A PLC that would be suitable to.......

[deflow]

Hi, do u guys have any suggestion on which PLC should be used on a bottling plant automation system? (with conveyor belts, a filling station where the bottles are filled with liquid and finally stacks the bottles) and please provide reasons why it should be use.

 

[eeprom]

Any PLC will work for this. The exact model is dependent upon how many I/O are required.

 

[itsmoked]

ditto

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[deflow]

can you guys please give me a suggestion? and a link if possible?
i only know a little about PLCs as im completely new to it. thanks

 

[itsmoked]

Go rummage around on the Automation Directs site. Look at the PLCs. They have three or four families and lots of "knowledge stuff". You need to make some PLC headway on the understanding side. We can't just suggest one because there is so much more than just the name/model.

It's like you asking, "what car should I buy? We could say "Ferrari", or "F150", or "GEO Metro". What6 are the odds we'd get it right?

If you don't want to go to the bother of learning some basics and coming up with a specification that describes the required timings, number and types of inputs, number and type of outputs, any non-volatile requirements, interrelated event sequences, and external connectivity needed, start looking for local support to help you with it. Someone who you can go back to for any problems that come up.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[ozmosis]

We supply VFD's that are extensively used in bottling plants. We don't supply PLC's. The type of PLC used to connect to our VFD's are predominately Siemens S7-400 range due to the high number of bottling plant OEMs coming out of Germany. However, those that come out of N.America are typically Rockwell PLC.
So, using itsmoked analogy, these are the "Ford" and "GM" PLC's.
If you want information on a bottling/filler/palletiser company, try google Krones.

 

[eeprom]

If you have an existing bottling plant, chances are that they already have numerous PLCs on site. The plant management is going to have a preference (or a requirement) for the PLC to be used. I would never specify a PLC for a plant without first getting feedback from the plant.

 

[ScottyUK]

eeprom,

From an operation & maintenance engineer - thank you!

Getting a non-standard PLC really does cause problems, and eats money either in training on the new type, or in getting rid of it and replacing it with the site standard.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[jraef]

eeproms excellent answer notwithstanding, if you don't know or have nothing installed now (unbelievable as that is), then as with VFDs, my advice is to go with a brand that will provide you with excellent support IN YOUR AREA. Rockwell for N. America and Siemens everywhere else are good basic choices, but that doesn't rule out others, there are good suppliers out there for every brand. I would ask around with other users IN YOUR AREA as to who they get top quality support from and go with that.

If you are an OEM sending equipment to a plant somewhere else and your customer has not given you a preference, it's either because they are completely backward or they have no regard for their investment in automation. It's not about hardware, everyone makes good hardware or they would be out of business. It's about support and training, and that usually costs MORE than the hardware. A few basic questions to your customer may be in order here.

But if that gets you nowhere, most bottling line equipment OEMs I am familiar with typically go the Rockwell / Siemens route depending on the end user's destination, simply because of the ubiquitous nature of the available support from those two. But having recently come from a Siemens integrator in California and seeing a lot of bottling line equipment for the wine industry coming in from Italy and other EU countries, I can tell you that most of those people selected Siemens because of the support they were used to in the EU and got a rude awakening when their equipment arrived in Northern California, where we were virtually the only source for quality support. Even the Siemens direct people were few and far between, the OEMs frequently had to fly people in from Italy to get systems up and running. Had they chosen Rockwell, they would have been beating people off with a stick who would want to help them. So bottom line, that's what counts, what is available AT THE LOCATION.

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[LunaApplication]

Hi, we have PLC products and IO modules, also we have SCADA software.

Selecting PLC depends on your requirement and budget and also the capability of communications.

We have I-8000 series Pack Controllers:

http://www.icpdas-usa.com/i_8000_rack_mount_plc_controllers.html

you can choose either using C programming or ladder logic.

Here is a video showing you an application with only modules controlling the production line:

http://www.icpdas-usa.com/centris_tech_application.php

For your whole system, you may also need IO modules and SCADA software for a PC end monitoring and controlling your bottling plant.

Luna Li
Technical Engineer

http://www.icpdas-usa.com