Product category:
Telemetry, data acquisition + loggers
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Instrumentation + Automation) | Subject: InformIT SM3000
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 October 2004
Triple benefits of electronic data
recorder
Metallic pigment and coatings manufacturer Wolstenholme International has scored a hat-trick of benefits with the installation of an ABB InformIT SM3000 multipoint recorder at its site in Lancashire
Metallic pigment and coatings manufacturer Wolstenholme International has scored a hat-trick of benefits with the installation of an ABB InformIT SM3000 multipoint recorder at its site in Darwen, Lancashire Improved product quality, plant safety and future productivity gains are all possible thanks to the improved process monitoring available with the new recorder, supplied by ABB Instrumentation Alliance partner, WH Good
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 20 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Wolstenholme International manufactures a range of metallic pigments and press ready printing inks as well as metallic flake for industrial applications.
The SM3000 is installed on a section of plant making aluminium flake for the building industry.
Aluminium is used as a reactant to liberate hydrogen gas in the production of lightweight concrete blocks.
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In effect, it acts as a raising agent rather like the yeast in bread.
But the manufacturing process for finely divided aluminium flake is potentially hazardous and it is vital that throughout the processing phase, the aluminium particles remain stable.
As well as hydrogen gas being explosive, un-stabilised aluminium flake can react with oxygen thus generating heat which can rapidly become an 'out of control' exothermic reaction.
"This type of reaction can lead to the potential for a serious hydrogen or aluminium dust explosion, with devastating consequences," says Wolstenholme plant engineer Paul Cook.
In the final stages of production, aluminium filter cake is processed into a dry powder inside a drying chamber subject to high vacuum.
"We evacuate the atmosphere, agitate and heat the powder, before then cooling to ambient temperature.
This process requires very careful monitoring and control," says Cook.
The SM3000 monitors the level of vacuum in the dryer to ensure there is never enough oxygen present to cause potentially explosive conditions.
It also records the temperature of various moving parts, such as bearings and seals, to enable operators to spot if a mechanical failure is imminent.
"Failure could generate a dangerous level of frictional heat or it may mean air leakage into the drier," says Cook.
Before the installation of the new recorder, control of the process relied on paper chart recorders for historical information, stapling bundles of paper into the records for each batch of powder.
This method provided traceability, but made it very difficult to identify longer-term trends, such as a gradual deterioration in the efficacy of the vacuum.
This can be tricky to spot because the achievable vacuum varies depending upon atmospheric pressure.
The ABB unit is paperless.
Instead the SM3000 8MB on board solid state Flash memory can store 2.8 million samples of data, which can be archived to solid state SmartMedia and Compact Flash memory cards (16Mb-128Mb) and easily transferred to a PC.
This makes spotting longer term trends easy, enabling Wolstenholme International to highlight anything that might compromise safety or product quality.
"As well as offering alarm features to close down the dryer if there are immediate problems, the SM3000 historical data allows us to evaluate any gradual deterioration in process performance," says Cook.
Wolstenholme International engineers believe that the potential benefits of the SM3000 do not end there, however.
They are currently experimenting to see whether the data from the recorder can be used to optimise drying times, shaving an estimated 20 to 40 minutes off each nine-hour drying and cooling cycle.
"At the moment we use a straightforward time basis to make sure the process has reached completion," says Cook.
"But that naturally involves building in some extra time as a margin for error".
The Wolstenholme International engineers realised that as the organic solvent evaporates, the temperature in the filter columns at the exit of the dryer should reduce.
They plan to use this to tell when the process has reached completion, rather than relying on standard drying times.
"It's an exciting prospect because it should allow us to save energy and increase throughput," says Cook.
Using the SM3000, data can be recorded from up to 36 channels from analogue, digital and Modbus inputs.
This data can be displayed in a variety of formats, with strip and circular chart, bargraph and process views all included as standard.
The clarity of the SM3000 12.1" (30cm) backlit colour display means the information can be easily read, even at a distance from the unit.
Full IP66 and NEMA 4X front face protection make the SM3000 suitable for use in hosedown environments and applications subject to high levels of dust and humidity.
The SM3000 can also operate without disruption caused by interference in high-electrical noise environments, thanks to industrial standard noise emission and immunity protection.
As with all ABB SM series videographic recorders, the SM3000 is simple to configure and operate.
All commands and information are presented in a familiar Windows based environment, enabling operators to get up and running quickly.
Configuration can be conducted while the unit is on-line, via the SM3000 key pad, or off-line using a standard PC.
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