Recent automation projects in SEE region
• Automation & Robotics • Technical Articles • South-East European INDUSTRIAL Мarket - issue 3/2010
Automated System for Solid Recovered
Fuel (SRF) Preparation
Bulgarian engineering company Systems Automation Technologies - SAT Ltd. has finished “turn-key” project about supply of fully Automated System for Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) Preparation for cement plant Holcim (Serbia) d.o.o. - Novi Popovac. Holcim Company, one of main SAT’s Clients is among top 5 producers of cement and aggregates in the world. Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) is used for alternative fuel in clinker firing process. It’s prepared from all kinds of biological and non-biological waste with high caloricity e.g. wood, textile, plastic waste, tobacco etc. SRF installation consists from two material shredders (primary and secondary), several separators (magnetic, air separator and mechanical) and several conveyors (belts and screws). Prepared material is transported with pneumatic transport to the kiln burner.
SCADA system used for control and monitoring is based on SIMATIC S7 400 PLC, PCS 7 and CEMAT, all by SIEMENS. For Human Machine Interface (HMI) are used Operator’s Station (OS) and Industrial Panel. Automation Station (AS) is built with SIMATIC S7 416-3 PLC and IM 151-1 HF distributed periphery (Distributed Motor Control boxes and Distributed I/O boxes). AS-OS interface is TCP/IP transported over Fiber Optical (FO) system. This is necessary because of the distance between department and control room.
Technological process is simplified into single line material path with shredding, separating and transporting devices. Primary shredder distributed by “AMB” company is used for large material shredding. It has two hydraulic motors rotated by oil pressured with 200kW motor pump. After primary shredder the material is separated first from metal parts with metal separator followed by air separator (by “Linder”) for small parts separation. Then material comes into secondary shredder (by “Linder”) which prepares fine shredded alternative fuel.
SRF is transported to the kiln burner by pneumatic transport after fine material dosing with weight belt scale specially designed by Company Systems Automation Technologies - SAT Ltd. Dosing and firing process are controlled by operator in Central Control Room (CCR) responsible for the Kiln. Responsibility of the process engineers is to keep optimal proportion of primary and alternative fuel to lower gas/coal consumption and respectively to reduce usage of primary energy sources and lower gas emissions.
SAT has developed all engineering, electrical design and application software for this project and supplied all electrical equipment. The company also has realized Electrical Erection & Installation and accomplished testing and commissioning of all electrical and automation systems.
Among the successful projects in the field of Automation of SAT Ltd. are Automated Control Systems for Rotary Kilns and Cement Mills in HOLCIM “Beli Izvor” (Bulgaria), HOLCIM “Plevenski cement” (Pleven, Bulgaria), TITAN “Zlatna Panega Cement”, Bulgaria; Automated Control System for De-dusting of Cement Mills, Kilns and Clinker Coolers in HOLCIM (Bulgaria) – “Beli Izvor”, HOLCIM (Russia) – “Volskcement”, Automated Control System for Cement Silo Feed in TITAN CEMENT – “Zlatna Panega Cement”, Bulgaria; Automated Control System for Clinker Transport in HOLCIM (Russia), Automated Control System for Pump Station in TITAN CEMENT – “Zlatna Panega Cement”, Bulgaria, etc.
Modernization of production process in Kraft Foods Company, Bulgaria
Bulgarian engineering company Logisoft has made a total modernization of the control system of coffee packaging machine in Kraft Foods Company, Bulgaria. The modernization was based on the latest automation equipment, manufactured by SIEMENS: Visualization – SIMATIC MP 277 10” TOUCH MULTI PANEL, programmed using WinCC flexible; Processor SIMATIC S7-300 CPU315F-2 PN/DP; Decentralized safety „bit modular” peripheral ET200S
- High-speed communication PROFINET, with ProfiDrive and Profisafe protocols covering the whole system; Servocontrols and motors – SINAMICS S120 for the dosing system; High-speed tensiometric sensor connected to SIWAREX CS for control of the packs’ weight; Single-turn absolute encoder connected to a peripheral module for SSI interface; Safety inverter for the machine main motor SINAMICS G120.
“We used such safety equipment for industrial automation for the first time in the food industry in Bulgaria. Only one Profinet fieldbus system was needed for building the connections to each sensor – ordinary or safety – via bit-modular extensions ET200S as well as to intelligent servocontrol units SINAMICS S120. As a result, a great number of cables, used at the old centralized management and the huge electric cabinets with normal and safety relays were removed. The unstable mechanical system for tensiometric control was also eliminated. The new high-speed tensiometric sensor was connected to a SIWAREX CS module, located in a nearby extension. The great number of induction sensors which send signals at the different shaft positions, were also removed and replaced with only one single-turn absolute encoder which sends a SSI signal to a module located in a nearby expansion.
We used the software of the Hesser machine, which added new functions for control via Profinet /Profidrive of the SINAMICS S120 servocontrols and standard safety functions too”, stated from Logisoft.
“This system can control similar old or new systems without the need of huge expenditures for wiring and construction of heterogeneous systems for servocontrols or alternative safety equipment. In case of replacement of the central processor with the fastest SIEMENS SIMATIC S7 319F, this equipment could control perfectly much faster packing machines, even high-speed S/R machines”, added from Bulgarian company.
Fully automated High Buy Warehouse in Hemofarm, Serbia
Dematic, Hemofarm and LogiSoft teams realized a project in Hemofarm, Serbia. Hemofarm, situated in Serbia-Vrsac, is among the ten largest exporters in the Serbian economy. Also, it is among 5 best European manufacturers of infusion solutions. Its main products are medications for human treatment. Hemofarm has been member of German company STADA group pharmaceutical family since 2006. The company has plants and representatives all around the world but main manufacturing facilities are in Serbia.
Hemofarm doo Sabac is one of the plant situated in town Sabac producing solid and liquid forms of medications.
Description of the project
High Buy Warehouse (HBW) is 15 levels high and it is fully automated. HBW is used for final products and as a buffer warehouse for raw material. There are 6 aisles and in every aisle there is an automated storage and retrieval machine (ASRM), so called stacker crane. ASRM is taking pallets into the warehouse to precisely, by WMS determined, pallet location. The same cranes are taking out pallets with the products from exact pallet location. ASRM operation is fully automated without presence of the people.
Front zone has conveyor lines used to bring pallets into the HBW in inbound operation and to take pallets out of the HBW in outbound operation. In inbound operation, conveyor lines bring pallets to the location where the ASRM will take the pallets over. In outbound operation conveyor lines takes pallets over from the locations where ASRM left pallets after retrieval from the HBW. These outbound pallets are conveyed to the forklift take over location where the pallets will be taken off the conveyor line for order picking operation or for loading into the trailer. Front zone conveyor lines are either roller or chain type of the conveyor. Front zone and all 6 ASRM are in full automatic mode controlled by PLC that is in direct connection with SAP through Dematic patent SUBdriver software.
At the rear end of the HBW there are also stations for pallet in and out operation. ASRM is doing automated pallet movements inside of the HBW and forklift is doing all pallet movements outside of the HBW and front zone.
Hemofarm doo Sabac IT system was incorporated-connected to SAP-ERP system of the whole company and because of this HBW logistics system had to be modernized.
Existing Siemens S5 PLC system was replaced by modern VIPA control units. These units were directly connected to SAP. Design of the new PLC and installation was done by Bulgarian company “Logisoft”. “It is the first time in the world that type of communication was accomplished”, stated from Logisoft.
“Dematic has installed its own software package called “Subdriver” that is unique product on the market. This way Hemofarm SAP system got a new function of material flow control. Hemofarm IT team has prepared SAP module for warehouse management, WMS, enabling Dematic IT programmers to establish integration of all systems into a functional one”, added from Logisoft.
To accomplish HBW normal operation: delivering of raw material to the production and warehousing of final products and at the same time installing and testing of the new system, Dematic team established possibilities of switching from the new IT system to the existing one in less than 5 minutes for each and every aisle.
Also, it was possible to have both operations: testing of new IT system and normal operation in old IT system at the same time. For example, while 5 ASRM were doing normal operation of HBW in old system at the same time we used 6th crane in the 6th aisle for testing of new PLC and SAP. Because of this it was possible to have final testing of the whole new system done in just two weekends.
Successful start up of the new modernized HBW system in SAP was done in January 2010.
Robotic systems help Turkish manufacturer to keep in the fast lane
Beycelik Gestamp is based in the city of Bursa, Turkey’s automobile manufacturing capital, 250 kilometers southeast of Istanbul. In its 50,000-square-meter production area more than two dozen ABB robots are producing assembled sheet metal parts, chassis and skin panels, as well as front end and crash zone body parts for motor vehicles.
“We like working with robots,” says Mustafa Boga, commercial manager of Beycelik Gestamp. “The efficiency of the ABB robots has given us the confidence to be aggressive in planning, investments and production”. Since 2002, Beycelik Gestamp has invested EUR 4 million in spot welding, arc welding and transfer robots from ABB – including IRB 6600, IRB 6650S and IRB 2400 robots as well as S4C+ and IRC5 controllers. In 2008 it also placed orders for an additional seven transfer robots.
“When we decided to use robots in welding, it was not easy to adapt the robots, due to the variety and small quantity of the parts produced,” notes Boga. “So we planned a flexible production solution together with our integrator, AB Rotech. With this flexibility, production quantity has increased and quality of the welded equipment has improved”.
“Our production has doubled as a result of the use of robots,” he continues. “We employ half the amount of people that would have been needed for manual welding. We also use 75 percent less space, and we waste less. ”The robotic systems produce a significantly higher quality of parts, resulting in almost no scrapped parts. Before robots, if there was a large area on a part that required welding, the operator would spot weld more than the actual amount needed, which could result in flaws in a piece. In such cases, delivery of faulty pieces would cause the whole part to be rejected. This has never happened with robotic production, says Boga.
“Spot welding is a process that can have devastating results and can cause irreparable damage”, he says. “But after we started with robotic production, due to the impeccable production, part loss is minimized”. The robots have also provided a better work environment, Boga says. The system is cleaner, safer and more pleasant for employees. “We have a nicer workshop today,” he says. “When we were doing manual welding, the factory was not as clean and didn’t look as good as it does today.”
Bioethanol plant in Turkey realizes operational gains
Another project of Emerson Process Management in SEE region is completion of PlantWeb® digital automation architecture at a new bioethanol production plant operated by TARKiM in Mustafakemalpasa-Bursa, Turkey. The new plant processes grain, usually corn and wheat, to produce ethanol to be used as a fuel additive. Rapid startup of the plant was critical and the contribution made by Emerson during the startup phase meant that TARKiM was able to start up one month earlier than scheduled. This provided cost savings of €220,000 and helped book early revenues.
The plant has been operating for over two years and during that time there have been no off-specification product or quality concessions made. During this operational period, the reliability of the plant has been outstanding with only two or three unexpected shutdowns. The PlantWeb architecture has contributed to a 28 percent increase in production at the plant from the planned level.
The control system at the new bioethanol plant is based on Emerson’s PlantWeb digital plant architecture. This includes a DeltaV™ digital automation system communicating with 381 field instruments, 108 control valves and 124 on/off valves using HART communications protocol. There are over 1200 input/output points. Emerson also supplied redundant controllers and power supplies.
Emerson field devices include intelligent Rosemount® pressure and temperature transmitters, Fisher® control valves, and Fisher FIELDVUE® digital valve controllers. Micro Motion® intelligent Coriolis flowmeters are used to measure slurry and syrup flow at the plant and Emerson’s AMS® Suite: Intelligent Device Manager software was also included on the project.
Operating in a highly competitive global market, accurate process control is very important for TARKiM as this directly effects productivity and consequently control of the unit price. “Emerson’s PlantWeb digital architecture has made a big contribution to minimizing production losses,” said Levent Kalin, TARKiM factory manager. “There are literally hundreds of limits for parameters which are set by the DeltaV digital system. These are checked regularly and alerts generated for any that are outside limits. When there is a problem, a fast solution gains us time for production. Consequently, our unit costs are approximately 10 per cent lower than we expected.”
The ethanol production process consists of several operations performed in series. Consequently, downtime at any unit impacts on the output from the others. With unscheduled downtime being a critical factor, AMS Device Manager is used to help identify potential problems before they develop into events that could close the line.
First Fully Automated Hydroelectric Plant in Romania
Hidroelectrica is a state-owned company based in Bucharest (Romania) operating activities in power generation. Installed power increase in hydroelectric plants was one of the governmental actions in relation to the adhesion of Romania to the EU. For its medium hydroelectric plant (30 MW) in Rucar, Hidroelectrica has an ambitious development plan that includes modernizing the existing facilities.
For this project Schneider Electric cooperated with two local system integrator partners:
AEIC Craiova specialized in hydropower plant monitoring and control systems and RECONT Timisoara specialized in the automation of the hydro generator.
There were 3 major constraints during the carrying out of the project: the old equipment had to be taken into the process, as a consequence of the previous point, there were third party products with different interfaces; the geographical environment - Rucar plant is situated in the middle of a mountain at two different levels, more than 100 meters far from each other.
For this first hydroelectric plant on Romanian river Dambovita, Schneider Electric proposed a complete electrical and automation package integrating engineering, provision of equipments, commissioning and training.
Schneider Electric Romania delivered both electrical distribution and automation equipment, which include Power (LV switchboards, MCset cubicles and Trihal transformers, VATech 110 kV equipments); Basic Automation (Modicon Quantum and Magelis PLC with around 1,200 distributed I/O); Networks and Remote Supervision; SCADA and Monitor Pro on a GSM network, providing local and remote control-command functions; Start / Shutdown of the hydroelectric plant and Power and Flow control.
The hydro-aggregate and its installations are placed underground (at 120 m depth) and the command-control equipment is installed on the surface in the technical office and command room.
In order to successfully finalize this complex project, Schneider Electric Romania cooperated with different partners - Energomontaj – Electrical Contractor, Union Electric – Panel Builder, 2 System Integrators: Recont Timisoara and AEIC Craiova for the automation and supervision system.
The whole architecture is based on a double fiber optic network, with two HSBY Modicon Quantum PLCs at each level.
“As this project has an important part in high and medium voltage equipments, Hidroelectrica could rely on Schneider Electric, a well-known player recognized in this field for its competencies. Schneider Electric commits on technical and commercial warranty, ensuring project success. This fully automated solution allows our customer to produce cheap, clean and environmental friendly electricity”, stated from Schneider Electric.
Modernization of Montenegro’s TPP Pljevlja
Siemens dd Zagreb in cooperation with Siemens doo Beograd completed the modernization project for the 235MW thermal power plant Pljevlja in Montenegro. The project included the reconstruction of the entire electrical and automation system in the thermal power plant which is the main generation plant of the Montenegrin power system.
TPP Pljevlja is the only thermal power plant in the Montenegro power system powered by coal from the nearby coalmine. The thermal plant was commissioned in 1982 and it generates roughly 30 per cent of total power produced in Montenegro. The existing measuring, regulation and control equipment is Russian and has been used for 26 years. Increasing difficulties with the maintenance of the unit’s control equipment have brought about the need to install a new control system. Since the control equipment is outdated, it is hard to find spare parts for it. The concepts are also obsolete and, in terms of functionality, there are fewer options to use the block’s capacity. Therefore, the reconstruction of this unit was declared a project of special importance to Montenegro and the completion of work within agreed terms the main priority.
The modernization project included the disassembly and the assembly of the entire existing automation and electrical equipment and the construction of the medium-voltage and low-voltage switchgear for temporary power supply. The Siemens consortium delivered to TPP Pljevlja a Distributed Control System (DCS) in the form of the SPPA T3000 automation system and boiler protection, as well as generator excitation system with a transformer, 220V direct current distribution utility, synchronizers, electrical protection for 6kV switchgears, generators and substations and electricity meters. With regard to electric power works, the modernization included the installation of medium- and low-voltage switchgears, the installation of generator circuit breaker and measuring and regulation equipment in the field, which entailed construction works of a larger scope. The delivery included all necessary installation material, construction material and material for equipping the control room and the accompanying operator and staff rooms, air conditioning system for the control room and all rooms with electrical equipment and automation system cabinets, as well as the fire alarm system, including the auxiliary rooms and the administration building.
The newly-installed Block 1 configuration for TPP Pljevlja
The scope of works and services constituted the main project for the complete modernization, even for a part of electrical equipment not included in the scope of deliveries of the Siemens consortium. This particularly applied to medium- and low-voltage switchgear equipment. The installation works applied to complete modernization, which also meant the installation of medium- and low-voltage switchgears, generator circuit breaker, measuring and regulation equipment in the field etc. The scope of contract for the most part also entailed construction works. Standard equipment testing, commissioning and optimization of the measuring and regulation equipment were carried out. Technical personnel had both basic and additional training for working with the installed SPPA T3000 automation system. Siemens consortium provided complete support for the power plant during the trial run period.
The engineering works were carried out by a team of 15 experts, while 30 associates (engineers and technicians) from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina worked on the commissioning activities. Installation works were carried out by over 120 additional workers provided by several hired subcontractors.
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