Case study: SCADA system puts robots on a roll

Bolton-based Northwood & WEPA specialises in the production of bathroom and kitchen rolls and aims for market recognition for its quality, service, innovation, sustainability and price.

At the manufacturer’s plant in Bridgend near Cardiff, where there are both tissue making and converting operations, packing and dispatch of the finished products is a complex operation. This is due to the company producing many different sized multipacks which are arranged on pallets for transportation in a great many different patterns.

The production hall is used for packing and has a shuttle conveyor to deliver batches of products to one of two robotised palletising stations.

We reviewed the site and looked at options for control solutions. One of our key recommendations was to use a flexible but competitively priced SCADA package

Stephen Vincent, technical director of Platinum

In order to work on these control systems, Northwood & WEPA brought in electrical and automation specialist Platinum Controls from nearby Neath.

Stephen Vincent, technical director of Platinum, recalls how the project developed. “We reviewed the site and looked at options for control solutions. One of our key recommendations was to use a flexible but competitively priced SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) package.

“The one we recommended was Movicon, made by Progea in Italy, and available in the UK exclusively through Products4Automation (P4A), with whom we have worked on several other projects.

“We have always found the Movicon product to be very cost competitive yet highly functional. It is also easy to programme, install and commission, and saves us time in commissioning.”

Robots have become increasingly popular for palletising duties in recent years, not least because of the weights they can lift without risking repetitive strain injuries and the productivity levels they can achieve.

The machines also have the ability to execute a number of different loading patterns and boast the flexibility to change quickly from one product or sequence to another. The system designed by Platinum Controls is based on Movicon SCADA technology.

It controls the robots’ programmes from a database of many different pallet-filling patterns which are chosen according to the size and shape of the multipacks being palletised and/or to meet individual customer preferences.

Fast control and visualisation made Movicon an ideal choice for the palletisation application

Paul Hurst, director at Products4Automation

The operators interact with the robots via an industrial keyboard and a 21-inch touchscreen monitor mounted on the electrical control panel. At these they are able to enter a password and easily select the required stacking pattern.

They are also able to develop and store new stacking patterns from the control panel, which previously had to be done by the production/engineering team.

“These new patterns are stored in the database under names added by the operators themselves, rather than using long reference numbers,” says Vincent.

“This small change has proved popular and effective because the reference numbers were difficult to remember, whereas the names are completely intuitive.”

The hardware used in the control system includes two PLCs (programmable logic controllers), one communications driver, 9211 I/O and a PC that can display more than 50 different information screens.

Paul Hurst of Products4Automation says: “Movicon is designed to improve productivity, reduce integration times and operating costs, and to optimise asset utilisation. Fast control and visualisation made it an ideal choice for the palletisation application.”

At Northwood & WEPA the Movicon system is integrated with other plant-wide control systems so that it is co-ordinating packaging with production and order dispatch requirements.

The companies involved in the changeover believe that by using Movicon SCADA software the system integrator has completed the project cost effectively, while also adding the ability to record and visualise comprehensive production data.