JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #57 - May 2010 - 11

each company’s production data can be managed (Fig. 1). The system also includes all the functionalities required by the OEE system to monitor production data (Fig. 2), especially: - Recording production interruptions, including operator reports of the related causes (e.g. missing raw materials, technical failure, QC drawbacks, etc.). - Monitoring the start date and time, stop date and time, product number, part number, product order, events during cycle, alarms during cycle.

Fig. 3: Net configuration

Wide configuration capability and flexibility
The company offers various system configurations according to specific customer requirements, starting from an entry level configuration where the control system includes a programmable logic controller (PLC) and a control panel such as a human machine interface (HMI) up to more complex systems. These complex systems are normally installed on autoclaves devoted to aeronautic and aerospace production. They feature a configuration based on a PLC equipped with a redundant CPU, a personal computer with SCADA executed stand alone or redundant, regulators and recorders (Fig. 3). The possibility to supply completely redundant systems (hot backup) is one of the main specificities of the technical solutions

proposed. The hot-backup solution allows real time replacement of any system component which is not correctly operating or out of order without having to stop the production cycles, thus avoiding production interruption and safeguarding overall plant productivity. For each of the foreseen configurations, the Remote Control package can be used to transfer the autoclave actual process parameters through a web platform allowing efficient remote operation. The control software was engineered with predictive functions. In automatic mode and depending on the specific production specificities and requirements, these functions can anticipate the events and implement the most appropriate corrective actions aiming at a production cycle in perfect accordance with the set-up parameters and/or recipe. The software also allows just-in-time optimization of process parameters (e.g. pressure, temperature and vacuum) based on the type of product and according to selflearning algorithms and mathematical models developed in laboratory and then entered in the system. The software is always in “self-learning” mode so the regulation parameters related to each production batch are stored to optimize each type of product. At the heart of the control system, a programmable controller manages the whole process by tight control of the main physical parameters such as vacuum, pressure and temperature according to the pre-set configuration. A complete algorithmic block implemented in the controller software elaborates all the input data collected by the installed instrumentation and/or parametric external regulators to optimize process phase control and achieve the required

quality standards and process efficiency. Even in case of a control system fault, the system operator can end the production cycle being executed by setting the system in “manual“ mode, thus ensuring production process completion in any case. The supervision system uses a PC, control panels, a laptop for service operation and a server subordinated to factory ERP or data process management. A specific programmable device is used to manage safety interlocks and functions. Besides the machine functionalities, validation and traceability procedures are applied for the specific functions related to system safety. The management of bar-code readers, the recording of pressure/temperature/vacuum parameters, the printing and recording of real-time and historical trends, the management of jobs in execution, the traceability of instrument calibrations and a service package all form an integral part of the system.

EnergySaver
To improve energy efficiency, the Group developed a regulation and control system for its own processes that reduces the energy cost of autoclaves using a predictive load management function. The EnergySaver software is used in process management and control both during the heating and maintenance phases. It tightly controls the power consumption, synchronizes and optimizes plant start-up management, and periodically switches between the heating elements in order to ensure a homogeneous technological life cycle. Thanks to heating and production cycle management (optimized through the self-learning thermal inertia of the autoclaves and the co-ordinated control of the energetic cooling and pressurization parameters), Terruzzi Fercalx has been able to significantly reduce costs and improve its use of the autoclaves, with the advantage of extending the machine’s efficiency during its technological life. More information: www.terruzzifercalxgroup.com

No57 May 2010 / jec composites magazine

http://www.terruzzifercalxgroup.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #57 - May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #57 - May 2010