The purpose of this retrofit was to offer the opportunity to trouble shoot the machine at the mechanical/electrical interface level. We were able to get to the point of transparency at that level, and improve functionality of the machine by eliminating some poor programming practice in the Motion-Control/PC programming that stops sequences to wait for completion of other sequences when instead these could be overlapped.

In addition, by applying currently available PLC technology to this retrofit, we will make the system available to troubleshooting minor components, such as Proximity sensors. Recipe structure selection was moved from the local PC to the Panel View Plus. With the upgraded PLC we were able to move the motion controls inside of the PLC, simplifying the communications greatly. In addition the new PLC can accept analog inputs directly which increased the speed of communication between the controller and the drives.

• Replaced existing computer and HMI with Allen Bradley Panel View Plus
• Replaced obsolete control system and replaced with new Allen Bradley Compact Logic platform
• Replaced obsolete motion controller with new Baldor NextMove
• Removed CanBus communications in favor of direct I/O
• Replaced old Bus I/O with Allen Bradley Flex I/O for ethernet communications