved in sugar production requires appropriate technical solutions and technical capabilities. Since the automation of a sugar factory requires a lot of special technical conditions, which usually amounts to 60-70% of the total volume of all conditions, then 30-40% falls on the shoulders of the client. The fact is that even if it is possible to receive discrete signals or measuring signals from a specific equipment or the entire production line, as well as to make management of equipment, it is always questionable how and who will be controlled, what information will want to get, and even more so, what level of automation are required. This moment is called the clarification of production conditions.

We adopt a customer and him product approach, designing industrial automation solutions with specification and end results in mind. All solutions are designed with integration of advanced technologies. SUSP, MOSEP and RAWSEP technologies combine a number of basic technological processes that are truly fully automated, with the exception that they require so-called integration and implementation into a common monitoring and management system. Without integration of the main technological equipment into the general automated control system, it is also required to connect and implement equipment for receiving raw materials, equipment for primary processing of raw materials, equipment for the production of sugar crystals (thickening of sugar-containing juice, evaporation-crystallization, centrifugation, drying, sieving), water supply systems, wastewater treatment systems, electricity supply, steam production and even additional equipment, such as a packaging workshop, etc.

The integrated control system is performed using HMI (human - machine interface) and the integrated SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) software. SCADA serves as a control system architecture that includes computers, network data transmission facilities and graphical user interfaces (HMI) for high-level control of equipment and processes. SCADA also covers the signals of sensors and other devices, such as programmable logic controllers that interact with process equipment.

Investments and benefit

The amount of investment depends on the equipment configuration of the sugar factory and the requirements for automatic control. Thanks to separate equipment, originally manufactured with the maximum level of automation, its integration into a common automated control system becomes much easier and cheaper. The structure of the unified management system developed by WESTTEX is based on the matrix principle, which at the same time allows not only to control and manage individual production cycles, but also to easily expand the matrix structure of the management system. Thanks to this feature and the integrated common Modbus data transfer protocol, the entire system becomes simpler and does not need large investments when combining different equipment. The unified data exchange protocol between PLCs of different equipment and SCADA allows you to save up to 15% of the funds needed to integrate a single automatic control system.

If we talk about the total cost of an integrated control system, it mainly depends on the amount of equipment, the number of measured and control signals, i.e. called variables (Tags). The cost is also affected by the type of variables, since the signals can be discrete and analog. Processing of analog signals and their output is much more complicated, which means that creating a control and visualization system with a large number of such signals is more time-consuming and work-intensive to create it. If we compare a typical automated control system containing 100-500 variables, then a sugar factory, due to the complexity of the production line and a huge number of sensors (contact signals), as well as various measuring instruments (analog signals), can make up 3000-10000 variables. The amount of automation work and the cost is determined only by the amount of equipment and the client's requirements.

The big advantage of production automation is not only the optimization of the number of maintenance personnel, but also the saving of energy resources. Sugar production requires a large amount of water as well as electricity, the consumption of which depends not only on the installed capacity of the plant, the modernity of the equipment, but also on the level of automatization. It is generally accepted that the total water consumption during the processing of 1 ton of sugar beet is 16-20 m³. Such a large consumption of water is hampered by outdated technologies, the concept of water as an inexhaustible resource and a low level of industrial automation. Thanks to modern equipment and a high level of automation, water consumption is reduced to 6.6-8.4 m³ per ton of processed sugar beet (without drying beet pulp). This means that with the help of modern equipment and production automation, water consumption is reduced by 58-58.75%. Such a low water consumption is achieved due to the fact that all used water circulates in a vicious circle, passing through several levels of purification and filtration, and only timely replenishment of the system by 15-20% of the total is required. The production also uses flash steam. The water supply system, wastewater treatment and production of steam is controlled by automation. Electrical power consumption mainly depends on the configuration of the production line, i.e. from its configuration and efficiency of a separate equipment. Automation plays a huge role in energy savings here. With the help of automation, not only the currents of electric motors are limited, but also the cycle of their operation is optimized, avoiding idle operation. Optimal and targeted automation of the production process will not only reduce production costs, but also help conserve natural resources. Modern industry is inseparable from automation.

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Many years of experience and skills, as well as the desire for quality and functionality are reflected in our company's implemented projects. Each project is very important to us and we always observe not only the expediency of automation, but also the culture of performing our work. We carefully select components and keep order, which is why each completed project is a kind of art.

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Process automation works and solutions

The implementation of complex work, starting with the design of both the construction and the technological part, allows not only perfect automation systems, but also the optimal use of production areas, which not only saves money on the construction of industrial buildings, automation components and installation materials, but also simplifies and facilitates maintenance.

Modern automation components and the use of internal data transmission networks ensure the concentrated placement of automation cabinets in industrial premises. Compliance with general norms and fire safety standards, as well as the use of certified materials, such as cables, increases fire safety and occupational safety level. Properly performed automation works meet the highest hygienic standards for the food industry.

Automation and control components used

Years of experience and knowledge have allowed us to choose only the best and most reliable manufacturers of industrial automation components we integrate into the automatic control systems we develop. We do not use components of those manufacturers who conduct unfair marketing policy, put our customers in full dependence on them in the future, and the price of their products is determined only by the popularity of the manufacturer's trademark, but not by quality. We always offer our customers only the highest quality products and services.

Main manufacturers:

Allen-Bradleyone of the leading manufacturers of automation components from the USA. Manufactures programmable logic controllers (PLC), human-machine interfaces (HMI), sensors, safety components and systems, software, drives and drive systems, contactors, motor control centers, and a wide range of control components. It is a manufacturer of the famous ControlLogix, CompactLogix, MicroLogix controllers (PLCs), PowerFlex variable frequency drives (VFDs) and Kinetix servo systems.

Mitsubishi Electricis a manufacturer of perhaps the world's most advanced and reliable programmable logic controllers(PLC) MELSEC, FR series frequency converters (VFD), servo systems components MELSERVO, industrial computers and components for low-voltage power distribution circuits. The products of this manufacturer from Japan surpass the absolute majority of manufacturers of similar products in quality, reliability and durability.

Omronwell-known manufacturer of automation components from Japan. The manufacturer is known for its LX series programmable logic controllers (PLCs), frequency converters (VFDs), servo system components and an extremely wide range of different sensors and relays.

Delta Electronicsis a Taiwanese company producing automation products and solutions. The range includes various electric drives (VFD), servos and servo motors, programmable logic controllers (PLC), communication modules, control panels (HMI), sensors, counters and much more.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation- manufacturer of equipment for monitoring sugar solution leakage and pH measurement. The leading manufacturer of equipment for the food industry from Japan.

Emerson- manufacturer of industrial automation components and process control solutions. An international company with headquarters in the USA produces a number of analyzers that are widely used in the sugar production process.

Mettler Toledomanufactures innovative pH sensors, conductivity sensors, total organic carbon analyzers and other components used in sugar factories. In addition to automation components involved in the sugar production process, it also produces various laboratory equipment such as sugar moisture meters and refractometers.

Inmec Instrumentsmanufactures embedded (InLine) analyzers on the Brix scale, laboratory equipment for measuring moisture in biomass. It also produces flow concentration sensors in a certain range, used to measure the total content of solid particles in the required interval.

Honeywellmanufactures a wide range of industrial automation components and installation materials. The range includes a wide range of different sensors and measuring instruments.

Lovato Electricit is an Italian manufacturer of components for automation and electrical installation. A wide range of reliable and high-quality measuring and monitoring devices, signal fittings, control components and protection of electrical circuits.

Carlo Gavazzithe world-famous Italian manufacturer of automation components, producing a huge range of different dachiks, measuring instruments and analyzers, as well as industrial relays. Innovative and high-quality products that are used in various industries.

Legrandit is a world leader in the field of electrical engineering, digital infrastructures, electrical materials and components. Applied innovative solutions using only the highest quality materials allows to produce unique products both in quality and applicability. Legrand is the owner of company Cablofil, which produces a wide range of materials and components for cable systems.

ETA Enclosuresa leading manufacturer of a wide range of industrial automation cabinets and junction boxes. The company's factory in Italy produces cabinets made of low-carbon steel and stainless steel of various sizes and different degrees of protection, having many international certificates.

Grundfosis the largest pump manufacturer in the world, based in Denmark. Manufactures a wide range of pump units, circulation pumps, submersible pumps and centrifugal pumps, as well as control devices for them.

Danfossis one of the world's largest manufacturers of fluids flow measurement and control equipment, pumps, seals, valves, measurement instruments and installation components based in Denmark.

Parker Hannifinone of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial components and equipment based in the USA. The product range includes component of pneumatics, various motors, sensors, pumps, compressors and even high power modular AC motor drives.