Control System World

Case Study: Ripon Cogeneration, which helps supply energy to homes and businesses throughout most of northern and central California, achieved unprecedented plant performance – including a 30 percent reduction in start-up time – by replacing its obsolete distributed control system (DCS) with the PlantPAx process automation system from Rockwell Automation.

With the addition of the new system, Ripon has reduced the number of nuisance trips nearly 90 percent. Multiple fail-safes were hard-coded into the previous DCS, so even small deviations in process variables would trip the entire system offline and force the 50-megawatt-capacity plant to shut down. Operators and technicians at the 25-year-old, gas-fired plant could only react to the safety trips, which occurred as often as three times each day.

“Besides significantly reducing costly shutdowns, the PlantPAx system has helped us comply better with state emissions and other regulations,” said Brett Weber, operations and maintenance manager, Ripon Cogeneration. “That’s because the controls are automated, and operators can easily monitor variables through the PlantPAx dashboards in real time.”

Rockwell Automation power generation engineers collaborated closely with Ripon to align the PlantPAx capabilities with the plant’s specific requirements. The system includes an information-enabled, scalable, multidiscipline control platform that combines process and safety control with communication and state-of-the-art I/O. The system is equipped with 750 I/O points and is able to collect up to 1,000 points of process data. The plant’s old proprietary network was replaced with EtherNet/IP, allowing easy installation of the new system and smooth integration with the existing plant subsystems.

To eliminate the plant’s former error-prone, manual, data-collection process, the PlantPAx system includes data historian software, as well as a visualization, analysis and reporting portal that provides instant insight into production. The PlantPAx system leverages all historical data from the process system and automates daily production reports, allowing plant operators to focus more closely on system operations than on manual reporting.

“The PlantPAx system provides all the core capabilities expected in a world-class DCS – plus the multiple benefits of a single, cohesive, open communication protocol,” said Steve Pulsifer, director, Process Market Development, Rockwell Automation. “By implementing a modern DCS, Ripon Cogeneration now has the flexibility to respond to external pressures, such as regulatory compliance, while increasing efficiencies and productivity across its operation.”

Rockwell Automation has rebuilt Motion Analyzer software as a Web tool. The tool offers new user-friendly features and a vastly expanded product catalog to help engineers more easily specify, design and validate complete motion control systems.

The Motion Analyzer Web tool is cloud-based, allowing users to access, update and collaborate on projects stored in a single location, reducing version control issues and the need to share project files back and forth. A cloud-based platform also means users are no longer limited by the processing speed of their computers when designing systems for more complex applications. The tool’s new browser-style format allows users to filter, review and compare products and general pricing, similar to search capabilities on popular e-commerce sites.

“Incorrectly sizing a motion system not only generates unnecessary costs in wasted engineering time and re-stocking fees, but it can greatly slow a machine’s time-to-market,” said Michael Lennard, product manager, Motion Solutions, Rockwell Automation. “The latest Motion Analyzer release is an evolution of the platform that is more collaborative, expansive and easy to use. When engineers can quickly create and examine complete motion control systems within a single platform, they can spend more time innovating and improving their machines.”

The Motion Analyzer Web tool provides machine builders access to a wider range of motion control products than ever before. It now incorporates products from nine Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork Encompass product partners, including STOBER Drives, NIDEC-SHIMPO, item North America, Tolomatic, Nook Industries, WITTENSTEIN, Exlar Corporation, Bonitron and Elwood Corporation.

“Collaboration between various disciplines among machine builders and automation solution providers is critical to lower the Total Cost to Design, Develop and Deliver equipment,” said Clayton Webber, national sales manager, STOBER Drives. “Having mechatronic solutions up-to-date in the cloud establishes Motion Analyzer as a differentiator in machine design. STOBER and Rockwell Automation are striving to lead online solutions for machine design.”

Product Webpage

National Instruments, the provider of solutions that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, announced the LabVIEW Communications System Design Suite, which combines software defined radio (SDR) hardware with a comprehensive software design flow to help engineers prototype 5G systems.

Wireless prototyping was previously undertaken by separate design teams using disparate design tools. The LabVIEW Communications environment enables the entire design team to map an idea from algorithm to FPGA using a single high-level representation. This approach empowers designers to focus on innovation instead of implementation, which increases the rate and quality of their prototyping.

“Wireless consumers’ insatiable demand for bandwidth has forced the wireless community to invest tremendously in new ways to increase network capacity” said Gerhard Fettweis, Vodafone chair at Technische Universität Dresden. “At TU Dresden, we’re heavily involved in 5G exploration using NI hardware and software integration. With our collaboration and the use of the NI platform, TU Dresden researchers significantly compressed the time to transition from concept to prototype. In six weeks, we were able to have a working prototype. In the past, using other standard tools, this process would have taken us more than two years to complete.”

According to Jessy Cavazos, industry director for Test & Measurement at Frost & Sullivan, “SDR has become the standard for prototyping next-generation wireless systems. The addition of the FPGA to the x86 architecture has expanded the flexibility of the platform but adds the need for specialized skills and tools. LabVIEW Communications leverages existing IP, including algorithms in C and .m, so designers can integrate the right language for the right task all within a single design environment.”

LabVIEW Communications is optimized for the SDR platform with a hardware-aware design environment that provides control of physical configuration, hardware constraints and system documentation in a functional software diagram. This adds the flexibility of the hardware to the software, which gives designers access to all components in the SDR platform. Using this deeply integrated solution helps designers achieve optimal performance by eliminating the need to manually map algorithms to different hardware architectures.

“LabVIEW Communications includes built-in application frameworks for WiFi and LTE that enable wireless prototypers to focus on innovating specific components of existing standards rather than designing a new algorithm from scratch,” said James Kimery, director of RF and Communications at NI. “For some of the academic and industry researchers in our lead user program, this approach has cut the time to a validated prototype in half.”

Case Study: Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation, announced today that its flagship product, KEPServerEX, has been integrated with Molex Incorporated's SIS shop floor program to significantly increase operational efficiencies and interoperability across numerous locations. By using KEPServerEX, Molex can now support multiple PLCs, process monitors, and controllers from a variety of vendors using a single communications platform.

While expanding the SIS shop floor program, Molex found that varying machine ages and protocols made communications across each of its forty-five facilities challenging. The company also needed to find a solution that could scale to fit into any industrial environment that may be encountered in the future. With its support of the OPC standard and over 150 different protocols, KEPServerEX enabled the efficient global expansion of the program across the 17 countries in which Molex operates.

Kepware's KEPServerEX is specifically engineered to connect, manage, monitor, and control disparate automation devices and software applications across diverse architectures. Its robust platform supports an array of open standards, proprietary communication protocols, APIs, and automation systems' interfaces. Its single user interface provides consistent and reliable data throughout the enterprise and reduces training, support, and maintenance.

By using KEPServerEX, Molex experienced an average 37 percent reduction in equipment downtime. The company was able to decrease costs by providing reliable access to accurate and complete shop floor data, and is now poised to adapt to the needs of any future manufacturing environments it comes across.

"The smarter and more nimble our business decision-making, the better products and cost savings we can deliver to our customers," said Steve Behlen, Controls Engineering Manager, Molex. "Kepware is instrumental to our interoperability across forty-five locations and happy customers across the globe."

Advantech, a leading mobile computing platform provider, is proud to announce the PWS-870, a 10.1”, Fully-rugged Tablet PC, with the power of an Intel® Core™ i3/i5/i7 processor. PWS-870 is designed specifically for field services markets such as public safety, utility, inspection, and construction. It is built for rugged use, drop-tested, military-certified, and completely integrated. The user experience is optimized with PWS-870’s high-brightness, multi-touch sunlight-readable screen, and the system is extremely-customizable to meet targeted needs. The latest advanced communication options, including 4G LTE and 802.11 ac, allow unsurpassed performance across a variety of infrastructures.

Main Features:

• MIL-STD-810G, 4ft. Drop and IP65 compliant
• 10.1" HD High brightness Multi Touch with Gorilla Glass Panel + Digitizer
• 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i Processor; supports Windows 8 Operating System
• Build-in 4G LTE, WLAN (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), BT4.0, and GPS with Beidou/Glonass features
• Hot swap battery, for up to 11 hours of operation (*1)
• Built-in dual cameras, 1D/2D, barcode scanner, and NFC RFID
• Rich peripherals with Vehicle docking, Desk docking, and Extension module support

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Technip has been awarded a contract by Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK) to provide detailed engineering and procurement services to expand the recovery section of Westlake’s Petro 1 ethylene plant at its complex in Sulphur, Louisiana, USA.

Technip’s operating center in Houston, Texas, USA, will execute the project, with support from the Group’s office in Mumbai, India.

Stan Knez, Senior Vice President, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, commented: "This award follows a series of Technip feasibility studies to help Westlake evaluate expansion options and development of the process design package and front end engineering design for the expansion. Technip is pleased to bring its extensive ethylene plant modernization experience and continue its involvement in bringing this important project to fruition."

Technip has widened its range of services and has reinforced its leadership in the downstream business since the acquisition of Stone & Webster process technologies in 2012.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the establishment of Yokogawa Analytical Solutions in Malaysia. This new subsidiary, whose opening ceremony was held on December 3, will manufacture process analyzer systems for use in oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and other industrial facilities. It is expected that the new company will play a role in expanding Yokogawa's process analyzer systems business.

Process analyzer systems consist of gas analyzers, liquid analyzers, and sampling instruments, and are installed in a dedicated structure that is called an "analyzer house." As demand for such systems is expected to grow in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, Yokogawa has established Yokogawa Analytical Systems to speed up its response to customers in these markets.

The engineering of process analyzer systems requires advanced technical knowledge and expertise. To improve the quality and reduce the cost of such systems, Yokogawa Electric Corporation has shared its engineering and assembly expertise with other companies in the Yokogawa Group. Previously, Yokogawa companies in the U.S. and Singapore were principally responsible for large process analyzer systems projects. With the establishment of Yokogawa Analytical Solutions, this company will work with these companies to optimize the utilization of production resources within the Group. Through the establishment of this new collaborative network, Yokogawa aims to increase the sales for its process analyzer systems business from 15 billion yen in fiscal year 2013 to 20 billion yen in fiscal year 2020.

SPS IPC Drives is Europe’s leading exhibition for electric automation. Meet suppliers of electric automation technology from around the world. Inform yourself about all products, trends and innovations within the industry from 25 - 27 November 2014 in Nuremberg. Trade fair and adjoining conference offer you the perfect platform to search the right solutions for your automation tasks.

SPS IPC Drives is the exhibition for electric automation technology. It covers all components down to complete systems and integrated automation solutions. Find out more about the exhibition topics’ spectrum in detail.

The trade fair and its adjoining conference are the ideal platform for comprehensive information on products, innovations and current trends within the electric automation industry. Hence it gives an overview of the entire market.

The exhibitors - manufacturers of electric automation technology present products and services from the following sectors:

• Control technology
• IPCs
• Drive systems and components
• Human-machine-interface devices
• Industrial communication
• Industrial software
• Interface technology
• Mechanical infrastructure
• Sensor technology

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