Projects
New Systems
12 Station Bulk Bag Filling System
Responsibilities: Electrical design, PLC and HMI programming, commissioning, startup and training
System Description: Control system for filling bulk bags with rubber pellets. Each station fills a suspended bulk bag to the target weight (3000 lb), lowers the full bag onto a shared conveyor line, and conveys the bags to an unloading station where fork lifts remove the bag. Two identical control systems were used for redundancy on this continuous production line. The system included Allen Bradley PLCs and HMIs, limit switches, pneumatic actuators, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, load cells, blowers, metal detectors, conveyors, and photo eyes. Communication with upstream equipment was implemented during startup.
Concrete Slurry Batch Controller
Responsibilities: Electrical design, scale controller programming, commissioning, startup and training
System Description: Concrete slurry batch plant upgraded from manual controls to a fully automated system with data logging for compliance. The Rice Lake scale controller operates valves, mixers, conveyors, and pumps to fill, mix and discharge the slurry to a holding tank. Each ingredient's weight, batch weight, and totalized weight are logged to an internal database accessed by a PC on site. Wireless level transmitters and pump speed controls were also developed for the project.
PH Probe Cleaning Controller
Responsibilities: Electrical design, pneumatic design, PLC and HMI programming
System Description: 6 self-cleaning PH probes needed to be cleaned continuously on a schedule. This system allowed user programmed cleaning schedules to run on a loop while also allowing manual probe cleaning per operator intervention. Utilized Allen Bradley PLC and Automation Direct HMI. Field equipment: pneumatic solenoids and, ASCO water valves.
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Crane Location Monitoring
Crane Overload Monitoring
Waste Trailer Remote Monitoring
Scale kiosks
System Upgrades
Powder Mixing and Drum Filling System Upgrade
Responsibilities: Electrical design, PLC and HMI programming, commissioning, startup and training
System Description: An existing powder mixing and drum filling system in a Class 2 Div 1 location was undergoing an upgrade to the drum filling station to incorporate a scale for weight-based filling. At the same time it was decided to upgrade the legacy Allen Bradley PLC and incorporate an HMI. Field equipment controlled includes: motors, pneumatic actuators, load cells, motor brake, level sensors, rotary airlock (VFD controlled), and
Gas Cylinder Filling System
Responsibilities: Program update, commissioning, startup and training
System Description: Concrete slurry batch plant upgraded from manual controls to a fully automated system with data logging for compliance. The Rice Lake scale controller operates valves, mixers, conveyors, and pumps to fill, mix and discharge the slurry to a holding tank. Each ingredient's weight, batch weight, and totalized weight are logged to an internal database accessed by a PC on site. Wireless level transmitters and pump speed controls were also developed for the project.
Troubleshooting and Repairs
Furnace Controls
Summary: PLC and Electrical troubleshooting for an industrial gas furnace that failed to start. After seeing no alarms of faults, a short was found on melted field wiring causing momentary power loss and automated sequence interruption.
Furnace Controls
Summary: PLC and Electrical troubleshooting for an industrial gas furnace that failed to start. After seeing no alarms of faults, a short was found on melted field wiring causing momentary power loss and automated sequence interruption.