ESAB-Mór Kft. – Mór, Hungary
On behalf of the Hungarian ESAB–Mór Kft., Contro-Net Kft. prepared the modernization of their production management system.
Success story on the official ABB website.
The welding rod production plant approached Contro-Net Kft. with a request to create a state-of-the-art control technology solution for their Dry Powder Mixing and Wet Powder Mixing facilities.
The software and hardware solutions, implemented with the ABB System 800xA process control system, were built on top of the PLC controlled devices. Communication between the System 800xA and PLCs has been implemented with the latest industrial communication standard, ProfiNet, which enables real-time Ethernet data transfer.
Particular attention has been paid to the following expectations:
- the solutions used in the development of the new system should be universally applicable in the event of further development of any area of production,
- the system should be easily expanded,
- the transition time between the current and the new system should be minimal,
- operation and implementation should be fully documented,
- the handed over system also includes its development tools.
In addition to powder and liquid comparison technologies, the task also includes the storing and managing formulas and material properties, as well as data from semi-finished products. Therefore, in consultation with ABB, the System 800xA process control system was chosen.
The dry powder mixing technology process begins with the recording of input data that contains different types of powder materials. The mixing of these materials is carried out using formulas prepared by the central ESAB, which determines the different welding rod products.
From nearly 30 silos, the components are mixed using 4 automatic and 2 manual scales. The process control system conducts the mixing process, including the amount of material to be mixed accodring to the formula. The finished mixture is stored in barrels with a barcode ID.
The technological process of wet and dry mixing are separated, because storage can take up to several months between each phase. During this time, the data is stored in an SQL database.
When the wet powder mixing process begins, the system retrieves data from the database for that barrel of semi-finished product, continuing the formula by mixing with the liquid.
The ABB 800xA system ensures that the materials used are recorded and tracked. Analysis of production data is aided by graphs and reports, including Measurement Accuracy or Daily Production Report.
Operator-managed interface images are also available to technology managers on the network because both client hosts and servers run in a virtual environment. With remote desktop access, the system can be reached from anywhere on the network.
Direct equipment handling is performed on 5 ABB PP886 Process Panels. Process Panels have touch screen control as well as barcode scanner data entry for quick and easy operation.
The outstanding partnership between Contro-Net and ABB over the years and the support and helpfulness of the customer, ESAB-Mór, played a major role in the successful implementation of the project.