Varispeed recently partnered with a prominent local cable manufacturer to upgrade an existing, outdated control system.
The project
“This customer had been looking to upgrade the control system on a particular machine for quite some time,” explains Jason van der Merwe, branch manager at Varispeed’s KwaZulu-Natal branch. “The previous system was a mixture of hardwired relay logic and PLC control. It was out of date with limited diagnostic capabilities and did not offer full synchronisation during slowing or stopping.”
In terms of the application, van der Merwe says that this system was used on a lay-up machine consisting of six rotating payoffs and a carriage. The machine winds and twists multiple cores together to create specialised multicore cables.
The solution
From the PLC and HMI to the Yaskawa GA700 drive programming, electrical drawings and panel wiring, Varispeed handled the entire scope of this project in-house. “We needed to ensure accurate control of this several ton carriage at a constant speed without the need for a large amount of braking resistors that could result in wasted energy and an inefficient system,” adds van der Merwe.
The upgraded system offers an HMI communicating to eight Yaskawa GA700 drives via Modbus and acts as a communication gateway to a PLC via Ethernet IP. “The payoffs operate as digital frequency slaves to the carriage and run in a closed loop vector control method (CLV). The carriage also runs in CLV mode with encoder feedback. The take-up operates as a constant torque device and runs in open loop vector.”
Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.
Read more...Hytec opens fifteenth Mandela Day library Bosch Rexroth Africa
News
Over 200 learners at Monene Primary School in rural Limpopo have received their own containerised library. This is the fifteenth library since 2011, provided by Hytec South Africa and the Nelson Mandela School Library Project to schools across the country.
Read more...CSIR survey on the state of cybersecurity in South Africa
News
The CSIR Information and Cybersecurity Centre has released four comprehensive national cybersecurity surveys. These delve into critical areas such as cybersecurity preparedness and resilience in the public sector, cybersecurity skills gaps, cybersecurity incidents, and the digital identity landscape in South Africa.
Read more...Referro Systems partners with Festo in Northern Cape
News
Referro Systems has been recognised as an Authorised Official Partner Candidate for Festo in the Northern Cape, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering best-in-class automation solutions to customers.
Read more...Heavy-duty tablet achieves global certification Vepac Electronics
News
In a significant advancement for the company’s rugged tablets, the Teguar TRT-5380-10 heavy-duty tablet from Vepac has successfully acquired 11 international certifications, setting a new standard in quality, safety, and security across global markets.
Read more...RS PRO expands automation range RS South Africa
News
As automation continues to revolutionise production facilities, RS PRO, the trusted own brand of RS, is expanding its product range to meet the growing demand for smarter, more efficient processes.
Read more...From the editor's desk: Killer science Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
I couldn’t resist watching The World Industrial Reporter’s video on Ten Scientists Killed By Their Own Experiments. Some of them would have deserved the Darwin Award for taking themselves out of the ...
printer friendly version