Plant automation with motion control

Abstract

Automation technology in manufacturing is continuously advancing to boost productivity. Continuous advances in technology aims to decrease human error significantly. In fact, by time, human intervention has drastically reduced and on the other side flexibility in the process control has significantly increased. In this dissertation, a plant automation system was designed. The aim of the designed system was to continuously cut pieces from a material according to the length specified by the operator while the material was constantly moving on a conveyor belt system. The plant includes several variable speed drives with position control. All drives must simaltaneously work together in an automation task. A dedicated motion control profile was first designed to achieve the designed functionality for the operation of the automation plant. Safety features for the plant were taken into account to ensure reliable operation. Eventually, the motion control profile for all drives was implemented via the various motion control blocks within the PLC’s programming software. Furthermore, two user interfaces were developed for both control and monitoring purposes. These include an HMI panel and a user designed web-page. Continuous monitoring of the movement and position of the drives was presented on each control platform respectively. Both designs were designed to match the operator’s objectives and abilities so that all essential information is displayed in an effective way. This will aid plant operators to observe the plant operation more easily, while eliminating the possibility of systems malfunction. The system’s performance was measured by several encoders to verify correct operation. It was ensured that all drives travelled the required distances precisely, and at the stated velocity. Several cases were tested on the designed system, each time varying the cutting length and the diameter of the material to be cut. The results obtained were compared to investigate the effects on the synchronized velocities and the distances moved by all drives respectively. Lastly, it was confirmed that irrespective of the number of cutting cycles performed, the system’s accuracy was still within defined limits.